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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
do not believe marketer and media. you have to judge a book by reading it. this book is funny and even I don't agree with the author all the time it still inspires me in many ways.
very insightful read. the clash between "western" and "chinese" parenting are very informative. a personal, yet fruitful approach to many mothers of chinese descent and daughters experiencing "tiger parenting"
Ok book. Quick read and was interesting to see how she parents her child and why she does what she does.
I don't necessarily agree with the Chinese parenting style but I think this is a book parents should read. It gives a perspective on a totally different way of parenting and with a broader perspective, it gives you better awareness of your own parenting style and how it might relate to others. It is a quick ready, just more than a couple hundred pages so it is definitely worth it to read it. You may be surprised and shocked by how this mother treats her girls. But I don't think she is necessarily proud of what she did as a mother, other than she was trying to do what she thought best for her girls.
Poučný pohled do "asijského" přístupu k rodičovství. Tahle knížka sice vyvolala ohromné debaty a pohoršení, ale mám podezření, že ti, kdo křičeli nejhlasitěji, ji nečetli (dost pozorně).
This is the review I wrote for the book in my school's newspaper. Kind of rushed and not really Goodreads-style, but. In summary: this book is hysterical and I loved it.
Chinese mother Amy Chua describes herself as a tiger - the living symbol of strength and power. However, after a recent surge in press surrounding her new book, it seems some American readers may more aptly describe her as out of her mind. Amy Chua, the devoted intellectual, mother of two, writer and professor, has written a memoir entitled "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother" about her journey through stereotypical Chinese child-rearing.
Chua has now appeared on a variety of talk shows discussing some of her more outlandish parenting techniques. For example, her two daughters, Sophia and Lulu, were never allowed to attend sleepovers. She says that true Chinese mothers spend approximately ten times as long every day drilling academic activities with their children than average Western parents. Both of her two daughters were not only master students, but musical prodigies (as any good Asian children must be.) Chua also states that "the only activities your children should be permitted to do are those in which they can eventually win a medal; and that medal must be gold." While the ridiculousness of some of her anecdotes - such as the time they found her daughter literally gnawing at the piano from what one can only assume was stress-induced mental insanity - the tone of the memoir is ultimately a humbled and humorous sense of self-deprecation.
A large cloud of Western-parent backlash plumed after many felt that not only was Chua using techniques on her 9-year-old daughters that bordered on child abuse - but she was telling American mothers that they were doing a downright crappy job in comparison. However, after reading the memoir myself, I would say that these allegations misinterpret the entire point of the book. On the memoir's cover, Chua states: "This was supposed to be a story of how Chinese parents are better than raising their kids than Western ones. But, instead, it's about a bitter clash of cultures, a fleeting taste of glory, and how I was humbled by a thirteen-year-old." Chua's voice throughout a large part of the book is intentionally exaggeratory. She creates an inflated image of her Chinese-mother stereotype not only to highlight her later transformation, but to create some seriously hysterical moments. I wasn't expecting the memoir of a laced-up, no-fun, "Tiger Mom" to be so spot on with her comedic timing, but nevertheless, the book was hilarious.
While she mocks her ludicrous strictness, she also defends her methods. Yes, sometimes she threatens to burn all of her daughter's stuffed animals if she does not play a piano piece perfectly. But, at the end of the day, she feels that only Chinese mothers who sincerely care about their child's future and success would push them to such extremes. She recognizes that Western ideology often is not only disapproving of Chinese parenting, but downright outraged. Chua, however, pushes for the reader to recognize the good intentions that lie behind the foreign methods.
Chua's memoir instantly became politicized. Some said that it was an example of the Chinese threat to America's international superiority. Some saw it as a guideline for how Western parents should push their children academically. I saw it, however, as a woman's personal journey through motherhood - regaling her unique cultural perspectives, her doubts, her fears, her hopes for her children, and in the end, the strong love for her two daughters, Sophia and Lulu.
