There comes a time in each life when we reach a saturation point with reality. THE LOTUS SHOES is filled with extraordinary moments of cruelty and heartlessness, which is strangely at odds with our thoughts and beliefs about this group of people. These are supposedly the gentle folk: quiet, reserved, dainty, honorable, religious, and bound by a belief in righteousness. Only in our minds and learning, I guess. The world we learn about in THE LOTUS SHOES is anything but gentle. THE LOTUS SHOES, written by Jane Yang, takes place in 19th-century China during the Qing dynasty.

The two main characters are Little Flower and Linjing, her owner, so to speak. Linjing belongs to the Fong family, which is part of the so-called upper class. Little Flower was sold into servitude when she was only six years old. We learn quite a bit about the relationships among mothers, fathers, grandparents, friends, and enemies. The more frightened of losing these folk are about their station in life, the more in peril they really are, and not necessarily at the hands of others. Their lives are truly precarious. A good example is the practice of foot binding, or golden lilies. We tended to think of young Asian women as delicate, right down to their miraculously dainty feet. We never gave much thought to their ladylike shuffle. If nothing else, this novel will teach us about this rather ancient civilization, which in many ways wasn’t very civil, at least not in my mind.

There is much to digest while reading THE LOTUS SHOES. First and foremost is the hierarchy of family life. Then come the expectations placed on each woman and her owner. Yes, I did use the word "owners". There was little if any freedom in this world of men, women, sons, daughters, and slaves. Sons were revered. Daughters brought respect. And wives were plentiful.

The absolute rigidity of one’s place in society was truly astounding and not to be trifled with. Trying to escape one’s destiny was futile.

Truly, this was the most uncivilized civilization ever imagined. And the author surely did her research to unearth some of the most barbaric events. What hit me when reading THE LOTUS SHOES is how unfair so many traditions and customs can be, especially in how they treated the women in their society. It makes you wonder about other, more current societies where women rank below men, except for their ability to produce sons. Both female leads in this story go through myriad changes in their lives and status. Their roles shift: servant, co-conspirator, something like a friend, confidante, and betrayer. I’m not sure whether I’ve listed them all, but you get the picture.