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ostaranina 's review for:

3.0

One of the reasons for me to love reading is that one single book can extract a different reaction from different people. Amy Chua’s memoir about raising her Chinese-Jewish American children the Chinese way, “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother”, has done just that. From ferocious shocked reactions in the United States, of parents who could not imagine a more evil mother, to an unexpected reception in China, actually portraying her raising methods as the cool american mom who gives make-up tips.

Me, I thought she narrated her story in a funny, honest way, even doubting herself and a child-rearing method she fully believed in. A thing I did not expect was that I also felt slightly sad after Ifinished the book. As a half-Asian/European child myself, I could recognize the stern Asian mother that only wanted the best, honostly thinking less than an A as a grade was embarassing and the relaxed, easy-going father that did not care if I got an A or a B. My mother mercilessly drilled me too at occassions, not completely to Amy Chua’s extent, but I can say without a doubt those were moments I will NOT forget, ever.

When I turned 12 my mother moved to Indonesia, for she got a good job there and me, I stayed in Amsterdam finishing school. This is where Chua’s book hit a chord, I realized that, had my mother stayed in Holland during my teen years, I could have been molded into someone “better”, if the freedom of liberal Amsterdam had been thoughtfully combined with Asian parenting brought forward in this book. As Chua says, nothing is fun untill you’re good at it, I now wish there actually was someone that would force the practicing and studying DOWN MY THROAT if it had to be that way.

All in all, I think it was a good read. Besides it being an entertaining story it is food for discussion, a discussion about parenting but about the various reactions it has received as well, for I do agree that a lot of the extremely negative comments and remarks in the West could have a deeper root than just the parenting itself. Chinese kids and China itself, excel these days in a lot of fields, at the same time the US is slowly falling of its mighty international throne, with China as its current big competitor climbing up ever so fast in terms of global significance. No wonder this little book that ‘reveals’ the secret to the succes so many Asians achieve is intimidating for the mainstream liberal American parent.

I don’t agree with every method this Tiger mom uses or rule she sets out but ahh, if just everyone would discipline and train their children more! What a marvelous world we would live in, absolutely not something to be afraid of!