Peony In Love by Lisa See

I was very disappointed in this book.  I loved Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, by the same author.  I almost stopped reading it several times.  But when I read in the Author's Note that many of the events in the book were based in fact, I decided to finish it.  It was set in 17th century China after the fall of the Ming dynasty and Manchu invaders established the Qing dynasty.  I usually enjoy reading about other cultures and time periods, but I couldn't relate to the story at all.  Especially the main character, who became lovesick after meeting a man for a brief time 3 evenings in a row and then starved herself to death.  While it seemed improbable, evidently many young girls did exactly that in 17th century China.  We think of anorexia as a modern aberration, but evidently not.