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An empowering, uplifting tale of two women from opposite sides of society, and their extraordinary journey of sisterhood, betrayal, love and triumph.
1800s China. Tightly bound feet, or "golden lilies," are the mark of an honorable woman, eclipsing beauty, a rich dowry and even bloodline in the marriage stakes. When Little Flower is sold as a maidservant—a muizai—to Linjing, a daughter of the prominent Fong family, she clings to the hope that one day her golden lilies will lead her out of slavery.
Not only does Little Flower have bound feet, uncommon for a muizai, but she is extraordinarily gifted at embroidery, a skill associated with the highest class of a lady. Resentful of her talents, Linjing does everything in her power to thwart Little Flower's escape.
But when scandal strikes the Fongs, both women are cast out to the Celibate Sisterhood, where Little Flower's artistic prowess catches the eye of a nobleman. His attention threatens not only her improved status, but her life—the Sisterhood punishes disobedience with death. And if Linjing finds out, will she sabotage Little Flower to reclaim her power, or will she protect her?
What book or books are you reading this week? (02/06/2025)
Blob - Maggie Su Eddie Winston is looking for love - Marianne Cronin The wager - David Grann The lotus shoes - Jane Yang Bulfinch's mythology - Thomas Bulfinch The divine comedy - Dante Alighieri
-Marijana_Bankovic
"Yang skillfully depicts the tension between the two women, and even manages to evoke sympathy for the vindictive Linjing after her betrothal ends in a scandal that causes the two women's fates to be linked. Yang's expert plotting and nuanced historical details result in an exceptional story that enchants from the first page to the last." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Brilliantly written, masterful storytelling, and hard to put down. This story will stay with me for a very, very long time." —Heather Morris, #1 bestselling author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz
"I devoured this stunning debut! Yang's fascinating glimpse into 1800s China, the power plays between multiple wives in a wealthy household, the fixation on prized golden lotuses, and the heroine's exquisite embroidery "painting" held me spellbound. I can't wait to recommend this novel to everyone I know!" —Alka Joshi, New York Times bestselling author of The Henna Artist
"Captivating and exquisitely rendered… For me, the centerpiece of the novel was the emotionally rich relationship between Linjing and Little Flower as it evolves over a lifetime and through multiple turns of fortune. I was invested in their story from the first page until the very last words. I so enjoyed this beautiful book!" —Melissa Fu, award-winning author of Peach Blossom Spring
This information about The Lotus Shoes was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Jane Yang was born in the Chinese enclave of Saigon and raised in Australia where she grew up on a diet of superstition and family stories from Old China. Despite establishing a scientific career, first as a pharmacist and later in clinical research, she is still sometimes torn between modern, rational thinking and the pull of old beliefs in tales passed down through the family. She lives in Australia with her family.
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