You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
Amy Tan's Joy Luck Club is a touching display of family, hope, and love that looks at the transition from being an immigrant to being a native (and back again). It looks at four families and their ties to each other and their Chinese heritage.
Parts of this book really clicked with me. The story, while connected, is presented more as vignettes and some were really strong while others were a little forgettable. For example, I spent the entire book waiting for Jing-Mei's resolution with her sisters, but did not care much for Rose Hsu's storyline. It's a give-and-take kind of thing, where luckily there is more to praise than to criticize.
For this book, I listened to the audiobook. Gwendoline Yeo's performance was fantastic. She embodied each character with a unique voice, so even though we are bouncing between over a dozen characters, I was never questioning who was speaking. This is not only impressive, but helpful to the listener, because the story could become very confusing without that attention to detail.
I highly recommend The Joy Luck Club. It's a beautiful and touching book that gives insight into the Chinese and Chinese American identity while also showing us how universal the themes of family and belonging really are.
Parts of this book really clicked with me. The story, while connected, is presented more as vignettes and some were really strong while others were a little forgettable. For example, I spent the entire book waiting for Jing-Mei's resolution with her sisters, but did not care much for Rose Hsu's storyline. It's a give-and-take kind of thing, where luckily there is more to praise than to criticize.
For this book, I listened to the audiobook. Gwendoline Yeo's performance was fantastic. She embodied each character with a unique voice, so even though we are bouncing between over a dozen characters, I was never questioning who was speaking. This is not only impressive, but helpful to the listener, because the story could become very confusing without that attention to detail.
I highly recommend The Joy Luck Club. It's a beautiful and touching book that gives insight into the Chinese and Chinese American identity while also showing us how universal the themes of family and belonging really are.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
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
I really enjoyed Tan's writing and the stories of this book. The only thing that kept it from being 5 stars is that I couldn't quite figure out what the central storyline was or how everything connected. I also had trouble keeping track of which character was which.
I read this book long ago before the movie came out in 1993. Love the format of each mother and daughter sharing their stories chapter by chapter. I'm glad I reread this one. The family stories are filled with challenges, determination and love.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Felt like it was written more for a white audience rather than a Chinese-American one. But who am I to say as I’m not Chinese nor do I relate to most of the cultural-conflicts in this book.
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
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:
Complicated