169. "Memoirs of a Geisha" by Arthur Golden

I figured I should at least attempt to read Arthur Golden's Memoirs of a Geisha, for the sake of being culturally conversant (same reason I read Twilight), but I didn't expect to enjoy it. To my surprise, I found it engrossing and, mostly, very good. The last 50 pages weakened the effect, because I didn't like the resolution of a major plot point, but they didn't ruin the novel. Very interesting insights into the geisha culture, obviously, but also Japanese society before, during, and after World War II, and the limited options available to girls and women in that society.

168. "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" by Lisa See

In Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Lisa See chronicles the life of Lily, a Chinese girl whose station is elevated by her beautiful face, her tiny bound feet, and her special friendship with Snow Flower, a girl from a better family. After Lily's arranged marriage to an aristocratic young man, she learns a secret about Snow Flower that devastates her and threatens their friendship. 

The account of foot-binding is difficult to read, and it's even more difficult to imagine generations of women enduring this practice. Although I knew it was extremely painful and crippling, I didn't realize the process could be fatal. The narration vividly depicts this, as well as the agony of learning to walk on bound feet and the continuing challenges to women's safety posed by the inability to move without pain. For example, when rebels invade, Lily joins a group of refugees fleeing to the mountains. As she toddles up a precipitous, rocky trail on her "beautifully" mutilated feet, she watches other women, unable to balance with their bound feet, lose their footing and plunge to their deaths.

In some ways this is a bleak novel; in others, it's what my college friend Becca used to call "redemptive."

62. "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Forbes

Johnny Tremain was one of my first fictional crushes--along with Huck Finn and Nat from The Witch of Blackbird Pond--so I was curious to reread Esther Forbes' novel from an adult perspective.

And you know, I still kinda have a crush on Johnny, I think. And/or Rab, the older boy who takes Johnny under his wing and introduces him to the Patriot cause. And I still cried at the end of the book.

In some ways, the novel romanticizes the days leading up to the American Revolution. But I think Forbes also paints a fairly realistic picture of the ways in which Patriot leaders stirred the citizens of Boston to revolt against the British, and of how a sometimes lackadaisical British reaction allowed the colonists to organize and mobilize.

This is a riveting read, both for the strong characters and for the depiction of the birth of American independence. It gives me a renewed appreciation for the difficulty the Patriots faced, for their courage and determination, and for the fact that they managed to pull off a revolution against better armed (but less passionate) British troops. It also makes me want to read more about the American Revolution, a subject I haven't explored much as an adult.