“When I knew I couldn't suffer another moment of pain, and tears fell on my bloody bindings, my mother spoke softly into my ear, encouraging me to go one more hour, one more day, one more week, reminding me of the rewards I would have if I carried on a little longer. In this way, she taught me how to endure — not just the physical trials of footbinding and childbearing but the more torturous pain of the heart, mind, and soul.”
― Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
― Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
“You may be desperate, but never let anyone see you as anything less than a cultivated woman.”
― Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
― Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
“I’ve never thought much about whether I was happy or if I had fun as a child. I was a so-so girl who lived with a so-so family in a so-so village. I didn’t know that there might be another way to live, and I didn’t worry about it either.”
― Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
― Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
“In our country we call this type of mother love teng ai. My son has told me that in men's writing it is composed of two characters. The first means pain; the second means love. That is a mother's love.”
― Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
― Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
“Obey, obey, obey, then do what you want.”
― Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
― Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
Vo’s 2025 Year in Books
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