The Joy Luck Club Book Review
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ (3.75 out of 5)
At almost 40 years old, The Joy Luck Club remains a modern classic delving into the complicated relationships between the mothers and daughters of the Jong, Woo, Hsu, and St. Clair families. I began the book for my English class’ winter break assignment. It initially piqued my curiosity because I heard many raving reviews for both the novel and the movie. Amy Tan’s depiction of the immigrant experience and how culture is passed down generation to generation was very well written. The many words left unsaid between the mothers and daughters lost in translation and misunderstandings make the book full of emotion. Although the book focused on the stories of both the daughters and the mothers, I really enjoyed reading about the mothers’ pasts in China during the Sino-Japanese War. It was interesting to see how the mothers’ experiences affected their decisions and daughters throughout the book.
I’ve never been a big fan of books written from the perspectives of multiple people. When done well, it can further the plot, deepen my understanding of the characters, and overall make for an interesting read. But when poorly executed, the different narratives can become confusing and indistinguishable. For example, the book The Things She’s Seen by Ambelin and Ezekiel Kwaymullina accomplished this perfectly. There was a clear difference between the 2 characters’ chapters as one narrated in prose and the other in verse. The Joy Luck Club switches between 4 daughters and 4 mothers, 8 perspectives in total. The daughters, Waverly, June, Lena, and Rose are second-generation immigrants while their mothers, Lindo, Suyuan, Ying Ying, and An-Mei are first generation immigrants from China. However, I found myself confusing their stories and going back in the book to clarify whose chapter I was reading. The retellings of the daughters’ childhood memories were more distinct as each character had specific traits that was mentioned throughout multiple chapters, such as Waverly being a chess prodigy. On the other hand, the chapters from their adulthood became interchangeable. Specifically the chapters of Rose and Lena were indistinguishable as both were facing issues with their partners. In comparison to Waverly and June, Rose and Lena didn’t seem to play as big of a role in the story and weren’t featured in as many chapters. The mothers’ stories also had the same problem because of the similar aspects of their lives in China and San Francisco.
The Joy Luck Club began in 1949, when 4 Chinese immigrant women gathered together to find their place in San Francisco. Between sharing stories about their lives in China and playing Mahjong, the group became close friends. However, their daughters, having grown up in America, fail to recognize the importance of the lessons and culture that their mothers hope to preserve through their children. With stories from childhood and adulthood, Amy Tan tells an emotional tale of the complex relationships between mothers and daughters.
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