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Peony in Love: A Novel | 
 enlarge | Author: Lisa See
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Category: Book
List Price: $14.00
Buy Used: $1.25
You Save: $12.75 (91%)
New (54) Used (102) Collectible (2) from $1.25
Avg. Customer Rating:  105 reviews
Sales Rank: 4085
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.1 x 0.6
ISBN: 0812975227
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780812975222
ASIN: 0812975227
Publication Date: February 19, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
“I finally understand what the poets have written. In spring, moved to passion; in autumn only regret.”
For young Peony, betrothed to a suitor she has never met, these lyrics from The Peony Pavilion mirror her own longings. In the garden of the Chen Family Villa, amid the scent of ginger, green tea, and jasmine, a small theatrical troupe is performing scenes from this epic opera, a live spectacle few females have ever seen. Like the heroine in the drama, Peony is the cloistered daughter of a wealthy family, trapped like a good-luck cricket in a bamboo-and-lacquer cage. Though raised to be obedient, Peony has dreams of her own.
Peony’s mother is against her daughter’s attending the production: “Unmarried girls should not be seen in public.” But Peony’s father assures his wife that proprieties will be maintained, and that the women will watch the opera from behind a screen. Yet through its cracks, Peony catches sight of an elegant, handsome man with hair as black as a cave–and is immediately overcome with emotion.
So begins Peony’s unforgettable journey of love and destiny, desire and sorrow–as Lisa See’s haunting new novel, based on actual historical events, takes readers back to seventeenth-century China, after the Manchus seize power and the Ming dynasty is crushed.
Steeped in traditions and ritual, this story brings to life another time and place–even the intricate realm of the afterworld, with its protocols, pathways, and stages of existence, a vividly imagined place where one’s soul is divided into three, ancestors offer guidance, misdeeds are punished, and hungry ghosts wander the earth. Immersed in the richness and magic of the Chinese vision of the afterlife, transcending even death, Peony in Love explores, beautifully, the many manifestations of love. Ultimately, Lisa See’s new novel addresses universal themes: the bonds of friendship, the power of words, and the age-old desire of women to be heard.
From the Hardcover edition.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 100 more reviews...
 Love Conquers All November 30, 2008
I put this book down and quit reading twice. But I kept going back to it. It has a lot to say about mothers, daughters, families, and the power of love. I found some of the fantastical elements a little too "out there," but I liked Peony and wished for her to find her place in the world. Overall, interesting. I like See's books set in modern China better.
 a fairy tale filled with chinese history November 20, 2008
no need for details. this book has stayed with me. i now feel that loved ones that have past on really do remain or return for certain reasons or unfinished business. this novel was a beautiful and romantic ghost story.... i loved every page
 Disappointing November 8, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I loved Snowflower and the Secret Fan so couldn't wait to read this book. What I found was a ridiculous mishmash of ghosts, the afterlife, superstition and illogic. Peony and Ren fall madly and eternally in love after spending minutes together over three nights. We are treated to tales of superstition and rigid Chinese customs that seem to lack any humanity or basic kindness most of the time. In places the machinations of these ghosts become laughable. I was relieved to finish.
Silly predictable plot November 7, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I was very disappointed in this book. If I had not been reading it for a book club I might not have even bothered investing the time to finish the book. The main character was very frustrating to even read about..a silly anorexic immature spoiled girl. The plot was very predictable and as I read I hoped along the way that my predictions would be wrong so I could be surprised, but alas, no. The story line was plodding, predictable, and just plain silly. The only redeeming quality in the story was the interesting information regarding the culture during that time.
 Didn't meet my expectations October 27, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I absolutely loved Snowflower And The Secret Fan, so I had high hopes for this novel by the same author.
I didn't hate it, and there were many parts that I genuinely enjoyed, but overall the plotline really needed help. At times it seemed to be going nowhere, and quite frankly I got sick of Peony's obsession with a man she never knew. I found the parts about the Chinese culture's beliefs in the afterlife really interesting, so that kept me reading. I just wish the story itself had a little more depth to it.
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