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small_shrimp's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Violence, Death of parent, and War
Moderate: Death and Sexual violence
lizzieuch's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Violence and War
thepassivebookworm's review
- 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
Minor: Child death, Death, Drug use, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Colonisation, and War
bookishevy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Four Chinese women who immigrated to San Francisco have been meeting weekly since 1949 to play mahjong and tell stories of their lives in China and what led to them leaving their home. They call themselves the Joy Luck Club.
This is a story about four women and their four daughters. The women tell about their pasts and their hopes for their daughters' futures. The relationship between a mother and daughter is intricate, but it's even more so when the mother is an immigrant raising an American daughter. The younger women have no idea the types of lives their mothers led in China. Secrets are revealed.
From the daughers' perspectives, it's clear they're more American than Chinese, but their mothers are unwilling to accept their American mentalities.There is this struggle between the American and Chinese identities. The daughters don't think their mothers know anything while the mothers think they know everything while also dealing with their anxiety around not being good enough.
Through storytelling, they warn their daughters against making the mistakes they made so they can be more successful. Storytelling also instills their legacy. The stories cover topics like Chinese mythology and the horrors of the Sino-Japanese War, like having to leave loved ones behind, the things they had to do to survive, including honoring their parents and doing what was expected of them as young Chinese women. They expect their daughters to make the same sacrifices they made, but their daughters are American. They have choices and times have changed.
The mothers reminisce about a China of the past. 1980s China is becoming Americanized, as one of the daughters realizes on a trip. And I laughed when one of the mothers realizes she's viewed as an American tourist on her own trip back home.
I absolutely loved this book. Now I have to re-watch the film.
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Rape, and War
kmaffett's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Rape, Suicide, and War
vixenreader's review
- 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: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Child death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and War
Minor: Ableism, Animal death, Fatphobia, Infertility, Racial slurs, Rape, Antisemitism, and Abortion
Be warned that there is divorce, intergenerational trauma, unrealistic expectations for children, arranged marriage, polygamy, long lost sisters, and drowning of a child.rnbhargava'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, and Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Self harm, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Blood, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Some of the triggers are overt, others are strongly suggested, perhaps in other countries in historical periods where long ago childhoods and family histories are elaborated on, in small country towns that could be called backward, clinging to old practices such as having a proper wife but also additional wives/concubines.goodolnicole's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Minor: Eating disorder, Infertility, Infidelity, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and War
emorine13's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Moderate: Death, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Chronic illness, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Abortion, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
frostbitsky's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I had the book in my Audible library since 2018. As I listened some things were coming back to me so I would say (as far as I can remember) it is an excellent adaptation.
With 8 women and 8 different stories to tell it's bound to happen that some women were more developed than others. When it came to the mothers, An-Mei has the most developed story. Her poor mother was a concubine. However, her daughter Rose was the least developed of the daughters. Which is a bit of a shame because I liked where it was going that because of the lessons An-Mei learned from her mother she told Rose to stand up to her soon-to-be ex-husband, Ted.
Ying-Ying St. Clair was the least developed of all the mothers. And I know I remember this correctly because it was so tragic when I saw the film but
What I did find funny (in a good way) about Gwendoline's narration was how she portrayed the voice of Harold Livotny, Lena St. Clair's husband. He sounded like such a dweeb! Like a computerized dweeb which is such a good characterization of him.
Waverly Jong - the chess champ- was the most developed daughter. Her mother, Lindo's story was pretty well developed too.
Suyuan Woo and Jing Mei Woo's story is pretty much the way I remember it from the film. Only now I understand they reason why Suyuan Woo
It's hard to pick a favorite story or mother-daughter pair because they each had their own challenges and relatable issues. It's why I think the story is so well done and one that any woman can understand and find meaning in.
4 out of 5 Mahjong Tiles.
Moderate: Death, Grief, Death of parent, and War
Minor: Abortion