Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

Several months back our book club read The Good Earth, which told of the hard life of peasants in China in the early 20th century. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See takes place about a century earlier, but despite the better standing of Lily and Snow Flower, their hardships were much the same as the family in The Good Earth.
Lily and Snow Flower are sworn as laotong, an eternal BFF, early in their lives. They understand their roles as women-- from early footbinding, to learning domestic arts, to marriage and serving their husbands and husband's families. While they never question those roles, they find ways to communicate true feelings, happiness, and especially unhappiness through the secret writing nu shu. Just like the peasants in The Good Earth, these girls experience drought, famine, untimely death and illness as well as success through hard work and tradition keeping.
The friendship Lily and Snow Flower shared was poignant, but the descriptions of the accepted footbindings were what really amazed me. Although impossible to change a tradition in one generation or by one woman, I was surprised that the two "sisters" so easily and readily accepted the practice for their own daughters after experiencing such pain and personal loss.
I enjoyed Snow Flower and the Secret Fan-- the story moved swiftly and the characters came to life with plausible jealousies, loves, desires and pain. Netflix rating 3/5.