Name: The Joy Luck Club
ISBN: 9781407072852

Amy Tan

‘The Joy Luck Club is an ambitious saga that’s impossible to read without wanting to call your Mum’ Stylist Discover Amy Tan’s moving and poignant tale of immigrant Chinese mothers and their American-born daughters. In 1949 four Chinese women, recent immigrants to San Francisco, meet weekly to play mahjong and tell stories of what they left behind in China. United in loss and new hope for their daughters' futures, they call themselves the Joy Luck Club. Their daughters, who have never heard these stories, think their mothers' advice is irrelevant to their modern American lives - until their own inner crises reveal how much they've unknowingly inherited of their mothers' pasts.

The Joy Luck Club

Mariah crawford

My father thinks she was killed by her own thoughts. “She has a new idea inside her head,” said my father. “But before it could come out of her mouth, the thought grew too big and burst. It must have been a very bad idea.”

Rocio

Can you imagine how it is, to want to be neither inside nor outside, to want to be now where and disappear?

‘It’s not that we had no heart or eyes for pain. We were all afraid. We all had our miseries. But to despair was to wish back for something already lost. Or to prolong what was already unbearable. How much can you wish for a favorite warm coat that hangs in the closet of a house that burned down with your mother and father inside of it?

Im scared I’ll forget my mom and dad’s stories… what will I tell my children? They’ll never know or experience my mom and dad’s love. 

‘See my sisters, tell them about my mother?’ I say, nodding. ‘What will I say? What can I tell them about my mother? I don’t know anouthing. She was my mother.’

I’m already forgetting my happy memories because it hurts so much to remember them. Will I eventually force myself to forget you? 

That is the way it is with a wound. The wound begins to close in on itself, to protect what is hurting so much. And once it is closed, you no longer see what is underneath, what started the pain

The pain of the flesh is nothing. The pain you must forget. Because sometimes that is the only way to remember what is in your bones. You must peel off your skin, and that of your mother, and her mother before her. Until there is nothing. No scar, no skin, no flesh.

I once sacrificed my life to keep my parents’ promise. This means nothing to you, because go you promises mean nothing.

I worry that someday she will say, ‘Thank you, Grandmother, for the gold bracelet. I’ll never forget you.’ But later, she will forget her promise. She will forget she had a grandmother.’

I can change but I’ll always be me. My genuine heart will always belong to me. No matter what happens, as long as I am true to me and my feelings, I will be okay.

A person has very strange thoughts when it seems that life is about to end.

I asked myself, What is true about a person? Would o change in the same way the river changes color but still be the same person?

And then I realized it was the first time I could see power of the wind.

I was strong. I was pure. I had genuine thoughts inside that no one could see, that no one could ever take away from me. I was like the wind.

I was no longer scared. I could see what was inside me.

2023 was both for me: unseen and then seen, just to be forgotten and hated 

For all these years I kept my mouth closed so selfish desires would not fall out. And because I remained quiet for so long now my daughter does not hear me.

We are lost, she and I, unseen and not seeing, unheard and not hearing, unknown by others.

I did not lose myself all at once. I rubbed out my face over the years washing away my pain, the same way carvings on stone are worn down by water.

… for this was her fate: to stay lost on the moon, forever seeking her own selfish wishes.

I did not understand her entire story, I understood her grief. In one small moment, we had both lost the world, and there was no way to get it back.

And so even though I was found… I never believed my family found the same girl.

Her wish was to be found. And she was. But she wasn’t the same person anymore. In those few hours I had turned into a scared, guilt-ridden and suicidal person. I want to be found again. I want him to see me again, as the person I truly am, but for what, I’m not the same person he met before… but I still want to be found. My family sees me but I’m not the same anymore.

I remember everything that happened that day because it had happened many times in my life. The same innocence, trust, and restlessness, the wonder, fear, and loneliness. How I lost myself.

Why do our parents hide what they’ve gone through? Would I know about these things now, had they been alive?

I could sense the unspoken terrors that surrounded our house, the ones that chased my mother until she hid in a secret dark corner of her mind. And still they found her. I watched, over the years, as they devoured her, piece by piece, until she disappeared and became a ghost.

She didn’t seem like a girl who had been killed a hundred times. I saw no traces of blood-stained clothes… in fact, as I watched her, she seemed quite happy… I would pretend to look down… guilty that I knew everything about her.

I saw a girl complaining that the pain of not being seen was unbearable.

‘Now I have perfect understanding. I have already experienced the worst. After this, there is no worst possible thing.’

With imagined traders hovering over us, we became inseparable, two halves creating the whole: yin and yang.

