The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan: Ahhhhh . . . I really wanted to like this book more than I actually did. It's one of those books that I've heard about for so long from so many people that I became convinced that I should read it and was supposed to come away thinking was a really good book. But in truth, I only thought it was so-so. It took me forever to get through it - and it's a slim book at under 300 pages. Although it's classified as a novel, it felt to me more like a collection of related short stories, and it just didn't hold my interest very well. It's about four Chinese-born women and their four American-born daughters. In many ways, the themes are universal: the push and pull between mothers and daughters, the struggle for mothers and daughters to find common ground between each other while respecting their separateness. And some of the themes in the book are specific to being Chinese and Chinese-American. It's well-written, but it just didn't grab me - not until the very end.It's up for grabs - just say the word!
I've read this book multiple times, starting in 10th grade. It was also required reading in two college Lit classes that I took, as well as in a Women's Studies class. Different professors get caught up in the different themes of the book. The Asian American Identity crisis, the mother/daughter relationship, the myth of the perfect child/perfect wife, etc.
ReplyDeleteI like this book, and own my own dog-eared copy, so I don't want this one, but I did want to comment on the book itself!