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Lady Tan's Circle of Women by Lisa See Book Review

Reasons For Reading This Book:

Lady Tan's Circle of Women by Lisa See was Jackie’s choice for The Readheads Podcast Book Club for June 2024. I read and reviewed this at that time. I was extremely excited to read this book because I am in a phase right now where I want to read books that do not relate to present time. I want reading to be my escape from my reality. This book was perfect for that because it was set in ancient China and involved a lot of learning about ancient China and Chinese medicine which is something I knew little about before reading this book. To say I was excited to read this book would be an understatement.

 

Content of This Book:

According to Confucius, “an educated woman is a worthless woman,” but Tan Yunxian—born into an elite family, yet haunted by death, separations, and loneliness—is being raised by her grandparents to be of use. Her grandmother is one of only a handful of female doctors in China, and she teaches Yunxian the pillars of Chinese medicine, the Four Examinations—looking, listening, touching, and asking—something a man can never do with a female patient. From a young age, Yunxian learns about women’s illnesses, many of which relate to childbearing, alongside a young midwife-in-training, Meiling. The two girls find fast friendship and a mutual purpose—despite the prohibition that a doctor should never touch blood while a midwife comes in frequent contact with it—and they vow to be forever friends, sharing in each other’s joys and struggles. But when Yunxian is sent into an arranged marriage, her mother-in-law forbids her from seeing Meiling and from using her medical knowledge to help the women and girls in the household. Yunxian is to act like a proper wife and stay forever within the walls of the family compound. With the desire to do more than run a household. Yunxian pushes the boundary of staying within society's expectations but also practicing medicine and helping the women. This is a story of family, friendship and finding yourself within a dynast. 

What I Like About This Book:

As already mentioned I was really excited to transport myself into ancient China and learn about Chinese medicine. Something I appreciate that the author did was organize/spend the amount of time that they did on each section of the plot. Each section for Yunxian’s life detailed the specifics of what a female in that age group is required to do per Chinese society. The author spent just the right amount of time on each age group of her life. I had learned about foot binding in school, but was reminded of its importance and the process of it in this book. I also learned about the process of a female getting married and leaving their family. Something that really intrigued me was learning about the concubines and the family structure’s within a household. When it comes to the plot there were different parts of the plot that interested me more at different parts of the book. At times I was more invested in Yunxian’s personal life while at other times I was more invested in the lives’ of the other characters. Something that consistently kept me invested and wanting to learn more and more was about the Chinese medicine treatments and ways to make a diagnosis. The author had the perfect mix of Yunxian’s patient's cases, her personal life, and her involvement in the lives’ of those around her. As thought of by myself and reaffirmed in this book’s podcast episode, I was always expecting something terrible to happen at any moment.

 

What I Disliked About This Book:

At times I felt as though the author slipped into modern language. This is something I picked up on but the Readhead’s did not. One specific instance I can think of is “So, there’s that.” This was not a constant issue but it did come up at times. Overall I really enjoyed this book as it satisfied my need to get away from reality and it lead to an entertaining discussion between the podcast hosts. I will say I have thought about this book since finishing it, but do not see that lasting forever.

 

Would I Recommend This Book?

I would recommend this book to a lot of different readers. I would first recommend it to readers of literary and historic novels. But I can also see readers with other interests liking it as well. There is something in it that all readers will enjoy and most certainly learn a lot about Chinese medicine and society.


Check out my book reviews for 2024!!


Check out my book reviews for 2023!!

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