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.”

books that tell the story between mothers and daughters always have a place in my heart :") beautifully written novel, i wish i could reread for the first time. so delicate and complex, i adore it 

i think of my mother and all her sacrifices, her regrets - how they have been passed down, to her, and to me. at the same time, i think of the heritage she has passed down, the stories she has told me, and how important it is to cherish them. 

once i finished, i felt more understanding, thankful, and connected to myself & my family. a must read!

kyli ^^

books that tell the story between mothers and daughters always have a place in my heart :") beautifully written novel, i wish i could reread for the first time. so delicate and complex, i adore it 

i think of my mother and all her sacrifices, her regrets - how they have been passed down, to her, and to me. at the same time, i think of the heritage she has passed down, the stories she has told me, and how important it is to cherish them. 

once i finished, i felt more understanding, thankful, and connected to myself & my family. a must read!

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.

idk if it was my last brain cell struggling with reading comprehension but a lot of these POVs are very similar to each other to the point where i simply could not tell the difference. maybe that was the point? the only characters i could actually differentiate were jing-mei and waverly.

the writing was nice at some points though.

Omar Fernandez

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

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.

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.

Carolina Lopes

The writing and stories are beautiful and full of meaning, but I found the format to be very confusing - jumping from character to character and different timelines without identifying who is speaking was difficult to follow, and I think I missed a lot of the plot as a consequence.

Mina Chan

"I wanted my children to have the best combination: American circumstances and Chinese character. How could I know these two do not mix?" 

four mothers. four daughters. four histories of pain, tenderness, connection, sacrifice, and miscommunication get unraveled. mothers slowly start to share their truth and daughters try to understand (or not) of what it means to hold onto their racial character and identity, while benefiting from the circumstances of the present that their mothers never had. 

I cannot recommend this book enough to you. it is both touching, moving, and emotional all wrapped up in one big hug. 

I think of my mom. I think (in deep sadness) of my two grandmothers who have both passed away before I got the chance to truly know them. I think of my heritage, my identity, myself. 

and I have this book to thank for all these thoughts.

From A to Z, the Penguin Drop Caps series collects 26 unique hardcovers--featuring cover art by Jessica Hische It all begins with a letter. Fall in love with Penguin Drop Caps, a new series of twenty-six collectible and hardcover editions, each with a type cover showcasing a gorgeously illustrated letter of the alphabet. In a design collaboration between Jessica Hische and Penguin Art Director Paul Buckley, the series features unique cover art by Hische, a superstar in the world of type design and illustration, whose work has appeared everywhere from Tiffany & Co. to Wes Anderson's recent film "Moonrise Kingdom" to Penguin's own bestsellers "Committed "and "Rules of Civility." With exclusive designs that have never before appeared on Hische's hugely popular Daily Drop Cap blog, the Penguin Drop Caps series debuted with an 'A' for Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice," a 'B' for Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre," and a 'C' for Willa Cather's "My Antonia." It continues with more perennial classics, perfect to give as elegant gifts or to showcase on your own shelves. T is for Tan. 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. With wit and sensitivity, Amy Tan examines the sometimes painful, often tender, and always deep connection between these four women and their American-born daughters. As each woman reveals her secrets, trying to unravel the truth about her life, the strings become more tangled, more entwined.

Pia Sophia

This book is strong and delicate at the same time. It focuses on the intriguing and often complicated bond between mothers and daughters--showing us what lives inside the Joy Luck Club women's hearts. The short pieces in this book are all part of a bigger whole, a red thread as moving and important as finding who you truly are can be.

Wonko the Sane

Zoe Glimcher

“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.

The Joy Luck Club

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