Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

12 reviews

bookishevy's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I watched the film adaptation of this book when I was 15 and didn't find out it was a book until a decade later, so it's been on my TBR for a while. 

Four Chinese women who immigrated to San Francisco have been meeting weekly since 1949 to play mahjong and tell stories of their lives in China and what led to them leaving their home. They call themselves the Joy Luck Club. 

This is a story about four women and their four daughters. The women tell about their pasts and their hopes for their daughters' futures. The relationship between a mother and daughter is intricate, but it's even more so when the mother is an immigrant raising an American daughter. The younger women have no idea the types of lives their mothers led in China. Secrets are revealed. 

From the daughers' perspectives, it's clear they're more American than Chinese, but their mothers are unwilling to accept their American mentalities.There is this struggle between the American and Chinese identities. The daughters don't think their mothers know anything while the mothers think they know everything while also dealing with their anxiety around not being good enough. 

Through storytelling, they warn their daughters against making the mistakes they made so they can be more successful. Storytelling also instills their legacy. The stories cover topics like Chinese mythology and the horrors of the Sino-Japanese War, like having to leave loved ones behind, the things they had to do to survive, including honoring their parents and doing what was expected of them as young Chinese women. They expect their daughters to make the same sacrifices they made, but their daughters are American. They have choices and times have changed. 

The mothers reminisce about a China of the past. 1980s China is becoming Americanized, as one of the daughters realizes on a trip. And I laughed when one of the mothers realizes she's viewed as an American tourist on her own trip back home. 

I absolutely loved this book. Now I have to re-watch the film. 

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michaelion's review against another edition

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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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theo_rowen's review against another edition

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This book was a really good read and I wish I had finished it. I got it from the library and so I had to return it at some point and I didn't pick it up again. I do intend to pick it up in the future though.

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jelen's review against another edition

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2.5


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pobaw24's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0


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kappafrog's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful informative 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

4.0


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marissasa's review against another edition

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emotional sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This book tells the stories of 4 immigrant Chinese women and each of their Chinese-American daughters. Although I like multiple POVs for the fact that they never get monotonous, they almost always end up with some characters being less developed or having less time focused on their stories, and that is definitely the case with this one. I enjoyed all the mothers' POVs and the look into their lives before they came to America, but honestly didn't think the daughters' stories matched them at all in how interesting and nuanced it made their situations. All the mothers had trauma relating to the loss of their children and families, marriage issues, being displaced from their homes, and their daughters' not understanding them. All of the daughters then had generational trauma, mommy issues, and a disconnect from their Chinese identities. The thing that made me dislike almost all of the daughters' stories was that except for Jing-mei, all of their POVs revolved around their troubles with their white husbands or boyfriends. The whole time I'm reading about them just thinking "free my sisters from the shackles of white men lmao". I wish they were given more depth and character development that was unrelated to their relationships with white men, or at least having just one character go through that so that the daughters' stories weren't so similar and forgettable. Jing-mei is the exception to this and I definitely thought her and her mother Suyuan's stories were the most memorable, and I do wish they had more time for their stories than they got. I did love the ending and how the story came full circle with the first and last chapter being Jing-mei's though, and the emotional conclusion felt satisfying.

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hollymich's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

The Joy Luck Club contains beautiful, captivating, and heartwrenching stories about the early lives of four women in China. It is difficult to conceptualize the hardship they each faced at such young ages; their strength truly is inspiring. It felt so intimate being invited into the Joy Luck Club, observing the deep, familial bond that these women have nurtured in America. They each attempt to impart their wisdom and lessons to their daughters, but their meaning is lost in translation across cultural and language barriers. It was lovely to see how these mother-daughter duos eventually connected as the daughters became adults themselves. 

This book will certainly leave you with a warm feeling

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counciloffrogs's review against another edition

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emotional reflective fast-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

This reflection on mother-daughter relationships and the turmoil they can experience is beautifully written. It clearly shows the humanity of families and the shortcomings and misinterpretations that can complicate relationships. I absolutely loved this book. 

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tinylittlerat's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful 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

4.75


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