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3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
I enjoyed learning about these women in parallel and jointly. Wasn't sure about the ending but enjoyed the majority of the novel.
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I enjoyed this far more than I thought I would one third of the way through. Excellent prose, wonderful characters, and a glimpse into the relationships between mothers and daughters that will make you weep.
dark
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This isn't a fair review. The book is a study of character, which isn't quite my style. It's like a chick-lit specialist being asked to review a Stephen King work, or the opposite.
The strength of the writing pulled me through. It took me through the oppressive parts, although the oppressiveness did tempt me, in my old-age "I've only got so much time and energy left" way, to put it aside. But ultimately, I'm glad I kept with it.
The seeming disjointedness is a reflection of the different personalities that enter into the tale. It may be offputting to some, completely natural for others. As the story progressed, I missed the explosive descriptiveness at the start of it, but came to appreciate the rawness of the characters. In the character of the mother, one hears the quintessential Jewish, or Muslim, or Catholic, or whatever maternal character with her melange of endless if murky love and critique.
Three-fourths in, i was prepared to give it three stars, but the resolution, revisiting, and redemption, of sorts, was entirely satisfying and buoyed my reading experience.
I'm glad I read it. And although this genre does not fit nicely into my personal preferences, I look forward to another grapple-fest in on the book-mat with Ms. Tan's superb writing.
The strength of the writing pulled me through. It took me through the oppressive parts, although the oppressiveness did tempt me, in my old-age "I've only got so much time and energy left" way, to put it aside. But ultimately, I'm glad I kept with it.
The seeming disjointedness is a reflection of the different personalities that enter into the tale. It may be offputting to some, completely natural for others. As the story progressed, I missed the explosive descriptiveness at the start of it, but came to appreciate the rawness of the characters. In the character of the mother, one hears the quintessential Jewish, or Muslim, or Catholic, or whatever maternal character with her melange of endless if murky love and critique.
Three-fourths in, i was prepared to give it three stars, but the resolution, revisiting, and redemption, of sorts, was entirely satisfying and buoyed my reading experience.
I'm glad I read it. And although this genre does not fit nicely into my personal preferences, I look forward to another grapple-fest in on the book-mat with Ms. Tan's superb writing.
I enjoy Amy Tan's works immensely, however, this one hit a spot where I just had to quit. There is a flashback in her childhood where the misunderstanding grows too big for me to continue on. A story about an aging parent was also not resonating with me now, but may sometime in the future.
The first section of the book started off very, very slow and was rather had to be drawn into. The mid-section progressed very quickly and was very engaging. The last section of the book was a mix of the first two with a rather predictable ending. It was an enjoyable read, but didn't inspire me to seek out more of this author's work.
When I was in college, I read and enjoyed The Joy Luck Club, so despite the fact that I had seen some rather snarky reviews, I had high hopes for this novel. And the 1/3 of the book narrated by Lu Ling about growing up in China is excellent. Unfortunately, 2/3 of the book is from the point of view of Lu Ling's daughter, Ruth. Ruth's quiet martyr complex grows tiresome rather quickly, and when her live-in boyfriend, Art, complains that Ruth has never allowed him to truly get to know her, I found that I felt the same way, except I have no desire to dig deeper into the psyche of a character I don't much like. After reading this novel, I better understand how Ms. Tan has ended up on Huff Post's list of Most Overrated Contemporary American Writers.
This felt like 2 stories that should have been tied together better but it didn't fit for me. The first half was the main narrator talking about how unsatisfied she was with her life, then her mother gave her a huge stack of papers written in Chinese she had to have translated and the majority of the 2nd half was the mother's story in China. The end was back to the main narrator realizing that maybe her life wasn't so bad after all.
There wasn't really any cohesion for me and the mother's story didn't redeem her for me. I was left feeling like I wasted hours of my life reading about this family, but was moderately glad Ruth decided to get back with Art.
There wasn't really any cohesion for me and the mother's story didn't redeem her for me. I was left feeling like I wasted hours of my life reading about this family, but was moderately glad Ruth decided to get back with Art.
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced