Peony in Love

Peony in Love by Lisa See

Finished May 23rd, 2008

Rating: 7/10

2008 To Be Read (TBR) Challenge #2



From the Publisher
For young Peony, betrothed to a suitor she has never met, these lyrics from The Peony Pavilion mirror her own longings. In the garden of the Chen Family Villa, amid the scent of ginger, green tea, and jasmine, a small theatrical troupe is performing scenes from this epic opera, a live spectacle few females have ever seen. Like the heroine in the drama, Peony is the cloistered daughter of a wealthy family, trapped like a good-luck cricket in a bamboo-and-lacquer cage. Though raised to be obedient, Peony has dreams of her own.

Peony’s mother is against her daughter’s attending the production: “Unmarried girls should not be seen in public.” But Peony’s father assures his wife that proprieties will be maintained, and that the women will watch the opera from behind a screen. Yet through its cracks, Peony catches sight of an elegant, handsome man with hair as black as a cave–and is immediately overcome with emotion.

So begins Peony’s unforgettable journey of love and destiny, desire and sorrow–as Lisa See’s haunting new novel, based on actual historical events, takes readers back to seventeenth-century China, after the Manchus seize power and the Ming dynasty is crushed.


The story took a turn I was not expecting at all and at first I really didn't like the turn it took. As the story progesses I started to appreciate where the author takes the story. The book is rich in Chinese traditions and customs which I found fascinating. While it isn't as good as Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, it is still a solid book and I rated it as good.