I'm sure I wrote a review for this book too, at one point.... I have no idea where it's hanging out! I liked this --- and I still remember it but I'm generally not a huge fan of books dealing with the afterlife.... but this was done really well. It's not a STRONG 5 star read - but it's close IMO .... you certainly learn about another aspect of this culture.4.5 rating - round up to 5 stars

Set in 17th-century China, See’s fifth novel is a coming-of-age story, a ghost story, a family saga and a work of musical and social history. As Peony, the 15-year-old daughter of the wealthy Chen family, 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 r...

This book is amazing!!! It is beautifully written (lovely descriptions and intricate details), well researched, and unbelievably touching. There were moments where I feel I can't read anymore because I am so overwhelmed with emotion, but I can never put the book down for any real length of time. I have become completely engrossed. The summary of the book is a little misleading. It describes the book as a love story. I do not find it to be one. Peony in Love is a romantic and tragic story. Love p...

This book sucked....it was trying too hard to be existential and had wierd poetry and the story went nowhere, but pretended that it would.

Occasionally, rarely, I read a book after which I need to take a few days to come up for air, so to speak. A book that moves me so deeply and which leaves me thinking ...and thinking. Peony in Love is just such a book. A true work of art. Amazing, beginning to end. As I told a friend, I CARED so much about what was happening with the characters, I was literally losing sleep. I wish I could add an extra star to my rating - this is a six-star novel. Kudos to Lisa See for knocking another one out o...

Peony is a 15-year-old girl in Manchu China who falls in love with the opera The Peony Pavilion, a love story in which the ghost of a girl is brought back to life by the man she loves. Peony's father hosts a production of the opera (which Peony assumes is for her, rather than to impress the powerful men that her father has visiting), and Peony meets a young man three nights in a row. She falls in love with him, but at the end of the third night they know they both must go on to their arranged ma...

I just didn't like this book (though I did like Snow Flower and the Secret Fan). To be fair, I didn't expect to like Peony, but one of the reviews said it "belonged in my beach bag,' which sounded like what I was after at the time. I just couldn't get into it. I think because there's SO much exposition of this Chinese opera in the background, and too little (for me anyway) about the main characters. it's also one of these books where everything is set in motion by a COMPLETELY AVOIDABLE misunder...

3 out of 5 stars to Lisa See's Peony in Love, a historical fiction book released in 2007 by Random House set in 17th century China. Why This Book I found it sitting on a bookshelf in my condo's laundry room. I read the jacket description, which sounded like a beautiful tale of love, emotions and a little bit of history. I brought it home with me that afternoon, knowing it would come in handy. And when I finished up a few ARCs, I needed a different kind of book; I saw this on my own she...

I've seen a handful of people say this book felt juvenile or less mature than Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, but I didn't think so at all. The plot was a bit more simplistic, sure, but this book is dark. The novel deals with many of the same themes Lisa See's writing typically does: arranged marriages, the role of women in the Qing dynasty, traditional Chinese culture, and relationships between women. The difference is that the protagonist, Peony, is dead for most of the novel.The peony flower

The first time I had contact with this book, was by listening to it on my way to work. As soon as it was done, I ran out and bought the book. I just *needed* to view the words that I had heard on the audiobook. As soon as I finished reading the last page, I turned to page 1 and started over again. This is the first and only time that I have ever done that. This is one of my all time favorite books, and I keep a copy beside my bed, so it is never far from my mind...

Lisa See's writing is beautiful, and I understand this book is supposed to be about the women of China who wanted their voices to be heard. But what I found really fascinating about it was the descriptions of Chinese rituals and superstitions, and learning what the Chinese thought about death. The descriptions were so vivid to me that I felt like I could really see the pavilions, the plum tree, the Viewing Terrace. There were so many sentences that made me reflect about life in general. "My hear...

A friend recommended I read this book, possibly because she knows I am interested in Chinese history. I did skip right through it so that I could talk to her about it. Syrupy romances and ghost stories are way out of my reading range. But the depictions of the lives and values of wealthy Chinese families, especially this female view, are fascinating if horrifying. Almost every day I am consciously aware of how fortunate I am to be a woman in a society like Australia, where women are still not eq...

I really enjoyed reading Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. Peony in Love has a few of the same elements but is, nicely, a different novel. Peony is the only child of a wealthy couple who experienced some hard times during the Manchu raids. Peony, encouraged by her father, loves to read. She reads extensively but her favorite work is the Peony Pavilion--an opera. Her father stages the opera at her home and the women are allowed to watch through a screen. Peony meets a boy, falls in love, and begins...

Audiobook Review.I've never read or listened to anything by Lisa See, so this was my first for one of my club's challenge. The story is set in Manchu, China and it is of a girl named Peony who is now of marriagable age. She is 15-years old and is fascinated and in love with the opera, The Peony Pavilion. This opera happens to be hosted by her father and is about a ghost of a girl who is brought back to life by the man she loves. Peony believes it is for her rather than the elite group of men vis...