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A review by bookishevy
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I watched the film adaptation of this book when I was 15 and didn't find out it was a book until a decade later, so it's been on my TBR for a while.
Four Chinese women who immigrated to San Francisco have been meeting weekly since 1949 to play mahjong and tell stories of their lives in China and what led to them leaving their home. They call themselves the Joy Luck Club.
This is a story about four women and their four daughters. The women tell about their pasts and their hopes for their daughters' futures. The relationship between a mother and daughter is intricate, but it's even more so when the mother is an immigrant raising an American daughter. The younger women have no idea the types of lives their mothers led in China. Secrets are revealed.
From the daughers' perspectives, it's clear they're more American than Chinese, but their mothers are unwilling to accept their American mentalities.There is this struggle between the American and Chinese identities. The daughters don't think their mothers know anything while the mothers think they know everything while also dealing with their anxiety around not being good enough.
Through storytelling, they warn their daughters against making the mistakes they made so they can be more successful. Storytelling also instills their legacy. The stories cover topics like Chinese mythology and the horrors of the Sino-Japanese War, like having to leave loved ones behind, the things they had to do to survive, including honoring their parents and doing what was expected of them as young Chinese women. They expect their daughters to make the same sacrifices they made, but their daughters are American. They have choices and times have changed.
The mothers reminisce about a China of the past. 1980s China is becoming Americanized, as one of the daughters realizes on a trip. And I laughed when one of the mothers realizes she's viewed as an American tourist on her own trip back home.
I absolutely loved this book. Now I have to re-watch the film.
Four Chinese women who immigrated to San Francisco have been meeting weekly since 1949 to play mahjong and tell stories of their lives in China and what led to them leaving their home. They call themselves the Joy Luck Club.
This is a story about four women and their four daughters. The women tell about their pasts and their hopes for their daughters' futures. The relationship between a mother and daughter is intricate, but it's even more so when the mother is an immigrant raising an American daughter. The younger women have no idea the types of lives their mothers led in China. Secrets are revealed.
From the daughers' perspectives, it's clear they're more American than Chinese, but their mothers are unwilling to accept their American mentalities.There is this struggle between the American and Chinese identities. The daughters don't think their mothers know anything while the mothers think they know everything while also dealing with their anxiety around not being good enough.
Through storytelling, they warn their daughters against making the mistakes they made so they can be more successful. Storytelling also instills their legacy. The stories cover topics like Chinese mythology and the horrors of the Sino-Japanese War, like having to leave loved ones behind, the things they had to do to survive, including honoring their parents and doing what was expected of them as young Chinese women. They expect their daughters to make the same sacrifices they made, but their daughters are American. They have choices and times have changed.
The mothers reminisce about a China of the past. 1980s China is becoming Americanized, as one of the daughters realizes on a trip. And I laughed when one of the mothers realizes she's viewed as an American tourist on her own trip back home.
I absolutely loved this book. Now I have to re-watch the film.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Rape, and War