Peony in Love: A Novel | Lisa See | I loved it, absolutely loved it

Peony in Love: A Novel | Lisa See | time traveling

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Peony in Love: A N...

	Peony in Love: A Novel Lisa See Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2008 - 320 pages average customer review:based on 94 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

?I finally understand what the poets have written. In spring, moved to passion; in autumn only regret.?

For young Peony, betrothed to a suitor she has never met, these lyrics from The Peony Pavilion mirror her own longings. In the garden of the Chen Family Villa, amid the scent of ginger, green tea, and jasmine, a small theatrical troupe is performing scenes from this epic opera, a live spectacle few females have ever seen. Like the heroine in the drama, Peony is the cloistered daughter of a wealthy family, trapped like a good-luck cricket in a bamboo-and-lacquer cage. Though raised to be obedient, Peony has dreams of her own.

Peony?s mother is against her daughter?s attending the production: ?Unmarried girls should not be seen in public.? But Peony?s father assures his wife that proprieties will be maintained, and that the women will watch the opera from behind a screen. Yet through its cracks, Peony catches sight of an elegant, handsome man with hair as black as a cave?and is immediately overcome with emotion.

So begins Peony?s unforgettable journey of love and destiny, desire and sorrow?as Lisa See?s haunting new novel, based on actual historical events, takes readers back to seventeenth-century China, after the Manchus seize power and the Ming dynasty is crushed.

Steeped in traditions and ritual, this story brings to life another time and place?even the intricate realm of the afterworld, with its protocols, pathways, and stages of existence, a vividly imagined place where one?s soul is divided into three, ancestors offer guidance, misdeeds are punished, and hungry ghosts wander the earth. Immersed in the richness and magic of the Chinese vision of the afterlife, transcending even death, Peony in Love explores, beautifully, the many manifestations of love. Ultimately, Lisa See?s new novel addresses universal themes: the bonds of friendship, the power of words, and the age-old desire of women to be heard.

From the Hardcover edition.

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I loved it, absolutely loved it

What a beautiful book. Not only is the story beautiful, but it offers glimpses into Chinese traditions and superstitions behind how the dead and ancestors are treated. As a Chinese American, I grew up with these traditions but never knew the reasons behind them, my Mother always just said "We do it because that's how we've always done it." - this book gave me the long awaited answers to how those traditions and beliefs came about.

time traveling

I visit China several times a year for business and thoroughly enjoyed Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. I was curious if lightning could strike twice for See and it has. Her storytelling is masterful, evoking the netherworld in a tangible way. I finished the book in one (albeit long) plane trip to Hong Kong and then saw the city (which is well known to me) through ancient eyes.

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A lovely book

I really enjoyed this beautifully written book. Ms. See uses words like a skilled painter uses color, creating scenes that the reader can visualize and feel a part of. Peony is an effective narrator who makes the reader care about the people she loves--and this book really is about Peony in love. Her love isn't merely the romantic love that you might think; it's obsessive and all-consuming, and the book's exploration of it is thorough. Also thoroughly explored is filial love, especially that between mothers and daughters.

In several narrative threads, tragedy results from women's traditional, circumscribed roles--tragedy for the women, that is. Ms. See creates a sisterhood between women, achieved through a genuine understanding of their culture's (lack of) appreciation for them and their cultural contributions.

Two things, I thought, fell short. Tan Ze's character isn't developed in a way that's believable (I can't say more without spoiling the plot). Secondly, there are a few narrative contradictions--noticeable, but not fatal; they're the sort of things a good editor should have caught.

Read this book! It will make you think about a lot of things.

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A beautiful get-away

I originally picked up this book as a bit of light fun reading while on vacation in San Francisco. Although i was put off a little by how "cheesy" the idea of ghosts and people who are "fated" to be together, once i was able to separate myself from my traditional "Western Ideas" i fell in love with the imagery and passion invoked on every page. Like "Snowflower" this book challenged my usual view on love, a womans place and other cultures. I recommend this book to anyone with an open mind.

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

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