Fascinating historical novel, but lovesickness can be sickening

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	• Peony in Love: A Novel Lisa See Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2008 - 320 pages average customer review:based on 93 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Fascinating historical novel, but lovesickness can be sickening

Rarely do contemporary authors tackle such an obscure setting as upper class 1600's China. For this, I commend Lisa See, and confess to have started and finished _Peony in Love_ in a passionate haze. I learned a great deal about Chinese rituals, foot binding, life of ghosts, female suppression during China's Ming Dynasty, but I also struggled with the protagonist Peony, who seemed to have died too quickly in the book. She was also a sentimental poet, which is consistent for a person who would starve herself with lovesickness, but also difficult to enjoy spending time with for an entire book. I am fan of Lisa See, but not sure how much I like Peony.

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Richly written

Unhappy accidents...
The mistakes of missed communication and unspoken thoughts...

This novel is truly rich on many levels, but if you seek a traditional Western romance, look elsewhere.

The beauty of this novel lies in the interwoven history, cultural view, and the truth that one's perspective can change everything.

If you know nothing of China, this is an interesting and light place to begin.

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Didn't live up to Snow Flower for me

I don't know what it is, but I just couldn't get into this book. I LOVED Snow Flower & The Secret Fan and devoured it within a couple days. This book just didn't do it for me. Maybe because I don't like to read about fantasies or ghosts or things that are unlikely? I don't know... I found myself bored at times, which is SO bizarre after being so enthralled by Snow Flower.

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A Great Story

"Peony In Love" is a historical fiction and ghost story that is based on Tang Xianzu's opera "The Peony Pavilion" (1598) and its "Three Wives Commentary" (1694). Chen Tong (one of the Three Wives) is a real person, but her life (and afterlife) was fictionalized for the book. You don't have to know the opera to understand Lisa See's novel, since she explains things as you go. However, if you can follow along with the original, ideally in Cyril Birch's 1980 English translation, it will increase your enjoyment of the novel.

Some things I liked about "Peony In Love:" first of all, it's a good story. Even if you know the opera, it's likely that you will not be able to predict how the plot turns. Second, for students of China, it gives some real insight about upper-class life, customs, and beliefs. More than that, it lets you know how people thought and felt about the lives they were living at that time.

I also liked the author's thoughtful approach to some very contentious issues. For example, with the horrible custom of footbinding, Lisa See helps us to know both how awful it really was (worse than you think), and why people went along with it anyway (a thumb in the eye of the big-footed Manchus). Her insights into the Ming/Qing political transition, and the lives of elite women in the China of that time, are also well worth having.

The only critical comment I have about the book is relatively minor. I've visited the incredibly romantic scenery around Hangzhou's West Lake where part of the story takes place, and don't think that See's description does it justice. It was, by all accounts, even more beautiful back then than it is now. If you ever get the chance to go there, though, you will enjoy it all the more if you have read the book!

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reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, page 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17

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