PLOT
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.
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.
THOUGHTS
Warning! Whenever you find yourself about to pick up a Lisa See novel (and you will) I recommend taking some time to mentally and emotionally prepare yourself for the heartache she will put you through. (And even then it will not be enough to keep you from crying.)
I don't know, maybe you are able to keep your emotions in check a lot better than I can, but if your'e like me than Peony in Love will have you in tears all the way through to the very last page.
I don't know, maybe you are able to keep your emotions in check a lot better than I can, but if your'e like me than Peony in Love will have you in tears all the way through to the very last page.
Lisa See is most knowen for her ability to write about the struggles and heartache of women. (Especially Chinese women.) Peony in Love is no different in that aspect, yet what makes it different is the window Lisa See gives us into the afterworld of the Chinese Culture. How our choices and thoughts stay with us even in death. My heart ached for Peony. I wanted nothing for her but peace. With her choices effecting those she loved, she had a lot of growing up to do.
It was beautiful to read about a young woman who loved and felt so strongly, who was intelligent in spite of the time she lived in (men frowned on women being in the academic world so it was nice to see Peony challenge that), and how she could also make deep impacting mistakes like the rest of us.
The beauty that is Lisa See's writing will transport you into the soul of a young Chinese woman, the struggles of heart ache, and the perils of the afterworld.
It was beautiful to read about a young woman who loved and felt so strongly, who was intelligent in spite of the time she lived in (men frowned on women being in the academic world so it was nice to see Peony challenge that), and how she could also make deep impacting mistakes like the rest of us.
The beauty that is Lisa See's writing will transport you into the soul of a young Chinese woman, the struggles of heart ache, and the perils of the afterworld.
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