Peony in Love by Lisa See

Set in 17th-century China, this coming-of-age story, is part ghost story, family saga but also a work of musical and social history. The story is told by Peony, the 15-year-old daughter of the wealthy Chen family, as she approaches an arranged marriage, she commits an unthinkable breach of etiquette when she accidentally comes upon a man who has entered the family garden. Unusually for a girl of her time, Peony has been educated and revels in studying The Peony Pavilion, a real opera published in 1598, as the repercussions of the meeting unfold.

Peony's life mirrors that of the opera, and eternal themes abound: an intelligent girl chafing against the restrictions of expected behavior; fiction's educative powers; the rocky path of love between lovers and in families. It figures into the plot that generations of young Chinese women, known as the lovesick maidens, became obsessed with The Peony Pavilion, and, in a Werther-like passion, many starved themselves to death. You really see how life was during that time as the story offers meticulous depiction of women's roles in Qing and Ming dynasty China (including horrifying foot-binding scenes) and vivid descriptions of daily Qing life, festivals and rituals.

The story takes place over a span of almost 30 years as we see Peony become a hungry ghost and deal with the loss of her life and love of her family and the life she never got to have. So she tries to live life through the living as she follows the man she was supposed to marry. But until her tablet is dotted she will never be able to venture on. Women are punished during life and after life for not conforming to what is expected of them.

A truly intriguing story as it really is about a time period I have little knowledge or read about it. Plus it was interesting to discover how much women of that time were involved with literature and the arts. This is not a light summer read but a though provoking story. I need to read more by Lisa See.