Chinese mother Amy Chua describes herself as a tiger - the living symbol of strength and power. However, after a recent surge in press surrounding her new book, it seems some American readers may more aptly describe her as out of her mind. Amy Chua, the devoted intellectual, mother of two, writer and professor, has written a memoir entitled "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother" about her journey through stereotypical Chinese child-rearing.
Chua has now appeared on a variety of talk shows discussing some of her more outlandish parenting techniques. For example, her two daughters, Sophia and Lulu, were never allowed to attend sleepovers. She says that true Chinese mothers spend approximately ten times as long every day drilling academic activities with their children than average Western parents. Both of her two daughters were not only master students, but musical prodigies (as any good Asian children must be.) Chua also states that "the only activities your children should be permitted to do are those in which they can eventually win a medal; and that medal must be gold." While the ridiculousness of some of her anecdotes - such as the time they found her daughter literally gnawing at the piano from what one can only assume was stress-induced mental insanity - the tone of the memoir is ultimately a humbled and humorous sense of self-deprecation.
A large cloud of Western-parent backlash plumed after many felt that not only was Chua using techniques on her 9-year-old daughters that bordered on child abuse - but she was telling American mothers that they were doing a downright crappy job in comparison. However, after reading the memoir myself, I would say that these allegations misinterpret the entire point of the book. On the memoir's cover, Chua states: "This was supposed to be a story of how Chinese parents are better than raising their kids than Western ones. But, instead, it's about a bitter clash of cultures, a fleeting taste of glory, and how I was humbled by a thirteen-year-old." Chua's voice throughout a large part of the book is intentionally exaggeratory. She creates an inflated image of her Chinese-mother stereotype not only to highlight her later transformation, but to create some seriously hysterical moments. I wasn't expecting the memoir of a laced-up, no-fun, "Tiger Mom" to be so spot on with her comedic timing, but nevertheless, the book was hilarious.
While she mocks her ludicrous strictness, she also defends her methods. Yes, sometimes she threatens to burn all of her daughter's stuffed animals if she does not play a piano piece perfectly. But, at the end of the day, she feels that only Chinese mothers who sincerely care about their child's future and success would push them to such extremes. She recognizes that Western ideology often is not only disapproving of Chinese parenting, but downright outraged. Chua, however, pushes for the reader to recognize the good intentions that lie behind the foreign methods.
Chua's memoir instantly became politicized. Some said that it was an example of the Chinese threat to America's international superiority. Some saw it as a guideline for how Western parents should push their children academically. I saw it, however, as a woman's personal journey through motherhood - regaling her unique cultural perspectives, her doubts, her fears, her hopes for her children, and in the end, the strong love for her two daughters, Sophia and Lulu.
Insightful and thought provoking whether you agree with her methods or not. She has a very wry sense of humor that many might miss-so be aware. Forget what you've seen on tv and go directly to the source. Definitely worth your time.
Chances are, if you're Chinese American, or even Asian American, you've probably heard about the uproar Amy Chua's article in the Wall Street Journal caused. With an incendiary title like "Why Chinese Mothers are Superior", it's hard not to get all riled up. Unlike most people who just read the article, or skim it, choosing to form their opinions on what an editor left out, I decided to read Chua's book, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother before commenting too much about it.
Although the newspaper article was written tongue in cheek (something a lot of people seemed to have gloss over), it left out some important elements that are present in the book. First, there's humor. The article was funny, especially to one who has been on the daughter's end of things, but the book is laugh-out-loud funny. Funny in the "oh god, this same thing happened to me" funny. Sure, it was frustrating and painful while my own mother did some of the things Chua writes about, but I have to laugh when I think back about how we pitted against each other back then.
Another thing missing in the article is her conclusion. If you've read the book, you'll know that Chua isn't saying that the Chinese way is superior. I don't want to get into spoilers, but there's a whole lot that the Wall Street Journal leaves unsaid and it's no use getting your panties in a rutt about it if you don't bother reading the entire book.
