The Joy Luck Club

This is mothers and daughters telling their stories. They don't really know each other. This is the real them. Beliefs and traditions play a part. Some went through so much. A lot of what happens is sad. I don't think I took the time with this book that is necessary with each of their stories. It did make me think about the parents, grandparents and immigrants around me and what interesting stories they might have. ( )

Mi padre me ha pedido que ocupe la cuarte esquina en el Club de la Buena Estrella, sustituyendo a mi madre, cuyo puesto ante...

I think this book is perfect for read-alongs, book clubs, and college courses because it should be read a little chunk at a time and discussed in detail. There are so many emotions and ideas to process throughout the stories of the four mothers and daughters that I think trying to read the book quickly wouldn't allow the time and space needed to dig in deep. I also think anyone reading this book should be prepared to want to learn more about China's history and culture. What little I already knew was not enough, and The Joy Luck Club prodded me to go in search of that knowledge.

What makes this book one of the top pieces of literary fiction is even when you think Chinese culture is so very different that no one but the Chinese could possibly understand, the struggles that occur between mothers and daughters is relatable no matter where you come from in the world. Am I an expert on Chinese familial relationships? Not a chance. Did I see my mother and myself in those pages? All the time. Amy Tan somehow combines uncomfortable unfamiliarity with the feeling of looking in a mirror. She even has the characters experience this same interchange of emotions as they find themselves realizing how different and yet how similar they are to each other. She also turns myth into reality and vice versa. Somehow she manages all this within the structure of a mahjong game. At the end of every chapter, I would pause for a moment to let what I had read sink in and allow myself to feel astounded. For once, I can safely say that this is a book everyone should read. ( )

I really loved this book. I have recommended it to many women over the years and have never heard anything except positive feedback.

I read the book after I saw the movie. The movie was a random thing, it was my birthday and I got to see a free movie and I chose Joy Luck Club even though I knew nothing about the film. It was one of those rare movies that made me cry, so I sought out the book.

When I first read it, I was reading it from the standpoint of being a daughter and thinking about my relationship with my mother. Now that I am a mother myself it means so much more. This book has so much to say about ourselves, our mothers, our daughters, the love we have for one another and how it endures the tests of time and hardships of life.

I gather swan feathers for my daughter, my sister, my mother, my grandmother, all the women in my family who were once tied together by an umbilical cord. The feathers may not come from afar, but they bear all my good intentions. ( )

I loved the characters and their individual stories, but they all felt unfinished and the story ended so abruptly, I was shocked it was done. It seemed to end mid-thought. Maybe I just need more closure. Ha! ( )