Author: Amy Tan
Genre: Historical Fiction
Series: No
Brief Overview:
The story revolves around a group that started in 1949, a collection of four Chinese immigrant women united together in their new home of San Francisco. On the surface, it is a weekly gathering to play mahjong, though the true purpose is the reminiscing of their homeland and the hopes and fears they have for their own daughters in this new land with its strange new customs. Wishing only the best for their daughters, they christen it the Joy Luck Club.
The story is told in a series of flashbacks, weaving both the past and the present together perfectly. The newest member of the group is one of the daughters of the original members who had recently lost her battle with cancer. The stories told allow her to get to know the mother who was such a mystery to her in life and brings her closer to her Chinese roots. It is a journey of self-awakening as well as the passing of heritage, and the lives touched will never quite be the same.
Here is what Goodreads has to say:
My take:Four mothers, four daughters, four families, whose histories shift with the four winds depending on who's telling the stories. 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.
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.
I must say that I was very pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed this book. I felt that the use of flashbacks was done seamlessly, and it really allowed the reader to get to know and understand the characters in depth. Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres, so this was, as they say, right up my alley. My grandfather was in WWII, so learning more about this particular time period was an added bonus.
In an odd way, it made me appreciate the relationship I have with my own mother. I believe Ms. Tan touched a chord in her readers with the heavy emphasis put on the special mother-daughter relationship, at least that's what happened in my case. I know the book was also made into a movie, and I have plans to watch it very soon. Amy Tan has certainly gained a new fan!
