Sunday, November 4, 2007

October, 2007 Host: Emily

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

Summary


She is called by those in her village - “One who has not yet died”. This is the story of an eighty year old widow who reflects on her life in nineteenth-century China. The story begins with the tradition of foot binding at the age of five or six, the smaller the feet, the more marriageable and desirable a woman becomes. Lily (the narrator of the book) is paired with a laotong (where the girls sign a contract to be friends for life), Snow Flower. The girls begin their friendship at the age of seven. They begin writing in nu shu on a fan which they pass back and forth, nu shu being a unique phonetic language that Chinese women created so that they could communicate secretly, without the influence of men. Their friendship continues and strengthens through foot binding, marriages, death, a typhoid epidemic, and war. Ironically, a misinterpretation of a nu shu message sent by Snow Flower to Lily derails their relationship after over twenty years of friendship.
The author, who is part Chinese, has traveled to rural China and interviewed many of the elderly residents in order to research the practices of nu shu, foot binding, food preparation, etc.

Discussion

-Everyone who read this book thoroughly enjoyed it. The historic setting, the complexity of the characters, and the heart wrenching experiences of the women made this book compelling and a page turner.

-Most are aware of the Chinese practice of foot binding, but not of the horrific details. Mothers began the process of foot binding when their girls were five or six years old. A bandage two inches wide and ten feet long was wrapped around the foot in a figure eight pattern so that the arch was compressed and the four toes were bent under. The foot was then jammed into a shoe that was several sizes too small. Over the next few years, tighter bandages and smaller shoes were used until the desired affect (a foot that measured two to three inches long) was achieved. The four small toes broke and some eventually fell off. Sores developed, the flesh putrefied, and some girls died of gangrene. Since this affected their ability to walk for the rest of their lives, women spent most of their time inside their homes, thus subjugating them to the demands of their husbands or mothers-in-law.

-It was difficult to comprehend why the practice of foot binding by the girls’ mothers was described as a ’mother’s love’. The mother controlled every aspect of foot binding, from changing the bandages to forcing the young girls to walk back and forth in their bindings - which was anguish and drove most of the girls to tears. Of course our hearts would break if we had to do anything this painful to our own daughters, however, this was a custom carried on for thousands of years until it was outlawed in the early 1900s. A mother’s love could be construed as doing everything possible for her daughter to have a beneficial marriage. A good marriage was important as men dominated, with some regularly beating their wives. The mother-in-law ruled the house and often worked their daughters-in-law to exhaustion.

-”Three sworn sisters have promised to love me as I am.” These were the words that tore apart the relationship between Lily and Snow Flower. Lily interpreted those words as Snow Flower having joined a sworn sisterhood after she had sworn herself to her laotong forever. Their bond was supposed to be more important than even their marriages. Lily felt that Snow Flower was abandoning their laotong promises in favor of a new sworn sister relationship with others whereas Snow Flower was simply befriending a group of three sworn sisters that she was not sworn to. Snow Flower repeatedly attempted to contact Lily and Lily refused to have any contact with her whatsoever. This misunderstanding, based on a few words along with Lily’s unyielding stance, seemed implausible, especially after all they had been through together.
Menu:

Party mix, and assorted desserts.

Waiting for the recipe for this very refreshing drink.


Party Mix


Ingredients

4 cups Kellogs Crispix Cereal
4 cups cheerios cereal
3 cups pretzel sticks
1 12 ounce can salted peanuts
1 stick butter - melted
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon celery salt
½ teaspoon seasoned salt
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon Worcestire sauce

In a five-quart slow cooker, combine cereals, pretzels, and peanuts. Combine butter, Parmesan cheese, celery salt, seasoned salt, garlic powder, and Worcestire sauce. Drizzle over cereal mixture and mix well. Cover and cook on low for up to three hours, stirring every thirty minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.


Fruit Pizza


Ingredients

1 package (20 oz.) refrigerated sliceable sugar cookies, sliced
1 package (8 oz.) Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened (light cream cheese can be used as well)
¼ cup sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla
Assorted fruit, such as sliced kiwi, strawberries, blueberries, and drained canned mandarin orange segments. Frozen fruit may also be used.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line 12-inch pizza pan with foil and spray with cooking spray. Arrange cookie dough slices in single layer in prepared pan, press together to form crust. Bake fourteen minutes; cool. Invert onto serving plate; carefully remove foil. Invert on large serving plate or tray so crust is right-side-up.
Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Spread over crust.
Arrange fruit over cream cheese layer. Refrigerate two hours. Cut into twelve wedges to serve. Store leftover dessert in refrigerator.


Puppy Chow


Ingredients

1 stick butter
1 bag milk chocolate chips (semi-sweet or milk chocolate, whichever is preferred)
1 cup peanut butter
1 box Crispix (or whatever kind of Chex type cereal you like)
1 box powdered sugar (about two cups)
Melt butter and chocolate chips in a saucepan or large pot over medium heat. Stir in the peanut butter. Turn off heat. Pour in the Crispix and turn until completely coated. Toss the coated Crispix in a Ziplock bag with the powdered sugar. Spread on wax paper to cool.


Cherry Delight


Crust

2 cups graham crackers crushed
½ cup melted butter
Mix together and spread in the bottom of a 9x13 glass pan and bake for five minutes at 400 degrees.


Layer 1


Cream together the following ingredients:
8 ounces cream cheese
2 tablespoons milk
1 cup sugar
Spread over crust
Sprinkle ½ cup chopped walnuts over the cream cheese mixture
Spread one small tub of cool whip over the nuts and chill
Spread one can of Wilderness cherry pie mix on top

Waiting for the recipe for this wonderful desert

Waiting on the recipe for this wonderful desert

Still waiting for the recipe for this wonderful desert.

Meow!