The Joy Luck Club

Title: The Joy Luck Club
Author: Amy Tan
Genre: Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction
Format: Paperback
Pages: 288
Reason Read: Play Book Tag
Rating:

My Thoughts

THE JOY LUCK CLUB was a very interesting read. I especially enjoyed reading the mothers’ stories and their hardships in China and how they came to the U.S. I actually wish the book would’ve focused more on them and their time in China because I found it so interesting.

I also enjoyed the nods to Chinese and Chinese-American culture. I learned quite a bit while reading. It was interesting that even though the mothers joined a Christian church upon their arrival in the U.S., they retained some of their Buddhist beliefs throughout their lives.

I also found it interesting to see the differences between the mothers and the daughters. Because of the American culture around the daughters, the daughters couldn’t help but grow up American. Yet, I thought the mothers would’ve taught their children more about their culture. The daughters could understand Chinese, but they couldn’t speak it very well nor could they read or write the characters.

While I found the book interesting, I found the characters to be a little flat. Their voices were similar and the only reason I could tell each of them a part was because each of their stories were different.