Bound

About Donna Jo Napoli -She is an author of children's and young adult books -The Prince of the Pond is her most famous work, most of her works are retold fairy tales by different perspective or character for example The latter, another book of her, also revisits a fairy tale ("Hansel and Gretel). This tale is told from the point of view of the witch. - She received three degrees from Harvard University: a B.A. in Mathematics, an M.A, in Italian Literature, and a Ph.D. in General and Romance Linguistics. Before I discuss the main plot of this story, I want to tell you the original version of Cinderalla story. In original version, the stepmother cut her daughter's feet to make her feet fit for the shoes. However, Disney version of Cinderalla removed that part because it's too violent for children. The reason I'm telling this to you is because this novel is more similar to the original version than Disney version. This story is about a young girl name, Xing Xing, that lives with a stepmother and her half sister, Wei ping. The story takes place in Ming Dynasty, ancient China. During this time, the Chinese men believed the smaller feet a girl had, the more beautiful they were. So, they had a custom to bound their feet in order to prevent the feet to grow larger. During that time, women with big feet could not marry, so the stepmother forces Weiping to bound her feet, and even cut the largest toes to make it smaller. Even though Xing Xing's feet are naturally small, Xing Xing doesn't expect a marriage because she knows her stepmother will not find her a good husband. However, all of this changes as the annual festival comes and later, Xing Xing marries with Charming Prince. Fish-Xing Xing finds a white fish when Wei Ping starts her foot binding. And she believes it as her mother revived as a fish. This white fish is her friend, mother and herself. This fish enabled Xing Xing to endure her harsh life, restrain her talent and hide her beauty that will lessen Stepmother's jealousy. Xing Xing feeds it until it grows as big as her size of an arm. However, stepmother kills it to eat without asking Xing Xing. She decides to use all her intelligence and strength to revenge her stepmother. If you want me to act properly, I must do it fast," said Stepmother. "Remember the old saying: 'The eagle swoops down when the hare stirs.' You are no the first girl in China to lose a toe on a bound foot. Even without raccoon devils, it happens. And smart girls look at it as an opportunity. Let's be smart, Wei Ping; now your feet will be much smaller than we'd dared to hope." Wei Ping gave no reaction. She seemed not to understand. But Xing Xing understood perfectly. Stepmother's face appeaered transformed into a moster face twisted with mostrous idea. Stepmother turned to Xing Xing and said, "Get me the cleaver." This is stepmother talking to Weiping after a blind raccoon bited Wei Ping's toes. The feet of Wei Ping smelled awful because of her foot binding and the raccoon thought her feet was some kind of meat. I think this is an interesting passage because this one passage gives you a sense of what this story is about. Text to MeI really like to read stories that are retold, because it is interesting to compare and contrast, and it enables to see the same novel in different angles. I recommend this to people who are looking for a light reading. It's a short novel and since we all know Cinderalla story, it's like rereading a story but it's interesting and fun to read. Also, this story gives you information about Ancient China and their tradition,culture and custom. So I also recommend this book to people who want to learn about Ancient Chinese culture.
 * Title**: Bound
 * Author**: Donna Jo Napoli
 * Genre**: fiction186 pages
 * Summary**
 * Symbol**
 * Interesting passage**
 * Connection**
 * Recommendation**