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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
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?
I gave this book 4 stars immediately after reading it. I had raced through, wondering what this lady was going to do next. However after a few days of contemplation I changed my attitude. The author is this super intelligent woman who has an academic role at a leading university. I don't think that this book is in her normal writing style. Who cares? Well I think I do. I feel a bit patronised as a reader. Maybe I've just got the 'nothing to read' blues but I think it's more. I've been writing a children's book over the last few days and I'm finding myself using more simplistic language than I would for say a YA book. This is because I know that most YA readers will have more words in their reading vocabulary than most under 10s. Looking back at this book it strikes me that the author perhaps wrote down to her audience (ie me) and now I feel a bit disheartened. Initially I liked the book because it was such an easy read, now I'm wondering if it being such an easy read has ruined it for me.
Anyway the book offered an interesting insight into how the author has chose to raise her two daughters. Whilst her methods are unconventional (in the UK) they have obviously worked for her. I don't think I'll be taking any parenting tips from her but I appreciate that she really does want the best for her kids.
Anyway the book offered an interesting insight into how the author has chose to raise her two daughters. Whilst her methods are unconventional (in the UK) they have obviously worked for her. I don't think I'll be taking any parenting tips from her but I appreciate that she really does want the best for her kids.
I can tell why this was such a controversial hit. It was very honest, and you could tell that Amy Chua adores her daughters, despite the fact that people call her 'cruel'. It was a true 'satirical memoir', to quote Chua. Being an Asian American, I can definitely sympathize with Lulu and Sophia, but I also see the merits of Chua's parenting strategies. The book was memorable, funny, yet serious, and overall honest. Chua's honesty is what made this book memorable and worth reading. She narrated the 'bitter clash of cultures' well, but still held true to her own roots.
For what it is, which is an examination of "Chinese mothering" versus "western parenting", it is excellent; insightful, honest, and absorbing. You may think Chua is a monster after reading this book, but that doesn't make it a bad read, or impede your understanding of the subjects: Amy and her children. One thing that particularly struck me was that allowing children to give up because something is difficult is much worse for their self-confidence than insisting that they follow through, though I do not recommend Chua's method of insistence! I recently allowed my son to give up on something, and now he thinks less of himself for not being able to do it, whereas if I had insisted he see it through to completion, the end result would have really boosted his self-esteem. He is a little like Lulu (and me), though, and I hate fighting with him!
I find this book especially interesting reading as a home schooler, knowing how many different approaches there are to schooling, and because I identify with Lulu and Sophia equally as the older child who was a model student but hated being told what to do by my mom.
This book is an easy read; I finished in three days.
I find this book especially interesting reading as a home schooler, knowing how many different approaches there are to schooling, and because I identify with Lulu and Sophia equally as the older child who was a model student but hated being told what to do by my mom.
This book is an easy read; I finished in three days.
Quick read with an engaging writing style. Food for thought on how kids achieve and the roles the parents play in that achievement. Though her parenting choices have been polarizing in the U.S. she makes a good point that plenty of children raised by Western parents are far unhappier, less successful, and hate their parents more than Chinese children.
Oh, wow. I never expected to like this, to be honest. I was intrigued at first because of all the bad things I've been reading about it, about how appalling the Tiger Mother is with her children, and such.
But I did like it. And more than like, I actually understood her and felt that her way of rearing kids isn't as bad as the media makes it out to be. She expects the best out of her daughters because she believes they can do it. While at times she can go (and has gone) overboard, I think she was able to take out the best in her daughters and instill in them the importance of excellence and giving 110 percent (more like 200 percent) in everything. Her parenting practice challenges the idea that talent comes by nature, which I like: that by giving much effort, we can improve ourselves in anything. I think that's why the part about her daughter, Lulu, finally playing "The Little White Donkey" perfectly resonates so much with me (I felt my eyes tearing up at that part).
This is a very engaging and enjoyable read. I laughed at a lot of scenes and descriptions, and seriously wondered if the reason why some people hated her and her "Chinese" methods of parenting is because they didn't get the humor scattered throughout the book.
Recommended.
But I did like it. And more than like, I actually understood her and felt that her way of rearing kids isn't as bad as the media makes it out to be. She expects the best out of her daughters because she believes they can do it. While at times she can go (and has gone) overboard, I think she was able to take out the best in her daughters and instill in them the importance of excellence and giving 110 percent (more like 200 percent) in everything. Her parenting practice challenges the idea that talent comes by nature, which I like: that by giving much effort, we can improve ourselves in anything. I think that's why the part about her daughter, Lulu, finally playing "The Little White Donkey" perfectly resonates so much with me (I felt my eyes tearing up at that part).
This is a very engaging and enjoyable read. I laughed at a lot of scenes and descriptions, and seriously wondered if the reason why some people hated her and her "Chinese" methods of parenting is because they didn't get the humor scattered throughout the book.
Recommended.
A honest account of being a tiger mother in the West. Chua doubts herself many times but continues the tiger mother tradition despite the possibility of severing her relationship with her youngest daughter.
I admire her strength and courage to write such a book as Westerners think negatively of how Asian Americans raise their progeny. My son is as stubborn as Lulu was though I did not go to tiger mother lengths, my son and I still had our battles as he inherited my stubbornness.
I admire her strength and courage to write such a book as Westerners think negatively of how Asian Americans raise their progeny. My son is as stubborn as Lulu was though I did not go to tiger mother lengths, my son and I still had our battles as he inherited my stubbornness.
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
I actually liked this book. She was a bit annoying with her persistence, but I think she learned a lot too. I'm fond of her quote, nothing is ever fun until you're good at it. So true