Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - Lady Tan's Circle of Women

A beautifully written and insightful novel that gave me a unique perspective on womanhood from a conservative background. As a young unmarried woman myself, I found the details on marriage, moving into the in-laws' house, pregnancy and post-pregnancy very informative and relished the atmosphere created by See, almost as preview of what could potentially come, albeit in vastly different circumstances and backgrounds. There was added delight in reading the Chinese euphemisms for topics often brushed aside—such as moon water for periods and honey pot for chamber pots.

While stronger character development would have further strengthened the novel, overall, it is an immersive read, rich in detail and written with great sensitivity in building authentic and fully-realized female characters of that time.

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jmeier's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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kappafrog's review against another edition

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emotional informative reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I love the idea behind this book of fleshing out what Tan Yuxian's life might have been like. This was rich with historical details. I really appreciated how See struck a balance between making the female characters in a deeply patriarchal world sympathetic while not being afraid to show the ways they perpetuated many of their culture's harmful practices against women. While this did make the protagonist less likeable the older she got, I still found it a compelling story. We as modern readers (rightly) find footbinding disgusting, but it was reality for centuries of women in China, and See did a good job exploring the realities of how women had to cope with that system.

At the core of this book is the way communities of women in Ming China could band together to support each other, and that made for a very good read. I'd also note that the relationship between Meiling and Yanxian came across as pretty sapphic, with Yanxian frequently struck by Meiling's beauty. I thought it was realistic that they didn't pursue a relationship, but I felt like the romantic aspect between them was an important part of the book.

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lisettemarie's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad

4.75

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story_singer_101's review against another edition

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challenging emotional

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This is a well-done book that takes the reader into the life and world of 15th-century China--with all its beauty and flaws. I appreciated how this book delved into Chinese medicine and that it didn't shy away from or romanticize the problems that 15th-century China faced. This is a book that deals with topics like foot-binding, concubines, slavery, pregnancy trauma, sickness, and sexism. It is also a book about the humanity of women, the value of female friendships, and the ways that women shine even in highly repressive contexts. I had been looking forward to reading it for a while now, and I'm glad I finally did. It's a well-told story, and I appreciated how the perspectives of the characters didn't seem to be too highly modernized to make it more palatable to a modern audience. That same lack of modernization, though, may cause pretty strong culture shock for some readers, especially if they aren't already aware of some of the cultural practices and issues of the time. So read the book. It's worth it. Just make sure you can handle it first.

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author_d_r_oestreicher's review against another edition

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dark informative slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Lisa See is a historical novel. It follows Tan Yunxian, a female doctor in 15th-century China, through the four stages of her life from age 8 (milk days) to age 15 (hair pinning days-awaiting marriage) to rice-and-salt days (“the most important years in a woman’s life. They are when I will be busy with wife and mother duties”) and finally sitting quietly days. 15th century China was not a good time for women, even high-ranking women like Tan Yunxian. This was a time of foot binding for high-ranking women and domination by husbands whether she was a wife, concubine, or servant. Lady Tan’s circle of women does their best to support each other in the strange misogynistic world.

For my extended notes: https://1book42day.blogspot.com/2024/09/lady-tans-circle-of-women-by-lisa-see.html

Check out https://amazon.com/shop/influencer-20171115075 for Omega Cats Press books and book recommendations.

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hjb_128's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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