Books and Jams Readalong discussion

Some questions to consider at the end of this read.

Was the ending satisfying?
What were some highlights of the story for you?
How did you like Lisa See's writing? Do you think you'll read more from her?
What moments from the book do you think will stick with you?
What will you rate this one?
Would you recommend this to other people?

I found the abuse Snow Flower endured far worse than the feet binding. As tragic as it was, the foot binding gave women a common experience to bond over. Sadly, the abuse Snow Flower endured (along with many women through time) was and is inexcusable. The beatings at the hands of her husband upset me far more than what happened in her childhood. It also saddened me that Lilly couldn’t be supportive in her friend’s time of need.

I gave this book 4 stars. I would recommend the book to the right audience.

I did enjoy this book, but it’s not a favorite. I loved learning about the culture and traditions of the time, even though they were heartbreaking. I disliked most of the women in this book. I understand the context, but it was really hard to read about women that thought so little of their own daughters and other women. It made me very thankful for the time and place I was born into.

I thought the historical parts of the story were great. Lisa See really researched well for her book. The overall story fell a little flat for me. I hate to say that because I know this is such a well loved and praised book, I just never could fully connect with the characters. I felt sorry for their hardships and the abuses were really hard to read about, but I never got that gut wrenching connection I was looking for.

I think I’m going to go with 3 stars on this one.

I just finished and whoa, my heart is heavy. Breaks my heart that the last sentence is "Please forgive me." Oh how I wish Lily said that to Snow Flower before she passed.

I think I landed on a 4 star rating. I really did enjoy reading this book, but it's just so heavy. I loved the focus on all the traditions and ceremonies of the Yao women that we get to see. It breaks my heart that negativity and insults were such a part of their communication.

I thought that Lisa See did a great job of letting us in to all the different scenes, but there always was maybe a little something missing. Some point of connection. Maybe it's just that since we're so focused on the life of the women that we don't get a full picture of the world at this time. When that whole scene with the rebels happened I didn't fully understand what was going on and why they had to run away so quickly.

I’m giving this 3 stars, though in reality it’s rounded down from 3-1/2. It was heartbreaking. This is the second Lisa See novel I’ve read, both for book clubs. While I appreciate learning the culture, etc., I doubt I’ll read another. They were both kind of downers. I understand the times were especially difficult for women,and I don’t need every book i read to end happily ever after, but even when the characters were expressing happiness, it didn’t resonate for me.

I did enjoy the Author’s Note at the end with acknowledgements and reading about what she went through researching the book. She really put more personality into that part than into the book

I enjoyed the book and gave it four stars.
I liked the description of the time period and the cultural aspects of China in that time. It angers me to think in some parts of the world, women are still thought to be worthless until/unless they become the mother of a son. The foot binding parts were also interesting (as well as being very hard to read) as regards to how the concept of beauty changed over time.
Domestic abuse towards women unfortunately did not change very much over time...
I also found the writing style easy to follow and read the book in just two days but it could be because of her writing style that I could not connect with any of the characters. I felt like she was telling but not showing the friendship between Lily and Snow Flower was strong and that they loved each other very much.
Considering the ending, the parts about Lily makes a bit sense but I also did not feel that Snow Flower loved Lily above all the people.
I will try another Lisa See book to find out if it was the writing or the characters.

I didn't end up following the reading recommendations but I did finish the book and I really enjoyed it and gave it 5 stars. It was heartbreaking and a wonderful story. It makes me so angry the way women are thought of and looked down on. I will never understand it. It was hard to read about the foot binding even though I do understand it was part of the culture it still doesn't make it easy to hear about. I'm glad I read this book though and I love learning about different cultures even if I don't agree with some of the beliefs or things that were done because of those beliefs. I will be reading more of Lisa See - I just found Peony in Love for 50 cents so I was pretty excited about that. Thank you for letting me be a part of the group even though I didn't really participate like you are supposed to.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It she’s light on a time and place in history that I was unfamiliar with. I also didn’t understand the political fighting and the need to flee so quickly, and stay away so long, except for the fact that it gave Lily time to see what was happening in Snow Flower’s family. My rating is a 4.

This book made me cry. The subject matter was so heavy. I had read about the binding in history books but I never knew how deforming it was.