Shanghai girls - Lisa See

I picked this novel mainly because of the author. I loved her previous book Snow Flower and the secret fan that I've read.
This book too didn't fail. I was engrossed and always waiting to see what would happen in the end. It is a story of two sisters May and Pearl who are forced to marry two Chinese guys from US i.e. Vern and Sam respectively. They try to not go to US but are forced to go there. How they spend time on the immigration island (Angel Island) because of some problems and then go to US. 'Paper sons' and 'paper wives' is a concept new to me. I was only a bit disappointed in the end. I expected something more. :)

Hotel on the corner of bitter and sweet - Jamie Ford

I really loved this book. It was so touching and emotional. I started thinking about how life must have been during that time. The book is about Henry Lee who is a American - Chinese boy who grows up during the World War II time. He has a friend Keiko who is Japanese. During this time, the Japanese were hated by Americans because Japan was against America during the war. Keiko and her family are sent to a refugee camp to stay there and Henry misses her and somehow manages to meet her. They later say good bye and due to certain circumstances, the letters that Keiko and Henry write to each other are not received. Henry gets married to a Chinese lady Ethel and has a son Marty. The story starts out when Ethel dies and Marty and Henry start getting closer. A very lovely story. I read the book through the night on Wednesday because I couldn't keep it down once I started :)

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan - Lisa See

This book is a wonderfullllllllll book. The best that I have ever read till date. It is written by Lisa See and describes in detail about the foot binding process in China and what importance it holds.

After reading this book, I felt oh my God how these people suffer just to look good and attract a good match for their marriage.

It is about two girls Lily and Snow Flower are a laotong pair. Laotong pair means they are friends cum sisters for life. They match it through their signs and and all sorts of stuff.
The worst is when the author describes the painful process of foot binding where the leg bones are broken so that the feet are made smaller to resemble a lotus. It must cause excruciating pain for these small girls.

Also, Lisa mentions a secret language Nu Shu used during that time to communicate between laotongs.

It is a wonderful book and definitely a must read.

Read more about foot binding here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foot_binding

The pictures itself are so frightening. I do not know how much patience and endurance a mother must have to do this to her baby girl :)

Happy Diwali to one and all! May the festival of lights illuminate in ur a desire for learning and a quest for knowledge. Have a safe and fun filled Diwali bursting crackers.