In THE LOTUS SHOES, an engrossing novel of old China set in the late 1800s, Jane Yang recounts the sometimes-tragic lives of girls and women at a time when females were undervalued. Little Flower's father died when she was six, and her mother was forced to sell her as a slave to a wealthy family so that her brother wouldn’t starve to death. She was to be a maidservant to Linjing, the daughter of the family, who was the same age as her.

At that time in China, upper-class women had their feet bound at an early age so that their feet would be tiny. Girls with big feet were considered peasants, low class and unable to marry anyone but another peasant. Having tiny feet was considered a sign of good taste, intelligence and a fine upbringing. So when Linjing's father asks that her feet not be bound, it's because he wants her to be betrothed to a boy whose father is looking for a girl with unbound feet. This man is an important politician, and he's had business dealings with Westerners who thought feet-binding was primitive.

"[T]he novel as a whole is breathtakingly powerful. The images of old China and the cruel culture of abusing women are concepts that will remain on readers' minds long after the book is back on the shelf."

But no upper-class family would agree not to bind their daughter's feet because of the insidiousness of the tradition. Linjing's father convinces her mother, Lady Fong, to agree, but Linjing is devastated. This spoiled child is furious that Little Flower has bound feet and insists that her feet be unbound. Little Flower's mother had drilled into her that under no circumstances should she quit binding her feet, and she instilled in her the importance of having bound feet in order to make a good marriage. Even as a slave, when she turned 18, Lady Fong had agreed to find Little Flower a husband.

Linjing gets her way, and Little Flower's feet are unbound, leaving her not only with big feet, but with feet that are horribly deformed from two years of binding. She is also terribly jealous of Little Flower's incredible talent for embroidery. Linjing is color blind, and while it's no fault of hers, she's chastised and ridiculed for her inability to create beautiful images with silk thread. Little Flower's skills are unsurpassed, and in a culture that believes only those with "lotus" feet --- tiny bound feet --- have the delicate and superior capability of creating lovely embroidery, that makes her special.

The book is both touching and incredibly difficult to read as we witness, through Yang's evocative, descriptive narrative, the deprivations and privations that Little Flower undergoes. The treatment of women as a whole is appalling, as is the complete lack of compassion and kindness we see in the matriarch of the Fong family, who rules with an iron fist. All live in fear of her. Her son's first wife and his minor wives are forced to do her bidding in an effort to keep her from punishing them.

On a grander scale, we learn about the fragility of a woman's existence in China at that time. Females had no rights, and even those from a good family would only gain power by becoming a first wife and then the mother of a son. If a woman could not produce a son, she could be divorced and left to die in the streets.

THE LOTUS SHOES focuses on the relationship between Linjing and Little Flower as their fates become entwined. Little Flower is determined to free herself from slavery, and Linjing wants to deny Little Flower her freedom. Both have strong personalities, but because of her status, Linjing has more power. The story is engrossing, and we come to care about Little Flower as she is dealt one blow after another. Her determination and intellect serve her well, but one girl cannot stand against an intransigent culture like that of China at that time.

Is the ending a bit too pat? Perhaps. But that's a negligible criticism when the novel as a whole is breathtakingly powerful. The images of old China and the cruel culture of abusing women are concepts that will remain on readers' minds long after the book is back on the shelf. I have been to China, and there is much beauty there, but I wish I had read more books like this one before my visit. It would have made me more aware of the horrors that women endured just 100 years ago.