The Joy Luck Club

Rating:
Summary: Ever feel like you're there?
Review: I have read and re-read this book over the last five years, and watched the movie many times as well. I have since read everything Amy Tan has written. She pulls me into her world with a power and sensitivity that few writers can match. The mother-daugher relationships are universal in many ways, and the views of their individual lives (especially in the flashbacks to China) are so real, I crave Chinese food every time I read Joy Luck. Granted, this book is not for everyone, and may seem like a "chick book" to men; the stories are convoluted, and if you can't follow flash-forward/flash-back, don't even try to read it. But no matter how you were raised, or where your history is, I think most women can find something true to their life in Joy Luck Club.

Rating:
Summary: Gosh, what can I say? . . . WOW!
Review: I am only half-way through this book and I have seen the movie four times. It [the movie] was great and made me want to read the book. I had wanted to start it when I was a bit older but I found it in my school library the other day and after reading the first few sentences, I was honestly mesmerized! What a great book!

Rating:
Summary: Great insight into human nature, yet often overly confusing
Review: The Joy Luck Club has its moments of excellent drama, where you become so entranced in its interpretation of human nature that you almost can't put it down. However, Amy Tan could have excluded some of the characters. Although they all complimented the novel in different ways, they essentially provided the same theme, and only made the book very confusing to follow. I had to go over the chapters several times and I even rented the movie before I was finally able to envision the novel as a whole. I am not one who can concentrate very well with such in-depth books, and I only recommend it for those people. Too bad, though, it was an excellent concept overall.

Rating:
Summary: Heartbreak
Review: Even chinese culture are sometimes distorted in this book, the stories in this book make me cry. Huge and deep gaps between two generations and two different cultures, what described in this book make me rethink the meaning of time and life.

Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Heart Breaking Story
Review: This book is D-E-P-R-E-S-S-I-N-G. Tehre is no other way to describe it. I am only half way through it. It is wonderfully written. I happen to think that the movie is more powerful though. A definite buy. A must read.

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful book.
Review: The Joy Luck Club is a book that shows Asian and Asian-American life without apology or exaltation. I can easily connect to the Asian-American women who want to be accepted as completely American- there is nothing spoiled or bratty about them feeling that way, not anymore than a Euro-American considering himself completely American. Asians are torn between two cultures in many families, including mine, and it is show rather well in this book. One reader wanted to know why schools are making the students read books with a Chinese-American background like Joy Luck Club and Woman Warrior. The reason is because students up until now have not been exposed to writings by people other than dead Caucasian men or, in a few rare cases, African-Americans. Many Asian-Americans cannot find their image in the media and it is a wonderful thing that schools are trying to remedy this. Joy Luck Club is a beautiful book, beautifully written with a beautiful story. As for the strange pseudo-Confucian sayings that many reviewers have complained about, my father, in fact, does use his "four word proverbs" as he calls them when speaking Chinese to his friends. "Like a tiger between the trees" is one of them. Joy Luck Club speaks to me in ways I can't explain. It touches me and it reaches me. Like Woman Warrior, this is a book that one reads and is haunted by the pure emotion of the tales that each woman tells. This book isn't any more boring, in fact, less than a classic like Pride and Prejudice or Bleak House. And a hell lot more meaningful.

Rating:
Summary: A GOOD BOOK!
Review: The first time I read this book was when I was 12. Eversince then I was hooked. I read it over and over and it was wonderful. Ms. Tan's words weave and develop the story. It is one of the best books ever. It is so un-boring and it is so interesting to read stories about women.

Rating:
Summary: not good, not bad, just different
Review: I think the book is very interesting to read and I liked the way Tan portrays her characters. Even though you may find some of them pretty self-centered and lacking any sense of responsibility, you get a very good image of every one of them, and might even feel with some. I also believe it helps to understand people from a different cultural background.

Rating:
Summary: horrible dont read
Review: i did not like this book. some parts were ok but i had to force my way through it.

Rating:
Summary: Gripping and moving. Worth the effort!
Review: I read this book at the recommendation of a good friend. I had spoken with her about a decision to purposely read more books by women and minorities -- Amy Tan was recommended (along with The Awakening, The Bluest Eye, A Thousand Acres, and Jane Eyre).

I'm very glad to have read this. The struggle between mother and daughter was beautifully presented, and heightened with the struggle between cultures. However, this book is NOT just for mothers and daughters -- my wife and I BOTH read this, and we were both moved by Tan's ability to draw the reader into the emotional conflict of her characters. I found myself frustrated at times, and realized that I was feeling what the characters would have been feeling.

Excellent read, and highly recommended.