The Bonesetter's Daughter (edição 2001)

I hadn't read any Tan before picking this one up and am unsure now whether to read more or not, as I'm not sure whether this is regarded as one of her better books or not. I found the first big section deeply disappointing. It read like a script for an infomercial or a dramatization and just felt really amateurish and frankly made me wonder if Tan was well regarded less in the way that a literary author is well regarded than in the way a more popular but lighter author is popular. I was ready to begrudgingly award this book two stars because it hurts my feelings a little to go as low as one star.

But then the big middle section redeemed it. What a lovely (well, and horrifying) story and how nicely Tan wrote it!

The final section returns to something nearer the first big section, though I found it slightly less annoying, if also not very likely in terms of plotting or natural in terms of character development. I could be convinced that one author wrote the big middle chunk of the book (and the short opening section) and farmed the rest out to a hack.

I suppose I'll try another by Tan, but at the first glimmer of a resemblance to the hackish style of portions of this book, I'll likely run away. ( )

In love with this book, great for a cultural book study. ( )

BG-5

I read this back in 2002. Here is what I wrote in my journal back then:

>>. . .had been sitting on my shelf for a while. When I started, I had mixed feelings about the book for it was not holding my attention very much. I finished it, but I have to admit that I had to force myself to get to the end. The most interesting part of the book is the second part that tells the story of Liu, Ruth's mother, in China. The story is moving; her tribulations really were moving; you kept wondering what else could happen to this girl, plus the setting and the historical events made it interesting. I really did not want this section to end as I would go back to Ruth's setting, which seemed mostly mundane with Ruth having no backbone to stand up for herself. Ruth neuroses and constant worries at times got a bit much to bear. And while finding the grandmother's real name is a significant event, by the time the reader gets to it, I just wanted the book to be over. Also Ruth working things out with the self-centered and inconsiderate Art seemed too contrived, like the author needed a happy ending and thus Art suddenly gets a conscience. It was too convenient. She should have dumped him in spite of his offer to help with Liu. The book overall is not without merits, but I have seen some of the themes done way better by other writers. ( )

I think that when Amy Tan is right on she is definitely right on. A few years ago I devoured every book she had written and still have all of her books on my bookshelf. I decided to re-read "The Bonesetter's Daughter" for my Booklikes-opoly square.

The "Bonesetter's Daughter"is told as a shifting narrative of a Chines American daughter (Ruth) trying to deal with her mother (LuLing) who is starting to lose her memory due to Alzheimer's. Ruth feels frustrated trying to deal with her mother and with her relationship with her lover Art. At times Ruth becomes mute and is unable to express herself. When she finds her mother's diary she decides to have it translated and the diary allows her to really see her mother for the first time.

Ruth was a trial for me at times. Seriously. I wanted her to take a stand against her boyfriend/lover and his terrible kids. They were exhausting to even read about. But I did feel smidgens of sympathy for her here and there. Her mother's obsession with ghosts, curses, and embarrassing her as a child are definitely things that would make it hard for you to sympathize initially with LuLing until we get to her story.

I will admit that at first I didn't like LuLing until we (readers) get to read the memoirs that Ruth is having translated from what her mother wrote. You get LuLing's earlier younger voice and your heart is definitely going to break when you read about what she dealt with while living in China. It also helps Ruth better understand her mother and realize why her mother acted the way she did while she was growing up. The two women get closer towards the end of the book which did make me happy.

I have always loved Amy Tan's writing. She manages to make every sentence count and just draw you in. I felt every second of LuLing's younger voice via her diary as she remembers what her life in China was like. And also her sadness when she realizes her daughter is pulling away from her. I will say though the reason why I only gave this four stars is that the first part of the book that primarily is told from Ruth's POV was hard to get through. That's why I didn't give it 5 stars.

The setting of the book goes back and forth from San Francisco to China. The China parts of the book felt the most alive to me. Reading about LuLing living at Immortal Heart made it seem like the a stark and desolate place.

The ending was poignant but also sad. I know that this book is quite realistic with showing how Alzheimer's affects people and families, but I still wished for a different ending. ( )