Reviews tagging 'Abortion'

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

43 reviews

readerette's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective slow-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

4.5

While this story and the characters are not always pleasant, they feel very real. I was touched by the weaving of the mothers' and daughters' stories, how American culture bled into the lives of all the characters, the struggles of being an immigrant and a parent (and how individual each set of struggles is). Relatable and also informative on aspects of a culture I'm not that familiar with.

That said, the weaving of the characters' stories did get muddy for me, I didn't get enough about the Joy Luck Club itself, and all of these people supposedly friendly with one another could be incredibly petty and cruel to their "friends". Perhaps I'm just leading with my white American eye on that last part though--friendship looks different to different people.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: War, Grief, Infidelity, Infertility, Eating disorder, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Child death, Death, and Abortion

amethystofblackrose's review against another edition

emotional informative fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Abortion and Child death

lmshearer's review against another edition

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

baponthecob's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Eating disorder, Abortion, Misogyny, War, Suicide, and Death of parent

Minor: Blood, Body shaming, Vomit, and Homophobia

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

tinylittlerat's review against another edition

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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Child death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Racism, Suicide, War, and Death

Moderate: Fatphobia

nicolesreadingbooks's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

studied it for school and omfg i loved it

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Suicide attempt, Confinement, Death of parent, Self harm, Toxic relationship, War, Abortion, and Child death

beccaand's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage and Death of parent

Moderate: Emotional abuse and Eating disorder

Minor: Rape and Abortion

lindsloveslit's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

I really appreciated the premise of "The Joy Luck Club." It was a welcome change to read about Chinese mothers and daughters  growing up differently in China and America. That said, the back and forth between characters in each chapter made it hard for me to follow. I think if I ever choose to read it again, i would appreciate & understand it better.

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Abortion

dee_dreams's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage and Abortion

Minor: Homophobia