“The Joy Luck Club is one of my favorite books. From the moment I first started reading it, I knew it was going to be incredible. For me, it was one of those once-in-a-lifetime reading experiences that you cherish forever. It inspired me as a writer and still remains hugely inspirational.” —Kevin Kwan, author of Crazy Rich AsiansAmy Tan’s beloved, New York Times bestselling tale of mothers and … York Times bestselling tale of mothers and daughters, now the focus of a new documentary Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir on Netflix
Four mothers, four daughters, four families whose histories shift with the four winds depending on who’s “saying” the stories. In 1949 four Chinese women, recent immigrants to San Francisco, begin meeting to eat dim sum, play mahjong, and talk. United in shared unspeakable loss and hope, they call themselves the Joy Luck Club. Rather than sink into tragedy, they choose to gather to raise their spirits and money. “To despair was to wish back for something already lost. Or to prolong what was already unbearable.” Forty years later the stories and history continue.
With wit and sensitivity, Amy Tan examines the sometimes painful, often tender, and always deep connection between mothers and daughters. As each woman reveals her secrets, trying to unravel the truth about her life, the strings become more tangled, more entwined. Mothers boast or despair over daughters, and daughters roll their eyes even as they feel the inextricable tightening of their matriarchal ties. Tan is an astute storyteller, enticing readers to immerse themselves into these lives of complexity and mystery.
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I read this along time ago and I’ve read all of Amy Tans books since. This is a wonderful story about a couple of Chinese American famalies that spans yrs. You also get a lesson in Chinese culture.
One of my favorite books ever. The imagery that Amy Tam created with her beautifully written descriptions brought the pages alive.
Culturally insightful
I return to this book (and movie) every few years. So many people I just can’t let go of. . .
After all the hype, I was disappointed.
A shame children are subjected to such misinformation. No wonder adults are so mixed up.
Loved it
I really enjoyed this book and the writing style of Amy Tan. Every character had an inspirational story that kept me turning pages.
Amy Tan at her finest!
I have read this book many times and have new insights each time.
This book tracks the lives of several mother-daughter combinations and the impact the mother’s lives in China had on their American-born daughters lives in America. I enjoyed it.
I really enjoyed the way Tan presented the history of each character.
This is a great book to you should read the short story Two Kinds!
Amazing story telling and a wonderful insight into another culture, the complicated journey that immigrants go through and the richness they bring with them into the new place. Also, a wonderful look at the layered relationship between mother and daughter, and a reminder that we can always learn something new about someone we love. All in one beautifully crafted book.
Interactions between characters in hopeful. Character development is strong
It’s been so long ago that I read it. I don’t remember it very well other than, because it was so excellent, that I must read it again.
I loved the audio!
I was given this book many moons ago by a friend who thought I would identify with the characters and develop a greater understanding of my husband and his parents. At the time, the book hit too close to home – my challenges with my in-laws in trying to remain true to myself and to please them by embracing their culture and customs was daunting. My life was so intertwined with this book that I only made it through a few chapters.
Last week I picked this book off my book shelf. What a difference a few decades makes. I flew through this book! I enjoyed the stories of the 4 families, the style of Tan’s writing, and embraced her characters. My husband and his sister are first generation Americans and in order to survive in an American environment with a somewhat traditional Chinese upbringing, their lives were very complicated to say the least. Tan, with her insight and ability to pen a poignant story provided me with greater insight as to what my husband and his sister had to endure growing up with American and Chinese friends juxtaposed to their traditional Chinese upbringing.
When reading some recent reviews, I was surprised at the number of people who were easily lost in keeping track of characters and the manner in which Tan wrote her book dividing the book into four reflective segments that alternated between moms and their daughters. I was a bit flummoxed by these comments until I thought back to my first years as an American suddenly immersed in Chinese-American culture. Without a reference point to the culture I was reared in, I was easily lost in conversation, could not remember names, compounded by the fact that many people had Chinese names, American names, as well as nicknames. Through the years I have read a number of books about Asian collectivist cultures and therein may be the issue. Without an understanding of individual and collective cultures, there is no focal point for the reader. Stymied by the vast differences from their own individualized rearing, a book such as the Joy Luck Club could be a great challenge, particularly if the reader is not engaged in the story from the beginning.
For me, the Joy Luck Club was affirming, written with warmth of understanding, and respect for its characters. A sheer delight of a read which I highly recommend.
This is one of the best, well-written books of our time. It’s even on a classics list at my daughter’s school. I can’t recommend this and other Amy Tan’s books enough. They are great.
Realistic of the times.