Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

54 reviews

vixenreader's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense 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

Although it is a product of its time, it is still a pinnacle work in depicting the lives of Asian women, and it is a tender portrait of the deep pain and love that is shared among mothers and daughters. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Classism, Colonisation, Death of parent, Death, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Cultural appropriation, Grief, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Pregnancy, War, Child death, Infidelity, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Suicide

Minor: Animal death, Fatphobia, Racial slurs, Ableism, Abortion, Antisemitism, Infertility, and Rape

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

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense medium-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? Yes

5.0

The chapters are essentially a compilation of short stories that help the reader come to a consensus reaction about the personal history and lives of these mothers and daughters. You experience their joys and struggles regarding the dynamics in their personal relationships. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Genocide, Classism, Suicide, Gore, Death, Misogyny, Blood, Child death, Racism, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Violence, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Abandonment, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, War, Body shaming, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Ableism, Animal death, Infidelity, Murder, Racial slurs, Self harm, Toxic friendship, Blood, Toxic relationship, Bullying, and Slavery

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.

phantomgecko's review

emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

This novel was about both interpersonal and intrapersonal complexity. Big fan of that. Also an enlightening look into Chinese (and Americanborn Chinese) culture. I actually liked the nonlinear and episodic narrative. The sections about early 1900s China were most interesting to me. 

It would have been easier for me to keep the characters straight if I'd been reading instead of listening, so rip to my understanding.

Serious question tho...in Chinese culture...is there such a thing as friends? None of these women liked each other. All competition and judgment all the time.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Classism, Death, Grief, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Eating disorder, and Rape

goodolnicole's review

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Minor: War, Infertility, Death of parent, Grief, Eating disorder, Infidelity, and Pregnancy

emorine13's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative reflective slow-paced

• 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

This is an amazing story made up of multiple generations’ stories. It makes you reflect that everyone around you has a background and story, and the only way to remember them is to ask. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Abandonment, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Injury/Injury detail, War, Eating disorder, Chronic illness, Pregnancy, Child death, Abortion, Classism, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Adult/minor relationship, and Fire/Fire injury

frostbitsky's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

• 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 seen this film adaptaion years and years ago.  I remember loving the movie and crying at the end. It's a really beautiful story about mother-daughter relationships.

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

she (accidentally??) drowns her baby boy.  In the book Ying-Ying gets an abortion. That is the only drastic difference I can remember.

   

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

left her twin daughters is China (she was so ill she almost died), as well as how the twins ended up being lost before they were adopted by family. I don't recall that being clear in the film, so it was explained.

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. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: War, Death, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Abortion

danielnski's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Sexual violence

Moderate: Child death, Bullying, and Child abuse

mandygleicher's review

emotional hopeful 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death, Child death, Sexual assault, and Death of parent

michaelion's review

emotional hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective sad tense 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

4.25

I had no expectations other than I knew it would fuck me up. Any story about mothers and daughters. Especially women of color! So complex!! Too real!!!

I don't like reviews with quotes from the piece of media but I had to stop reading to make note of this masterpiece and let it simmer for a while: "And even though I taught my daughter the opposite, she still came out the same way! Maybe it is because she was born to me and she was born a girl. And I was born to my mother and I was born a girl. All of us are like stairs, one step after another, going up and down, but all going the same way."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Abandonment, War, Grief, Eating disorder, Death of parent, and Racism

Moderate: Child abuse, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Domestic abuse, and Classism

Minor: Self harm, Animal death, Rape, Xenophobia, Blood, Pedophilia, Abortion, and Homophobia

stephyrm's review against another edition

emotional 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Grief

Minor: Homophobia, Misogyny, Suicide, Abandonment, Abortion, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, War, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, and Sexism