Book Review: Peony in Love

Peony in Love

Author: Lisa See

Published: Random House, 2007

Genre: Historical Fantasy

Rating: 5/5

This novel came into my possession while I was finishing up my graduate residency on Star Island. My room had no plug and I had only come with my kindle for reading material. Not a smart choice. I should have known better since it was my third time on the isle. Of course, I found myself in the small bookstore in the Oceanic hotel looking for a book or two to buy. Having enjoyed Lisa See's Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, I decided to purchase another novel by her. I was not disappointed.

Peony lives a sheltered life in her family's elaborate house in seventeenth-century China. She will do everything her parents tell her to do, as is the tradition, including marrying a stranger. One night she sees a man and is overcome with a strong emotion: love. Unable to bear the the thought of marrying anyone but the man she meets in secret she plunges herself into despair. In both the world of the living and the dead, Peony's journey of love will bring desire, sorrow, pain and happiness. The words she wrote while she still breathed will become the last tangible part of her in the living world. 

See's ability to recreate China through her prose and setting is one of her greatest attributes as a writer. Readers will find themselves temporarily in China as they read this novel. They will learn about many cultural elements and beliefs as they find themselves crossing over from the world of the living to the dead with Peony. I would recommend this novel to anybody with an interest in Chinese culture who enjoys historical fantasy.

(#13 of the 100 Book Challenge)