Prospect Lefferts Gardens store:
Wednesday, May 17, 7:30 PM
PLG Fiction Book Group discusses Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

Led by Greenlight general manager Alexis, our fiction book group in Prospect Lefferts Gardens discusses paperback fiction, reading broadly in contemporary fiction with the occasional diversion into classics. For May, the group discusses Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See. In nineteenth-century China, in a remote Hunan county, a girl named Lily, at the tender age of seven, is paired with a laotong, "old same," in an emotional match that will last a lifetime. The laotong, Snow Flower, introduces herself by sending Lily a silk fan on which she's painted a poem in nu shu, a unique language that Chinese women created in order to communicate in secret, away from the influence of men. As the years pass, Lily and Snow Flower send messages on fans, compose stories on handkerchiefs, reaching out of isolation to share their hopes, dreams, and accomplishments. Together, they endure the agony of foot-binding, and reflect upon their arranged marriages, shared loneliness, and the joys and tragedies of motherhood. The two find solace, developing a bond that keeps their spirits alive. But when a misunderstanding arises, their deep friendship suddenly threatens to tear apart.

Current book group picks are always 15% off at Greenlight, in the store or online.