With the same narrative skills and evocative powers that made her first novel, The Joy Luck Club, a national bestseller, Tan now tells the story of Winnie Louie, an aging Chinese woman unfolding a life’s worth of secrets to her suspicious, Americanized daughter.
Lovely Asian American fusion. I could taste the food and listen to the arguments as if they were in my own home.
A rich history of a Chinese family saga before and during WW2. Emphatic and sometimes humorous
Enjoyed it very much…read it long ago.
I LOVE Amy Tan. I don’t think I’ve read any book by her that I did not completely enjoy! I certainly miss her writing – she now has MS I believe. 🙁
one of her best books. No one captures Asian-American cultural interface as well
One of the first of Tan’s books and I loved it. Fascinated by Hines culture and history.
Uniquely written from the perspective of two separate characters. This story is deeply touching and unforgettable.
One of my all time favorite authors and stories.
Love Amy Tan!
A great book. So much history that I would never know about unless I read about it on such a wonderful way. I love learning about other parts of the world and other cultures. This is an easy way to get a glimpse into another time and place.
Culturally insightful
Some have called The Kitchen God’s Wife “ a Chinese Gone With the Wind”. This novel is one of my all-time favorites. When it came out, it was on the best-seller list for 38 weeks.
I read this book when I was 15. This book left me raw and ashamed because I was not yet exposed to the explicit and vivid descriptions of adult world. I felt pity toward the Mother, having lived a life of the Kitchen God’s Wife. This type of people actually do exist in real world and I’ve witnessed and seen many without being able to lend them a helping hand. This book is an emblem of a story of victims getting yet again victimized by their helpless state of being and the aftermath of abuse.
Amy Tan’s best book. I couldn’t put it down. Read it when it first came out, and I need to buy the digital version and reread it soon..
After recently finishing ‘The Joy Luck Club”, I was excited to start reading “the Kitchen God’s Wife”, which received many rave reviews. This is a story about a Chinese born mother and her American born daughter. For me the beginning chapters and ending chapter were the most poignant parts of this book. The remainder, some 300+ pages, told the story of Winnie and her friend Helen before, during, and after World War II. Mostly this is Winnie’s saga and what she had to endure growing up in China, the daughter of a second ‘second’ concubine in a wealthy family until her mother leaves her. I learned a great deal about the lives of Chinese people, their ideas about life, and their superstitions. It actually made me understand my husband’s family more as most of his older family members as well as his mom were born and raised in China.
However, as good as the writing is and as fine a storyteller Tan is, the book just lagged. There was far too much detail and repetitive information. There were several unexpected twists and turns and secrets revealed, but were not enough to sustain my full interest and I found my speed reading through much of Tan’s prose.
The writing was excellent, the story had great potential, if only Tan had consolidated some of her writing, the story-line would have flowed with greater strength and reader interest. “The Kitchen God’s Wife” is a good book, particularly if you are not familiar with Chinese customs and collectivist cultures. Just dig in and be prepared for a weighty read.
Always loved Amy Tan’s books and this was no exception. Great writer of the Asian culture.
Well written!! Great story
Moved so slow. Don’t know if I will finish it or just put it back on the shelf.
It took a long time to get interesting and went slow for me until about half way through, then I didn’t want to put it down. It was a view for me of the Chinese way of thinking. Very different.
I could visualize the scenery and characters in these intriguing novel. I found it hard to put down !