Lady Tan's Circle of Women: A Novel

I feel like I should have another stamp in my passport after reading Lisa See’s Lady Tan's Circle of Women. This book completely enveloped me in another time and space as I got to know the characters as well as China’s culture over the span of several years. This story tugged at my heart strings as I rooted for some of the characters, and I cried as they experienced losses and difficult times. I am grateful that I had the opportunity to step into Lady Tan’s world, and I appreciate the gems of wisdom I was able to walk away from this story with.

This is the 6th Lisa See book that I have read. As always her writing drew me into a time period I know little about which is one of the reasons I love her writing. I especially enjoyed having her come to my book club and explain her writing process. The sheer amount of research that she puts into her work is amazing. It was so interesting how she weaved in true accounts into the fictional story such as the scene with the worm. Highly recommend and I look forward to her next book which she said is 30 years in the making.

Excellent book that didn’t shy away from dark subject matter/historic representation of eastern medicine and women’s culture in China. Would read more from See.

This is a loosely based coming-of-age story of Yunxian Tan, the real-life first female doctor in China. We read about how Yunxian became Lady Tan, from the loss of her mother to her marriage to Maoren, and her influences from both her grandparents in the world of medicine. We are introduced to foot binding and its importance to show the hierarchy of the social classes and how men treated women. It shows us the Chinese customs a woman had to follow, including how and why they believed in certain superstitions. What I found most fascinating was a deep delve into understanding why there were arranged marriages, concubines, and more about their corporal punishments.

I love the strong relationships Yunxian has with the women around her: Midwife Meiling, Miss Zhao, Spinster Aunt, and of course, her grandmother.

What I did not love is my lack of understanding of why Yunxian Tan loved Maoren. In my strong opinion, he did not deserve her love or her grace. He was selfish and only thought of saving his family's face, never really trying to understand Yunxian Tan’s point of view or fully trusting she is capable of doing the right thing. Do not even come at me and say, “Oh but it was because of the times and the men didn’t respect women.” He always went to consult with his mother about everything. I do understand it is the mother-in-law who rules and manages the household but when you get to the last chapters (around 85%), you will fully understand what I am talking about. I see him being a sulky man who feels emancipated because he secretly knows his wife is the true erudite between the two of them.

Is it a must-read? Only if you are truly into historical fiction. The pacing of the story is slow and when you reach the 80% mark, that is when the story truly comes alive and you don't want to stop until you get to the end.

Writing Style: 4/5
Plot: 3/5
Pace: 3/5
Characters: 3/5
Intrigue: 3/5
Enjoyment: 3/5

Interesting look at life in 15th century China and the role of women. It also gave me a deeper understanding of Chinese medicine. Enjoyable read.