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enf87's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Minor: Child death, Rape, and Child abuse
goddessbee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse and Child abuse
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Rape
mariannelwnicholson's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Rape
nannahnannah's review against another edition
4.0
Representation:
- almost every character is Chinese
For more than fifty years, Winnie and Helen have kept what happened about their lives in China a secret. But Helen threatens to reveal everything to Winnie’s daughter, Pearl, because she fears she’s dying. Winnie is determined to tell her daughter everything first, and to tell it all right -- as Helen would get it all wrong. So she tells her life story to Pearl: from her mother leaving her to live with her negligent aunts on an island to her abusive husband to her immigrating to America. Little does she know Pearl has a secret of her own to share.
Most of the book except for the chapters near the front and the end are in Winnie’s PoV, where she’s telling the story of her past. The others are in her daughter’s, Pearl’s. You could say the story is about her life in China, her hardships, what she overcame, but I believe it’s about the relationship between mother and daughter -- even if we don’t see them interact many times throughout the book (in comparison to the scenes when they’re alone; when Pearl doesn’t exist yet; etc.).
It’s Amy Tan’s way of crafting and writing about this mother-daughter relationship that really hooked me, Winnie’s relationship with Helen’s (which I believe was described as something that’s not quite best friends but a bond stronger than sisters), and her understanding of chronic pain when it comes to Pearl’s secret -- that she has MS. A couple pages really hit hard.
But like I said above, I usually don’t read books that contain a lot of abuse. I just can’t read it for obvious reasons. But I couldn’t put this down, and … I’m not sure if maybe the abuser here was just … so much like mine and it was like staring into a fire and being unable to stop or if it was just that captivating.
There were, of course, things I didn’t enjoy, mostly the fatphobia present throughout the entire novel, and then especially the intersexism, which seemed to come out of nowhere, interrupt everything, and make me feel absolutely disgusted with who I am. The intersexism (as well as homophobia) is present on just two pages -- that’s it -- but wow, did it make me sick. Winnie’s ex-husband is one of the worst human beings you could imagine -- and a woman she grew up with then says, “My husband was still worse! He was a [-n intersex person].” And at first Winnie doesn’t even believe her. Then she says, “But how could Miao-miao marry you off to such a person?” and proceeds to ask about his sexual organs. Did you see them? How did you know? etc. But the worst is when the woman says she found her husband in bed with another man and says, “The female side of him had enticed a male.”
Just on two pages. There’s absolutely no need to include this in the story. To put this intersex person as being on the same level of nastiness as an abuser, murderer, etc. I don’t care if it’s still in the PoV of the mother, the author decided for some reason to add this in here. Does she think it’s humorous? I don’t know.
But that’s the only reason this is four stars instead of five. I was completely enraptured by this book.
Graphic: Domestic abuse and Rape
Moderate: Fatphobia
Minor: Racism and Homophobia
also: ableist slurs, intersexism, casual cissexismcc0906's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Graphic: Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Child death, Murder, Grief, Emotional abuse, Death, Death of parent, Classism, Car accident, Abortion, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Rape, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Gun violence, and Gore
Moderate: Rape, War, and Gore
betag1013's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Rape, War, Violence, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Child death, Miscarriage, Abortion, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Cultural appropriation, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Pregnancy, and Suicide
avasbookmark's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Rape, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Forced institutionalization and War
Minor: Ableism and Abortion
sarah_lynggaard's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Rape, Domestic abuse, Death, and Child death
Moderate: War and Death of parent
sofipitch's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, War, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Child death, Grief, Physical abuse, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Abortion, Excrement, Gaslighting, Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Misogyny, and Rape
Minor: Dementia, Infidelity, and Terminal illness
k_lupin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, and Sexual violence