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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
What I thought it was going to be: a cohesive, traditional novel with a plot that revolves around daughters of Chinese-Americans.
What it was!!!!!: separate but related stories of BOTH!!! mothers and daughters.
I liked reading about a culture that was so different from my white, American background from white, American parents. I loved the stories, the flashbacks of a childhood in China, the friendship that binds the four mothers together, the daughters' connection/disconnection with their culture. Was kind of grim in that none (except one I think) of the daughter's seemed quite happy in their current or past relationships with men. But I think I get that that wasn't the point of the novel. There were places where I was a little bored, but the novel as a whole was something that I could see myself reading again and again. I think Waverly was my favorite character. A lot of parts reminded me of the Woman Warrior but I can't tell if that was because I've read so few books by Chinese authors and I'm just generalizing the tone of both or because the complicated mother-daughter relationship was portrayed similarly.
What it was!!!!!: separate but related stories of BOTH!!! mothers and daughters.
I liked reading about a culture that was so different from my white, American background from white, American parents. I loved the stories, the flashbacks of a childhood in China, the friendship that binds the four mothers together, the daughters' connection/disconnection with their culture. Was kind of grim in that none (except one I think) of the daughter's seemed quite happy in their current or past relationships with men. But I think I get that that wasn't the point of the novel. There were places where I was a little bored, but the novel as a whole was something that I could see myself reading again and again. I think Waverly was my favorite character. A lot of parts reminded me of the Woman Warrior but I can't tell if that was because I've read so few books by Chinese authors and I'm just generalizing the tone of both or because the complicated mother-daughter relationship was portrayed similarly.
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
A literary classic.
emotional
reflective
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A classic - and I have no idea quite why it has taken me so long to get to it.
It is a series of vignettes on immigrant life. of Four Chinese women and their Chinese-American daughters tell their stories and each chapter is told from one woman's perspective. This can make the book hard to follow at the beginning as it is easy to lose track of who is who. But what it does give is a sense of the gap that exists between their Chinese immigrant mothers and the daughters who alternately embrace and deny their Chinese heritage. But many of the themes are also universal - the mismatch between what is in our heads and what we appear as to others, the relationships generally between parents and children and how each misunderstands the other.
It is a series of vignettes on immigrant life. of Four Chinese women and their Chinese-American daughters tell their stories and each chapter is told from one woman's perspective. This can make the book hard to follow at the beginning as it is easy to lose track of who is who. But what it does give is a sense of the gap that exists between their Chinese immigrant mothers and the daughters who alternately embrace and deny their Chinese heritage. But many of the themes are also universal - the mismatch between what is in our heads and what we appear as to others, the relationships generally between parents and children and how each misunderstands the other.
I really liked this book. I felt like the ability to see from both the mother and daughter's perspectives helped paint a very beautiful story. I thought it was nice to see the differences between the two, and how the mother's past in China affected/differed with her daughter's life growing up in America. The book also contains a lot of beautiful imagery and a great story that many people can relate to. I would recommend this book because I think it offers multiple perspectives on what it is like to have a gap in a mother-daughter relationship. No matter who you are, you can learn something from it.
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes