Blog Tour} The Lotus Shoes by. Jane Yang | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Title: The Lotus Shoes

Author: Jane Yang

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 368

Publication Date: 1/7/25

BUY HERE: HarperCollins | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop.org

Publisher: Park Row

Categories: Historical Fiction, Foot-Binding

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Park Row for giving me a chance to read this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

A muizai is a mistress’s shadow. You are there to do her bidding…

19th Century China. Tightly bound feet, or “golden lilies,” are the mark of an honorable woman. When Little Flower is sold as a maidservant to Linjing, a daughter of the prominent Fong family, she clings to the hope that her golden lilies will someday lead her out of a life of slavery.

Not only does Little Flower have bound feet—uncommon for a muizai—but she is gifted at embroidery, a skill associated with women of fortune. Resentful of her talents, Linjing does everything in her power to prevent Little Flower from escaping. But when scandal strikes the Fongs, both women are cast out to the Celibate Sisterhood, where Little Flower’s talents catch the eye of a nobleman, threatening not only her improved status, but her life—the Sisterhood punishes disobedience with death. And if Linjing finds out, will she sabotage Little Flower to reclaim her power, or will she protect her?

Richly atmospheric and profoundly moving, The Lotus Shoes is an empowering tale of two women from opposite sides of society, and their extraordinary journey of sisterhood, betrayal, love and triumph.

Content Warning: self-harm, violence, abuse, slavery, punishment

In college I wrote a research paper on Chinese foot-binding for my Intro to Asian History class so when I was offered this book to read for a blog tour, I was interested to see what else I could learn.

The Lotus Shoes does not shy away from violence against women during this time period under Emperor Guangxu’s empire which was in the late 1800’s. Little Flower is a peasant girl who’s mom start to bind her feet at the young age of four. But circumstances deals Little Flower an unexpected and hard life as a slave to LinJing’s family. LinJing is an affluent daughter, but she doesn’t have bound feet or “golden lillies” because of Western influence making it’s way through China.

But foot-binding is not the only violence towards women that is portrayed in this story. The treatment of daughters, wives, and slaves is shocking especially because this idea of golden lily feet, status and elegance hides the violence happening to these women. It’s more sad when you realize it’s women committing the violence upon other women. This story also explores the importance of family, status and societal pressures. Little Flower and the other slaves try to fight against their circumstances but their punishment is so severe. As for LinJing, her circumstances are dealt a blow as well and I thought it was interesting to see the comparison of her life and Little Flower. Two girls with no real choice of their circumstances but they both choose different paths.

For the most part, the story held my attention but there were parts in the middle that I thought it was lagging. It picks up again in the second half though. I definitely gravitated towards Little Flower’s sympathetic story. Whereas, LinJing’s character was tough to like because of the way she treats Little Flower.

My Thoughts:

I was really engaged with this story even with the minor issues I had with it. Foot-binding is touched upon in this book but I think the real story is about societal pressures, and the history of what women in China had to go through to survive. I learned so much about what women in China had to go through in the past. If you like historical fiction, definitely check this one out.

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About the Author:

Jane Yang was born in the Chinese enclave of Saigon and raised in Australia where she grew up on a diet of superstition and family stories from Old China. Despite establishing a scientific career, first as a pharmacist and later in clinical research, she is still sometimes torn between modern, rational thinking and the pull of old beliefs in tales that have been passed down the family. Jane’s family tales are an inspiration for her writing. She writes stories about women in pre-Communist China, exploring power and class struggles, and sometimes with a dash of suspense, spirits and hauntings.

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