Reviews tagging 'War'

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

48 reviews

betag1013's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Eating disorder, Medical content, Pregnancy, Sexual content, War, Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Classism, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Abortion, Violence, Abandonment, Grief, Sexism, Alcohol, Child abuse, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Misogyny

jelen's review against another edition

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Abortion, Infertility, Miscarriage, Suicide, War, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Car accident, Pregnancy, Classism, Death of parent, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, and Sexual violence

abigailbat's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

I read this for FCL's Classics book group. It was a favorite of mine in high school, I think in large part because my mom had read and loved it and reading the things she loved was one of the ways I liked to feel connected to her. That's very fitting since this book is all about the relationships between mothers and daughters. Rereading it now, I can appreciate why it was so popular and still think it doesn't wholly hold up. It was written in 1989 and the "present day" stories very much feel like the 1980s. I was surprised at how little of the book I remembered; the last quarter were stories I remembered the most strongly. I did flip back and forth a little bit to try to see how each mother's story influenced her daughter's story, etc. My favorites were Lindo Jong - how she manipulated her abusive family into letting her leave her arranged marriage and the one with the mother who was 4th wife (I forget which character that is, one of the mothers). 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment and War

Minor: Homophobia

mattyb's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, and Abortion

Moderate: Racism, Rape, Xenophobia, and War

Minor: Alcohol, Homophobia, Sexual assault, and Addiction

m0_x13's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide, Miscarriage, Eating disorder, War, Rape, and Racism

buud_w0rm's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Rape, and Death of parent

ehmannky's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A reflective look at the relationship between mothers and daughters, specially immigrant mothers and their American-born daughters, and all the things that can't be translated or communicated across generational lines. . The episodic and sort of inconclusive nature of the novel and the events is not really my cup of literary tea, though I am able to recognize why it is considered a classic by many. Smarter people than I have written critiquing the novel, so I'll leave my review here

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Grief

Moderate: Abandonment

Minor: Rape and War

desireewoodwhite's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

• 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? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: War and Animal cruelty

emi_momo's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: War, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Grief, Child death, Abandonment, and Sexism

Minor: Death of parent and Eating disorder

hmogie's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War

Moderate: Abandonment, Child abuse, and Rape