Book Review: Peony in Love by Lisa See

 

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Content Warning: suicide, eating disorders (specifically anorexia), misogyny, rape, murder. This book also contains a graphic scene of foot binding. 

During the tumultuous beginnings of the Qing Dynasty, Peony lives hidden away in her home, preparing for her upcoming marriage. The daughter of a wealthy scholar, like all women of her class, she is not allowed to leave the confines of their familial compound. When her father decides to celebrate her sixteenth birthday by putting on a performance of her favorite opera in their own front garden, none of them realize the devastating consequences this choice will have...

This novel explores an interesting phenomena amongst mostly upper-class girls in seventeenth-century China, what was at the time called "lovesickness." Although during the period it was trivialized as something that took place when girls became "overeducated," when they were allowed to read books and poetry and study romantic classics, it's now something that we know probably happened because these young women wanted to exert some form of control over their own lives. And, like many women still to this day, the one tool they had was choosing to let their own bodies waste away.

I've previously read two other books by See, both which I loved, and Peony in Love was no different for me. Her first-person writing is descriptive not only of the surroundings and historical details which make Peony's life so real, but also of the feelings which she's experiencing that are causing her so much conflict in her life. There's a clever concept at play here, which I actually wasn't aware of until I started reading (I won't spoil it here, as I think it's best to let it surprise you), and See pulls it off with great finesse.

Perhaps my favorite part of this book was the family dynamic. It was heartwarming to watch the development of Peony's relationship with her mother, where they both are able to come to each other as women and understand one another's trauma, the shared pains of womanhood, and how it shapes their lives. With all of the historical aspects here, I could probably write pages and pages about this book, but I'll try to stop here!

If you love historical fiction, do yourself a favor and pick up this beautiful book. Touching, riveting, full of a clear love for Chinese culture and an outstanding depiction of Chinese Buddhist afterlife, it wasn't difficult at all to give this one five stars.