Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

15 reviews

counciloffrogs's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Abortion, and Child death

Moderate: Self harm, Sexual violence, Rape, Child abuse, and Grief

Minor: Suicide and War

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.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent

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

cammiem8's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

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

3.75

While I’m not a fan of the vignette style generally, Tan’s prose made this the best application of that style that I’ve read. Each chapter is a very human story. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide, Racism, Abandonment, and Sexual violence

tonimmarie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

This made me cry a lot. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Xenophobia, Grief, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Death of parent, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Homophobia, Eating disorder, and Abortion

sallytiffany's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective fast-paced

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

3.0

 
The storyline was interesting and it had wonderful characters. However, the story was very disjoined due to all the switching which made it hard to follow. I like how poetic the book was at times and I certainly learned more about Chinese culture, just the layout of the book made it difficult to get the message. Also, not thrilled about the ending. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Child death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Murder