Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

The Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tan

8 reviews

const_elle_ations's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Rape, Abortion, Eating disorder, and Miscarriage

Minor: Infidelity, Homophobia, and War

kappafrog's review

dark emotional funny hopeful informative reflective sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Grief, War, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Rape, Suicide attempt, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Violence

Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Car accident, Cannibalism, Gore, Death of parent, Pedophilia, Death, Eating disorder, and Injury/injury detail

Minor: Homophobia, Trafficking, and Murder

ashleysbookthoughts's review against another edition

challenging emotional slow-paced

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

3.5

Disclaimer: my library only had this book on audio and I don’t do well with fiction on audio. This one was particularly difficult for me because of the shifting timelines and perspectives, which I would have found less confusing in print. However, I looked up a character list (thanks, Cliff Notes!) that helped my brain keep track. 

So, this was not the right format for me to experience a book like this. Because it was audio, my brain at times felt like that Charlie Day meme, trying to figure out which character was related to which (we get stories from the mothers and daughters of the Joy Luck Club). 

BUT! Despite all of my confusion and extra brain power, this book made me FEEL things. One advantage of the audio is I think it made the stories (particularly the mothers in China) feel more real, as if I was sitting with them as they told me about their lives. The book packs an emotional punch. I definitely recommend it. I wish I’d had a physical copy, though. 

CW: miscarriage, abortion, homophobia, rape, war, death of parent, death of child, drowning, infidelity, divorce 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Racism, Child death, Death of parent, Miscarriage, and Abortion

Moderate: Homophobia, War, and Infidelity

kstericker's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Death of parent, War, Infidelity, Death, Grief, Miscarriage, Child death, and Abortion

Moderate: Eating disorder, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Drug use, Injury/injury detail, Addiction, Physical abuse, and Violence

Minor: Animal cruelty and Child abuse

hollymich's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

• 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? It's complicated

4.0

The Joy Luck Club contains beautiful, captivating, and heartwrenching stories about the early lives of four women in China. It is difficult to conceptualize the hardship they each faced at such young ages; their strength truly is inspiring. It felt so intimate being invited into the Joy Luck Club, observing the deep, familial bond that these women have nurtured in America. They each attempt to impart their wisdom and lessons to their daughters, but their meaning is lost in translation across cultural and language barriers. It was lovely to see how these mother-daughter duos eventually connected as the daughters became adults themselves. 

This book will certainly leave you with a warm feeling

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Child death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Eating disorder

Minor: Infidelity, Infertility, Pregnancy, Suicide attempt, War, Racism, and Car accident

readerette's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective slow-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? Yes

4.5

While this story and the characters are not always pleasant, they feel very real. I was touched by the weaving of the mothers' and daughters' stories, how American culture bled into the lives of all the characters, the struggles of being an immigrant and a parent (and how individual each set of struggles is). Relatable and also informative on aspects of a culture I'm not that familiar with.

That said, the weaving of the characters' stories did get muddy for me, I didn't get enough about the Joy Luck Club itself, and all of these people supposedly friendly with one another could be incredibly petty and cruel to their "friends". Perhaps I'm just leading with my white American eye on that last part though--friendship looks different to different people.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: War, Grief, Infidelity, Infertility, Eating disorder, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Child death, Death, and Abortion

tinylittlerat's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Child death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Racism, Suicide, War, and Death

Moderate: Fatphobia

melanie182's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Death, Death of parent, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Racism, Xenophobia, Violence, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Sexual assault, Abortion, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Genocide, Infidelity, Miscarriage, and Rape