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3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
Torn between 3-4, if half stars were an option 3.5.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
'The Bonesetter's Daughter' reminded me of [b:The Joy Luck Club|7763|The Joy Luck Club|Amy Tan|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1304978653s/7763.jpg|1955658] quite a bit, but I liked 'The Joy Luck Club' better. 'The Joy Luck Club' seemed less domestic and Chick-lit than 'The Bonesetter's Daughter'. That said, 'The Bonesetter's Daughter' is an emotional domestic fiction and a deep Chick-lit dive into a relationship between a Chinese-American daughter and her Chinese mother.
The book is divided into three parts. Part one is narrated (third person) by Ruth Young about her American life. She has been in a relationship with Art for years. Ruth lives with Art and his two girls, Dory and Fia, from a previous marriage. Despite that they're not married, Art and Ruth seem like all middle-class married Americans to me, with all of the usual stresses and joys of family life. Ad nauseum. For me. For many chapters. But given the popularity of books similar in tone like this (but FAR worse), including [b:The Paris Wife|8683812|The Paris Wife|Paula McLain|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1320545874s/8683812.jpg|13556031] and [b:The Japanese Lover|25152052|The Japanese Lover|Isabel Allende|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1501991754s/25152052.jpg|44854000], well. Bite me. Moving on.
Ruth used to work in corporate communications, but she did some freelance editing. Editing developed into a full time job 'co-writing' books written by authors who needed help fixing up their books, so she works at home, Art's house. Art works at the Center on Deafness at UCSF. He is a specialist in body language, not just sign language, which is a good thing in his relationship with Ruth. Ruth tends to being a perfectionist and a worrier. Both traits are causing Ruth a lot of stress, particularly in dealing with her mother, Chinese-born LuLing. Mandarin is LuLing's first language, but Ruth does not speak Mandarin at all, her first language and only language being English. Other people warn Ruth they think LuLing is developing some form of dementia, but Ruth ignores them, and the growing evidence of her own interactions with her mother. However, eventually, Ruth takes on more and more of her mother's problems, and once again she gets a little curious about LuLing's past. LuLing had given her a handwritten synopsis of her past in Mandarin, but Ruth had shoved it into a drawer.
Part two is about LuLing's life in China. As a child, LuLing grew up in a family of ink makers. The men ran a store in Peking, while the women made the ink in a family house in a little village out in the country. When the Japanese invade China in World War II, life becomes a struggle to survive. But even before that, LuLing's life had been upturned after her nursemaid commits suicide. Precious Auntie, the nursemaid, had secrets, one which cause her to drink hot ink years before, which deformed her mouth, lower face and tongue. Life had continued for Precious Auntie, but she was not very respected in the household.
LuLing's life takes many twists and turns, but eventually she arrived in America, marries, and had Ruth.
Part three concludes the story, bringing LuLing and Ruth closer together. Ruth realizes after reading her mother's synopsis (after she gets it translated) how mixed up her understanding of her mother's life was, and she wishes she had dug into the past of her family much sooner. Ruth had waited to the point of many elders in her family dying before she finally got curious enough to ask questions. Discovering her mother's past resolves some issues and solves a mystery.
Three-and-a-half stars.
The book is divided into three parts. Part one is narrated (third person) by Ruth Young about her American life. She has been in a relationship with Art for years. Ruth lives with Art and his two girls, Dory and Fia, from a previous marriage. Despite that they're not married, Art and Ruth seem like all middle-class married Americans to me, with all of the usual stresses and joys of family life. Ad nauseum. For me. For many chapters. But given the popularity of books similar in tone like this (but FAR worse), including [b:The Paris Wife|8683812|The Paris Wife|Paula McLain|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1320545874s/8683812.jpg|13556031] and [b:The Japanese Lover|25152052|The Japanese Lover|Isabel Allende|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1501991754s/25152052.jpg|44854000], well. Bite me. Moving on.
Ruth used to work in corporate communications, but she did some freelance editing. Editing developed into a full time job 'co-writing' books written by authors who needed help fixing up their books, so she works at home, Art's house. Art works at the Center on Deafness at UCSF. He is a specialist in body language, not just sign language, which is a good thing in his relationship with Ruth. Ruth tends to being a perfectionist and a worrier. Both traits are causing Ruth a lot of stress, particularly in dealing with her mother, Chinese-born LuLing. Mandarin is LuLing's first language, but Ruth does not speak Mandarin at all, her first language and only language being English. Other people warn Ruth they think LuLing is developing some form of dementia, but Ruth ignores them, and the growing evidence of her own interactions with her mother. However, eventually, Ruth takes on more and more of her mother's problems, and once again she gets a little curious about LuLing's past. LuLing had given her a handwritten synopsis of her past in Mandarin, but Ruth had shoved it into a drawer.
Part two is about LuLing's life in China. As a child, LuLing grew up in a family of ink makers. The men ran a store in Peking, while the women made the ink in a family house in a little village out in the country. When the Japanese invade China in World War II, life becomes a struggle to survive. But even before that, LuLing's life had been upturned after her nursemaid commits suicide. Precious Auntie, the nursemaid, had secrets, one which cause her to drink hot ink years before, which deformed her mouth, lower face and tongue. Life had continued for Precious Auntie, but she was not very respected in the household.
LuLing's life takes many twists and turns, but eventually she arrived in America, marries, and had Ruth.
Part three concludes the story, bringing LuLing and Ruth closer together. Ruth realizes after reading her mother's synopsis (after she gets it translated) how mixed up her understanding of her mother's life was, and she wishes she had dug into the past of her family much sooner. Ruth had waited to the point of many elders in her family dying before she finally got curious enough to ask questions. Discovering her mother's past resolves some issues and solves a mystery.
Three-and-a-half stars.
Started out strong, but I felt the ending really missed the mark.
emotional
informative
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Amy Tan is so good at tugging my heart strings with her protagonists' story but never, ever once did I feel sorry for her because her characters are so full of strength and resolve and forgiveness.
I've decided not to read any more Amy Tan. As the daughter of an Asian woman, it's too painful to read about the intense discomfort between the Asian mom and her Americanized daughter.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
emotional
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