Shanghai Girls by Lisa See

Here's the author's website for a full synopsis.
This is a good one! (I guess I don't read "bad" books because I seem to like all of the ones I've read lately!) My mom suggested this after I read Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (it's the same author). A note about the author: I mentioned in a previous post that she was not Chinese, but I read her bio and I think her father was Chinese, at least part, if not full. If you've ever seen her picture, you'll see why I assumed she wasn't. As well as that she did research in China as a "foreigner" so I thought she was not of Chinese decent.
Anyways, I have to say that I liked this one better than Snow Flower. It's starts in the 1930's in Shanghai and follows the lives of two sisters who fall from their comfortable statuses in Shanghai to poverty and tragedy when their father loses everything to gambling. They are sold as wives to be sent to California. I found it easier to envision and "relate" to because it's more recent times than Snow Flower. This is the next generation after foot binding. It's a great story. My only complaint is the ending. It seems like it is set up for a sequel. If it isn't, then I really don't like the ending because it really leaves the reader hanging.
Content warning: There is a rape scene that is disturbing. Other than that, there is very little sexuality and language.

The Story of Lucy Gault by William Trevor

I loved this book! It's about a family in Ireland in the 1920's. The father, mother and 8 year old daughter, Lucy, live in a big house and land that has been in the family for a long time. They love their life and home there, but their safety is threatened because of the unrest in Ireland and a strong opposition to the English (Lucy's mom is originally from England). After stopping an arson attempt by some young men, the father decides to move the family to England for their protection. No one wants to leave their beloved home, but Lucy doesn't understand the situation her family is in. The night before their planned departure, Lucy runs away, hoping to delay and ultimately stop their move to England. Not long after leaving home, Lucy breaks her ankle in the woods near her home. Her family looks for her only to find evidence that leads them to believe she has drowned in the ocean. Her parents assume she's dead, stop looking for her, and in their overwhelming grief, leave for England as planned. This story is all about choices, consequences, misunderstandings, and guilt.
I really enjoyed it. The ending dragged on a bit for my liking, but overall I liked it a lot. It's fantastic writing. I found it to be a very tragic, but not depressing story. It's also very clean. No sex, no profanity, so it's a good suggestion for a book club that might have more sensitive members. I would love to hear other opinions on it if/when anyone else reads it!

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

See the authors website for a synopsis.

My sister-in-law told me to read this book so that she had someone to discuss it with. I'd have to say that it's a bit controversial for more conservative, Christian readers. When I first started, I almost quit reading it. The book is about Dinah, the only daughter of Jacob, from the bible. As someone who believes that Jacob and his son, Joseph were indeed prophets and therefore righteous men, it was a little uncomfortable to have that challenged. But I read it all and in the end, I really liked it. The author has written this as a work of fiction, based on what is in the bible. I was able to distinguish when the author was taking great liberties and what was truth. It made me go back and read the stories straight from the bible and I was amazed at how much of it was true! Since the book is written from Dinah's perspective, much of the book is her thoughts and perspectives of what was going on. It's a very raw and gritty book and it might make some uncomfortable. In my opinion, it was a barbaric time when life was about survival and morals were not always universal. Again, this book made the feminist in me a little angry, but that's okay. I'd say it's primarily female book and I'm not sure how male readers would take to it, especially since much of the book is reference to menstrual cycles and child birth. I know my husband had no interest in reading it (or hearing about it, for that matter, but I didn't give him much of a choice). I would LOVE to discuss this book more! My sis-in-law and I talked for hours about it. I recommend it to those of you who can take the discomfort and having their beliefs challenged. After reading this and Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, I'm actually ready to read something light and less thought provoking! I'm thinking that I'll go back and read the Harry Potter books or the Twilight books, just for a break.

Content warning: This book contains some mild sexuality, but it's not too graphic.

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

I finished this book a couple of weeks ago. I really liked it. It's been compared to Memoirs of a Geisha, which I have also read, but I liked this one a lot more. It's takes place in 19th century China and follows the life of Lily, a daughter of a farmer. It's about the Chinese practice of foot binding (which is no longer done, thankfully) and women's roles. Reading books like this bother the feminist side of me. I am amazed at what women went through (and were put through). It was terrible. The beginning dwells a lot on the foot binding and match making that young girls went through, but the book is really about the friendship between Lily and Snow Flower, who are matched as friends for life upon beginning the foot binding process. When I started this book, I had to go do a search online for images of foot binding, just to see what exactly it looked like. Go here to the authors website for a better synopsis of the book and also to see some pictures of foot binding.