In 19th century China, two girls sign a contract, vowing to be friends forever. One is a low born girl on her way up in social standing, while the other girl moves in the opposite direction. 
 The story is brutal. From the very beginning, with its graphic and squirm-inducing descriptions of foot-binding, the narrative winds through a woman's life as she tries to negotiate the competing needs of her friendship and her duty. 
 Some reviewers on GoodReads complained that the story is very "small." And it's true, it's a story that is firmly fixed in the women's sphere. It tells of a friendship between two women, of learning to deal with their mothers-in-law, of having children, of losing children. It's certainly no epic. But at the same time, it was good to read a story with a female protagonist who struggles to make her way in her female sphere without longing to be a man. 
 Never does Lily desire to leave her little women's room, never does she take an interest in politics, never does she care about what goes on beyond her room's lattice windows. The "adventure" of the story is entirely wrapped in Lily's place as a woman. 
 I found it to be well-written, thought-provoking, interesting, and entirely heartbreaking. I don't mind admitting that I was pretty sniffly for the last 40 pages or so.