Reviews tagging 'Racism'

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

28 reviews

damiscous's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful 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

4.0

The first time I half-assedly read this book, I was sixteen and reading it as an assignment. I'm so very glad I came back to it. With the passage of time, we mature, we learn, we grow, and we begin to see our parents more as people than simply parents. In my current stage of life, this book has touched me in a way it didn't before, especially in regards to my relationship with my own mother as I search for my own way through life. There's some disconnect for me, admittedly, as the book is also heavily centered around Chinese culture, but that difference in culture also has many parallels with my own. Though the book is dated, the complexities of mother-daughter relationships is a timeless topic that Amy Tan explores in a sincere, emotional manner. I laughed, I cried, and I cringed - what else would you want from a novel examining one of the deepest of human connections? I feel that this is a novel I need to come back to later in life to further understand and appreciate the story that Tan has shared with us.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Death of parent, Sexism, Child death, Racism, and Suicide

Minor: Homophobia, War, and Rape

ksuazo94's review

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-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: Suicide

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Racism, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Grief, War, Racial slurs, and Pedophilia

Minor: Abortion and Emotional abuse

notartgarfunkel's review

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective slow-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

Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, War, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, and Child death

Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Xenophobia, Miscarriage, and Racism

Minor: Homophobia

runitsthepopo's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Child abuse, Miscarriage, and Misogyny

Moderate: Rape and Racism

Minor: Homophobia

samone2's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Child death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Eating disorder, Rape, and Racism

Minor: Homophobia, Sexual assault, and War

cassreading's review against another edition

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? Yes

5.0

Little vignettes that trace the lives and connections of Chinese immigrant mothers and their Chinese-American daughters. Beautifully written, complex women in even more complicated relationships, exactly my cup of tea.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide, Racism, Rape, and War

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

claudiamacpherson's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, War, Racism, and Death of parent

Minor: Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Sexual violence, Blood, Death, Child death, and Animal death

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