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
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
amelianotthepilot's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
fast-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? Yes
5.0
a collection of stories about the Chinese American experience touching on immigration, generation gaps, sexism, racism, and more
really well written interesting stories
really well written interesting stories
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Rape, Trafficking, Xenophobia, Racial slurs, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Abandonment, and Sexism
cerilouisereads's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage, Death, Abandonment, Child death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Mental illness
cammiem8's review
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
While I’m not a fan of the vignette style generally, Tan’s prose made this the best application of that style that I’ve read. Each chapter is a very human story.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide, Racism, Abandonment, and Sexual violence
lmshearer's review
dark
emotional
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
4.0
This has been on my TBR list for a while, ever since we read "Two Kinds" in middle school English class. I loved the structure of this book and the vignettes of each mother/daughter. I look forward to rereading the essays out of book order to fully understand some of the relationships and their stories I may have missed on this read-through.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Eating disorder, Abortion, Death of parent, Grief, Abandonment, Child death, and Racism
lidz_2tc's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment
Minor: Abortion
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
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
anovelbeauty's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-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? It's complicated
4.0
Book TW: child death, loss, trauma, strained parental relationships, war, immigration, racism
The Joy Luck Club is a beautiful story which follows four Chinese women who immigrated to the US in 1949 and their American born daughters. This story is one of the most interestingly formatted stories I’ve come across in a long time. It’s split into four sections and each chapter follows a specific mother or daughter’s POV. There is a loose connection and chronology between the different stories and the characters hop in and out of each other’s lives. However, the most distinct connection is between each mother and her daughter. It is really unique to get a book that shows you the background and perspective of both parent and child. So as the book progresses, you slowly understand why the characters act how they do. I particularly loved getting the mothers’ stories from China and then seeing how they changed (often dramatically) after they immigrated.
Though the book does have a bookended plot line from Jin-Mei (and her mother is the only one who does not get her own chapter), the book reads more like a collection of connected short stories than your average historical fiction novel.
It took a bit for me to settle in to the unique flow of this story, but once I did the character work and writing style of the novel was absolutely phenomenal. The voices of each of the eight different women were distinct and engaging. Jin-Mei is probably the closest to a main character as she has a chapter in each section because her mother is already gone and she is trying to retroactively connect with her. The others show the miscommunication and relationships between the other mother-daughter pairs.
This is a hugely character driven book, so if you are a plot-driven reader this probably won’t suit you. However, I /love/ character books so it was wonderful for me and I do really enjoy familial relationships being explored in stories as well. The book is touching and dramatic and the last chapter made me cry. I definitely encourage you to read it if you think the format of the story would suit you!
The Joy Luck Club is a beautiful story which follows four Chinese women who immigrated to the US in 1949 and their American born daughters. This story is one of the most interestingly formatted stories I’ve come across in a long time. It’s split into four sections and each chapter follows a specific mother or daughter’s POV. There is a loose connection and chronology between the different stories and the characters hop in and out of each other’s lives. However, the most distinct connection is between each mother and her daughter. It is really unique to get a book that shows you the background and perspective of both parent and child. So as the book progresses, you slowly understand why the characters act how they do. I particularly loved getting the mothers’ stories from China and then seeing how they changed (often dramatically) after they immigrated.
Though the book does have a bookended plot line from Jin-Mei (and her mother is the only one who does not get her own chapter), the book reads more like a collection of connected short stories than your average historical fiction novel.
It took a bit for me to settle in to the unique flow of this story, but once I did the character work and writing style of the novel was absolutely phenomenal. The voices of each of the eight different women were distinct and engaging. Jin-Mei is probably the closest to a main character as she has a chapter in each section because her mother is already gone and she is trying to retroactively connect with her. The others show the miscommunication and relationships between the other mother-daughter pairs.
This is a hugely character driven book, so if you are a plot-driven reader this probably won’t suit you. However, I /love/ character books so it was wonderful for me and I do really enjoy familial relationships being explored in stories as well. The book is touching and dramatic and the last chapter made me cry. I definitely encourage you to read it if you think the format of the story would suit you!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Racism, Sexism, Abandonment, and Genocide
Minor: Death of parent and Xenophobia
More...