The emotional effect of saving and being saved was addicting to both of us.

“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 Asians Amy Tan’s beloved, New York Times bestselling tale of mothers and daughters 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.

A Novel

Cassandra Tang

I read this in college. It was one of the extra readings for the final exam, I chose this, and I have never regretted that decision.

This was still so good. I really adore the whole story. It is a page-turning and engaging from the first chapter story about an immigrant female group of friends and their daughters.

Each story was somehow equally funny and tragic, and I  really have to check more stories from this author.

I read this in college. It was one of the extra readings for the final exam, I chose this, and I have never regretted that decision.

This was still so good. I really adore the whole story. It is a page-turning and engaging from the first chapter story about an immigrant female group of friends and their daughters.

Each story was somehow equally funny and tragic, and I  really have to check more stories from this author.

Tragic but also beautiful and meaningful stories of mothers and daughters of chinese heritage.

My personal favourite stories were the ones of Jing-Mei Woo and her daughter Suyuan Woo (I got emotional at the reunion).

And An-mei Hsu with her daughter Rose Hsu Jordan.

Nina May

Tragic but also beautiful and meaningful stories of mothers and daughters of chinese heritage.

My personal favourite stories were the ones of Jing-Mei Woo and her daughter Suyuan Woo (I got emotional at the reunion).

And An-mei Hsu with her daughter Rose Hsu Jordan.

Monicap

I found the mother's stories particularly compelling, as I enjoyed the historicity of the characters from a history markedly different from what I learned in school, but I wish that maybe instead of including dozens of vignettes, Tan would have chosen one of the stories and followed it.

Jackie Lu

** spoiler alert **
           I thought the story itself was so-so, I really liked the dual perspectives and could align myself with many parts. I didn’t like the overall negativity of the stories, it had a very pessimistic tone to it and I wish Amy Tan explored more of the positive sides of these relationships. But I think thats also the beauty of this book and the message she is trying to send. The relationship between myself and my own mother is so negative and complicated. The Joy Luck Club actually does a fantastic job at portraying this complicated relationship because often, there really aren’t many positives. The last chapter made me cry so hard, I didn’t expect myself to cry but i was bawling throughout the chapter. Beautiful ending.

Encompassing two generations and a rich blend of Chinese and American history, the story of four struggling, strong women also reveals their daughter's memories and feelings.

Annika Arguemore

despite the superstition and stuff, this book was and is a great read. it emanates a lot of culture, Chinese culture, to be exact. and shows the importance of the relationships of mothers and dauguters.

★★★★★ // powerful, and filled with wisdom. deep-rooted in culture, and took my heart completely by the end. favorite chapter: moon lady.

do not show this book to a girl with mother issues she will cry repeatedly!!! there was something in nearly every page that tore my heart open (also the movie is a surprisingly good adaptation)

Encompassing two generations and a rich blend of Chinese and American history, the story of four struggling, strong women also reveals their daughters' memories and feelings

kesha

who is going to tell me stories that make me softly weep to sleep every night now that i'm at this close

In 1949, four Chinese women--drawn together by the shadow of their past--begin meeting in San Francisco to play mah jong, invest in stocks and "say" stories. They call their gathering the Joy Luck Club--and forge a relationship that binds them for more than three decades. A celebrated novel in the tradition of Alice Adams and Margaret Atwood from the bestselling author of The Kitchen God's Wife.

heather

4.5 ⭐️

Feathers From A Thousand Li Way and The Twenty-Six Malignant Gates were my two most favourite chapters ;-;

"And I think now that fate is shaped half by expectation, half by inattention. But somehow, when you lose something you love, faith takes over. You have to pay attention to what you lost. You have to undo the expectation."

Ayden

It’s a hard book to rate because despite the fact that I really enjoyed the writing and getting to know the culture
They’re we’re too many points of view for such a short book and the story felt unresolved though I understood what Amy was trying to show with the mother daughter relationship and the differences of American Chinese culture

Vivian

Cassidy C

The book was really slow for me and it just dragged on in snippets of boring for a lot of the book. I don't think I would have ever read this if it wasn't for school. It just wasn't really interesting to me.

Kelsi Proulx

I was disappointed with this one. I expected to like it because I really enjoyed the movie. I found the book difficult to get through though. The characters were not defined very well, I felt like they all spoke with the same voice. Since the chapters were all from a different characters point of view I found it really hard to wrap my head around. I felt very little difference in the characters tone and word choice so kept having to go back to previous chapters from that characters point of view to remind myself who they were and what their previous experiences were. 

I also expected more of a connection between the characters. Other than the first chapter and the last couple of chapters the book basically concentrated on individual characters with little to no crossover. Definitely not one of my favorites: 2.5 stars.