The book is a breeze to read through (or maybe it's because I have super-human reading speed thanks to my Chinese mother forcing me to read the dictionary 5x every night before going to bed?) and Chua captures the every day battles of raising two children in a warm, almost nostalgic way. While reading this book, I found myself rooting for every success the daughters earned through their hard work and practice. I also found myself laughing at some of the things Chua forced them to do. I only wish there was more about Jed, her husband, who seemed to be just on the sidelines but as she noted, that may be for another book.
Chua's story of setting an ideal of how to raise her children, the difficulties she faced from within her family as well as from living in a culturally different country made me think of my own mother and the fights that we had. Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother should be necessary reading for anyone who has a Chinese mother.
Although the newspaper article was written tongue in cheek (something a lot of people seemed to have gloss over), it left out some important elements that are present in the book. First, there's humor. The article was funny, especially to one who has been on the daughter's end of things, but the book is laugh-out-loud funny. Funny in the "oh god, this same thing happened to me" funny. Sure, it was frustrating and painful while my own mother did some of the things Chua writes about, but I have to laugh when I think back about how we pitted against each other back then.
Another thing missing in the article is her conclusion. If you've read the book, you'll know that Chua isn't saying that the Chinese way is superior. I don't want to get into spoilers, but there's a whole lot that the Wall Street Journal leaves unsaid and it's no use getting your panties in a rutt about it if you don't bother reading the entire book.
The book is a breeze to read through (or maybe it's because I have super-human reading speed thanks to my Chinese mother forcing me to read the dictionary 5x every night before going to bed?) and Chua captures the every day battles of raising two children in a warm, almost nostalgic way. While reading this book, I found myself rooting for every success the daughters earned through their hard work and practice. I also found myself laughing at some of the things Chua forced them to do. I only wish there was more about Jed, her husband, who seemed to be just on the sidelines but as she noted, that may be for another book.
Chua's story of setting an ideal of how to raise her children, the difficulties she faced from within her family as well as from living in a culturally different country made me think of my own mother and the fights that we had. Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother should be necessary reading for anyone who has a Chinese mother.
i mean it was a quick easy read, but she made me so mad. one thing that really annoyed me was when she referred to unknown gendered person as “it” instead of “they”… after that i couldn’t really stand behind her views, it gave conservatism
one of my best friends lent this to me a year ago bc she read it in a sociology class and thought i’d like it… after reading i am even more confused
one of my best friends lent this to me a year ago bc she read it in a sociology class and thought i’d like it… after reading i am even more confused
This book has received so much critical press, but I really wasn't offended too much by most of what she says. In fact, there were times when I found the content downright hilarious (geez, what does that say about my sense of humor?!). I guess I should give an example for that last comment. There's a section where the author is receiving homemade birthday cards from her daughters and she starts criticizing them for how little time they spent on the cards (the girls are probably late elementary/early middle school at this point). After receiving what she felt was a substandard card from her younger daughter, she says (and I'm paraphrasing here) "I reject your card!!! I never would have given my mother a card like this! I would have done x, y, z for HER birthday!" and the other daughter says, "Um, excuse me, I just need to do something (as in, spruce my card up), I'll be right back". For some reason I found this to be laugh out-loud funny, I think because it was the best example of how over the top dramatic the author could be. In the end, I think I wasn't bothered so much by her parenting style because there were a lot of parts where it seemed clear to me that she and her daughters love each other. There were also many exchanges where her daughters (particularly the younger) seemed quite capable of standing up to her. (Spoiler alert! Well, sorta...) In the end, she seems to acknowledge that a parenting style somewhere between the typical "American" and "Chinese" styles is probably best. I'd say that given this conclusion, the book was as much about her growth as a parent more than anything else. What parent can't relate to that?