Cultural Explosion!
It’s no news to any of our readers how much I enjoy learning about and being immersed in cultures different from my own through the books I read. That’s the magic of reading, isn’t it? Being transported into an environment completely foreign to me. Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Lisa See was one of these books for me. Also, can we acknowledge how beautiful the cover art is?
Overview of Lady Tan
Set in imperial China, Lady Tan was an explosion of Chinese culture and oriental lore. Readers follow the life of Yunxian, an upperclass-born girl who moves to live with her grandparents – both doctors – after the death of her mother. Her Grandmother Ru begins to teach her all that she knows. When Yunxian is married and subsequently moved to her in-laws’ compound, she takes these lessons with her, and they serve her through the ups and downs of the years that follow.
Immersive Historical Chinese Fiction
The novel is steeped in ancient Chinese beliefs, from the function of the classes to the structure of the home life to the role of women in society.
Each of these are emphasized throughout the book, particularly through Yunxian’s friendship with the commoner midwife Meiling.
Another big focus of the book is the role of doctors and how medicine worked at the time. This is tied to the Confuscious ideals against touching blood and the dead; doctors had to diagnose through a screen with a messenger instead of touching or seeing a body! (if I understood the book correctly. I don’t know much about Confucianism).
What I Liked about Lady of Tan
- Learning about a different culture (obviously). It was really interesting to read about how this society operated
- Using different women to highlight aspects of the culture: Yunxian’s grandmother highlighted the medical field; Meiling displayed the lower class; her mother-in-law Lady Kuo showcased home life and the expectations women of high society had on them; Lady Chen, Lady Zhao, Spinster Aunt, and other side characters presented the limited function of women. How each of these women interacted and how their lives intersected enhanced the overall story.
- Level of detail: It is apparent how much time, effort, and research the author poured into this novel. See includes painstaking detail on the customs of the time. Her descriptions are vivid and made it feel like you could taste, see, and smell what the characters did. Of course, when she talked about footbindings, certain medical procedures, eunuchs, and a few other things, the evocative writing made me squirm just a little.
What I Liked Less
There were two things I didn’t like about Lady Tan, which caused me to knock off a couple stars.
- Firstly, the novel was so full of ancient Chinese customs, sayings, and the like that I occasionally felt confused about what was going on. When a character was being diagnosed and things like “blood vs Blood” or “qi” were brought to the table, I was a little lost. However, considering the majority of my reading takes place around the activities of my toddler, it’s very likely this was a me-paying-attention issue rather than the fault of the author’s.
- Secondly, while I thought the characters were interesting and multidimensional – especially Yunxian and Meiling – I didn’t feel attached to them. I can’t put my finger on why, but perhaps it felt like they were unrelatable to me. Again, the book is set in such a different time and place that even Yunxian’s inner thoughts were usually things I would never think about.
Final Thoughts
As a whole, I thought Lady Tan’s Circle of Women was a really interesting and unique read. It is absolutely worth picking up, but I may suggest reading it when you have a bit more downtime to focus on some of the nuances and details that make it so well-written in an effort to not get distracted or lost by said nuances like I did.
Copyright Lisa See and Scribner. Image from Amazon.
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