Maria

можно ко многому придраться в этой книге - лоскутное повествование, слишком похожие персонажи - но не хочется. всё время думала о том, что китай - это такая тысячелетняя антиутопия, только там личность приносится в жертву не обществу, а семье. человека в этой структуре нет, есть семейная собственность, и это не менее жутко, чем винтики в государственной машине.

Toni Turner

Will I ever stop crying about this? I guess only time will tell.

Omar

Reading this book was a great treat. How human and deeply touching these Chinese mother and Chinese American daughter stories were.

Sofia Diaz

Laurel Ann Smith

This is a book that deserves a reread. Not because it's fun or I miss the characters, but because I know there is so much more I could get out of it from wading through the richness. Really incredible.

Jade Flynn

Four mothers, four daughters, eight heartwarming and equally heartbreaking lives.

Meri Lancis

I cannot speak from a Chinese perspective and I don’t know if this book shows the culture perfectly. But I cried at the end and I loved the mother-daughter relationship dynamics. 🥰

Jeni Enjaian

I'm not sure why I've never read this book before now. It has all the hallmarks of some of my favorite books.

This book fascinated me from the moment I started reading. (If I could give half stars I would give this book 4.5.) I could barely stand to put it down.

There's something about Chinese imagery that is so vivid, so unlike anything normally encountered that packs a literary punch. The descriptions (given by both mothers and daughters) were spot on but so unusual as to make a lasting impression.

However, there were two reasons why I did not give this book five stars. The first is the narration choice. I understand why Amy Tan did that. This wasn't the story of one woman; it was the story of the Joy Luck Club. I found myself getting confused as the chapters switched as to which character the stories belonged too, though this lessened as the book progressed and I became more familiar with the names. This detractor is obviously my fault. I should have paid more attention in the beginning.

The other reason is the sadness, the overwhelming sadness that pervaded almost the entire book. All these stories felt so depressing, especially that of An-Mei. Perhaps this is why I felt so uplifted at the end with the conclusion to June's story. It felt happy, so different from the rest.

I can certainly see why this is a goodreads 100 book.

Leelynn Brady

Find this review and more on my blog Sometimes Leelynn Reads.


  “And then it occurs to me. They are frightened. In me, they see their own daughters, just as ignorant, just as unmindful of all the truths and hopes they have brought to America. They see daughters who grow impatient when their mothers talk in Chinese, who think they are stupid when they explain things in fractured English. They see that joy and luck do not mean the same to their daughters, that to these closed American-born minds "joy luck" is not a word, it does not exist. They see daughters who will bear grandchildren born without any connecting hope passed from generation to generation.”


This is actually a reread for me, and I was lucky enough to read this for one of my book clubs: Young Women who Book Hampton Roads. If you're on Facebook and in the Hampton Roads area, check them out and come to our next meeting!

This book is one of the best books about mother-daughter relationships that I've ever read. In this book, it is the relationship between four mothers from mainland China, forced to come to the United States after a devastating war that took away everything they held dear, and their four daughters born in America. While all eight women are Chinese and are close to one another in their lives, they all have their own personalities, strengths, and weaknesses that make them into one complete family.

Each of the mothers - Suyuan, An-Mei, Lindo, and Ying-Ying - have colored and heartbreaking pasts that shaped the type of women they came to be. Everything that we find out about them in this book shows us how these events made them into the mothers they are today, and why they decided to raise their daughters the way they did. The only one that doesn't get to tell her own story in the traditional sense is Suyuan because she died before the book began.

The daughters - June, Lina, Waverly, and Rose - reminisce about what it was like growing up as a Chinese-American woman, and let us into their lives as adults. While their troubles are not as extreme or dangerous as what their mothers went through, they are still learning how to be Chinese women in an American world. Even though they were born in America, they are still taught Chinese values and it is up to them whether or not they choose to continue following them.


  “A girl is like a young tree, she said. You must stand tall and listen to your mother standing next to you. That is the only way to grow strong and straight. But if you bend to listen to other people, you will grow crooked and weak. You will fall to the ground with the first strong wind. And then you will be like a weed, growing wild in any direction, running along the ground until someone pulls you out and throws you away. ” 


I absolutely love this book no matter how many times I read it. In each woman, I can see elements of myself, my mother, and my grandmother. My mom and grandma are both strong women that have gone through so much heartache and pain and only came out stronger in the end. I can only wish that I can have even a part of their strength. I think every single person should read this book, even if you aren't part Chinese, even if you aren't a woman. I think everyone can appreciate this book and find some strength in it.

The Joy Luck Club

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