Wine & Book Group Pick for March '07
For our March Wine & Book Group book selection we have a wonderful story by Chinese-American author Lisa See. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan: A Novel
(Random House Trade 2006), Lisa's third novel, is both a suspenseful and poignant story and an absorbing historical chronicle. Her books deal with the cultural divide between her two nascent cultures. To purchase wines suggested by our partners at Women & Wine, click link for more details. Author details and more inside...
April 09, 2007 —
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About the Author
Lisa See was born in Paris but grew up in Los Angeles. She is a journalist and the author of three acclaimed bestselling books. Her first earned her the New York Times Best Notable Book for 1995 award for On Gold Mountain: The One Hundred Year Odyssey of My Chinese-American Family.On Gold Mountain: The One-Hundred-Year Odyssey of My Chinese-American Family
Lisa wrote the libretto for On Gold Mountain, which was performed by the Los Angeles Opera.
Her next novel, Flower Net
earned her the same NYT award in 1997 along with a listing on the Los Angeles Times Best Books for ’97, a distinction from 
Amazon.com as their top-selling thriller, and an Edgar for best first novel. The Interior
(2000) followed characters introduced in her first novel and Dragon Bones
(2003) was the third novel in her series featuring characters Liu Hulan and David Stark. Lisa also writes for Vogue, Self, 
NYT Magazine, Washington Post, Book World, and TV Guide. She has been a staff writer for Publisher's Weekly for thirteen years.
In addition to her writing credits Lisa has been active in the Chinese-American community by serving as the curator for several Chinese-American exhibits appearing in LA and Washington, DC. She recently designed a walking tour of the Los Angeles Chinatown for the LA guidebook. She was honored as National Woman of the Year by the Organization of Chinese American Women in 2001 and was also the recipient of the Chinese American Museum's History Makers Award in Fall 2003.
Ms. See lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two sons. Her most recent contribution to understanding bi-culturalism and biracialism is Half & Half a collection of short stories by eighteen authors of mixed descents. The essays are joined by a shared sense of duality and address the difficulties of not fitting in and the benefits of fitting into two worlds. In her essay, Lisa See uses her grandmother's funeral to discuss her memories of growing up in a Chinese-American family and what it means to feel Chinese when you have red hair and freckles. Other contributors include James McBride, Garrett Hongo, Indira Ganesan, Meri Nana-Ama Danquah and Julia Alvarez.
About the Book
In nineteenth-century China, in a remote Hunan county, a girl named Lily, at the tender age of seven, is paired with a laotong, “ old same, ” in an emotional match that will last a lifetime. The laotong, Snow Flower, introduces herself by sending Lily a silk fan on which she’ s painted a poem in nu shu, a unique language that Chinese women created in order to communicate in secret, away from the influence of men. As the years pass, Lily and Snow Flower send messages on fans, compose stories on handkerchiefs, reaching out of isolation to share their hopes, dreams, and accomplishments. Together, they endure the agony of foot-binding, and reflect upon their arranged marriages, shared loneliness, and the joys and tragedies of motherhood. The two find solace, developing a bond that keeps their spirits alive. But when a misunderstanding arises, their deep friendship suddenly threatens to tear apart.
Wine Selections
Pacific Rim Dry Reisling $9.95 plus shipping
It’s not just the beautiful Geisha on the label that makes us think of this crisp white wine for Asian food. A delightful melange of ripe citrus, light floral, and core fruit aromas and flavors, this dry Riesling works well with everything from egg rolls and Orange Chicken to Sushi. Not to mention fresh oysters. We love the wine’s cross-cultural mix of grapes—they come from Germany and Washington State—too.
Mountain Alphas Chardonnay 2005 $13.99 + shipping
This full-bodied Chardonnay is a strong fruity wine with a pretty pear and apple bouquet followed by tropical fruits and banana flavors. The long finish has a lovely buttery aftertaste with nice balance between fruit and oak allowing the minerality of this wine to shine through
Miner Family Vinyards Voignier 2005 $19.99 + shipping
Decadently rich with peach flavors and honeysuckle greeting your nose, this Viognier will change the minds of non-believers about this varietal. Your mouth will water over the tropical fruit flavors followed by a satisfyingly refreshing tang.
Previous Book & Wine Picks
February Cloudstreet set in Perth, Australia
January The Good German set in Berlin
December The Historian set in Eastern Europe
November One Good Turn set in Edinburgh
September Lost in the Forest set in Napa Valley
August The Hummingbird's Daughter set in Mexico
July The Devil Wears Prada set in NYC
June Woolf in Ceylon set in Ceylon
May Everyman's Rules for Scientific Living Australia
April The Mermaid Chair set in South Carolina
March Memoirs of a Geisha set in Japan
February Get a Life set in South Africa
January The Shadow of the Wind set in Barcelona
December Pride and Prejudice set in England
November Beyond Measure set in Rennaissance Italy
October Breakfast at Tiffany's set in New York
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