Lady Tan's Circle of Women by Lisa See

 

Wow, it's the second book I've read this month! Go me!

LADY TAN'S CIRCLE OF WOMEN is a Goodreads Choice Awards Nominee and I can kind of see why it was picked. It vibes like one of those literary-lite books that are always so popular in book clubs, and has just the right amount of scandal to titillate the people who don't like scandal, replete with some gross-out cringe moments.*

*Oh yes, more on this.

Tan Yunxian is the granddaughter of two doctors and has learned a lot about medicine from her grandmother. Like SNOWFLOWER AND THE SECRET FRIEND, there's an element of forbidden friendship in the form of Meiling, a girl who is destined to be a midwife (which is looked down upon since they touch blood).

The book follows Tan from childhood to old age, and we see her endure marriage, childbirth, and the family drama that comes from being immersed in a new dynamic where women must grasp for whatever power is given to them. In this sense, the book is similar to basically every other See book I've read, including that gross cringe stuff I mentioned earlier.

See really does not hold back on describing the process of foot-binding. In this book, we're treated to the full process, including what happens when infection sets in. Given Tan's background in medicine, there's lots of other gross tidbits, including the consumption of smallpox scabs for inoculation (called variolation), the removal of a parasitic worm through emesis and chopsticks, and descriptions of miscarriage/abortion and the use of abortofacients. It's honestly pretty gnarly and by the time I got to the worm bit, I was like naaaaaaurr.

The pacing in this book feels way off and it doesn't feel like there's much happening. It also lacks the emotional depth of her earlier books, like SNOWFLOWER AND PEONY IN LOVE. This one felt quite removed and cold in comparison. Maybe it was meant to be that way to show composure, idk. But it ended up making the book really hard to get into. I liked the mystery towards the end, and the court trial, but then after that, it was a slow and grueling slide back into when-is-this-book-going-to-pick-up.

I didn't hate this book and voted for it in the GCA because I didn't read anything else, but I'm not sure I'd read any more of her newer books unless one of them just really jumped at me.

2.5 to 3 out of 5 stars