Rating: 
Summary: Triumphant
Review: I have read all the books written by Amy Tan and this, her new book certainly delivers the expected beautiful prose. Tan is an absolute master at creating full bodied flawed human characters. She always manages to make them truly realistic because she does not treat her characterisations like glass that may break if it is pushed too hard, instead she moulds her charaters into situations and has them react in a truly believable manner. One of the things that I particularly like about this book, and in fact all of Amy Tan's books is the overwhelming feeling of triumph. I realiise that this sounds odd, as this book like her others frequently deals wiith loss and hardship. However, the triumph is quiet and permeating. It seems to me that the triumph is in that fact that the women in the book exist, that they have survived whatever has gone before. In conclusion, this book is an absolute gem. The characters are wonderful. You can't help but sympathise with Ruth as she watches her mothers mental deterioration and finally comes to know and understand more about her mother than at any other time in her life.
Rating: 
Summary: Not her best, but still compelling....
Review: ...I have to agree that this is not her best work, but I still think it's a compelling story--especially (and here I agree with others) during the section that details the main character's mother's life in China. This is Tan's strong point as a writer--bringing legend and culture to life, and she always does so in a superb manner. I found the first part, and the last part of the book to be sparse, a bit thin--it felt as if the *real* story was within the mother's past...but all in all, I enjoyed the book as I do all of her work and recommend it---Yasmine Galenorn, author of Embracing The Moon.
Rating:
Summary: Awfully Familiar At First....
Review: Being an Amy Tan fanatic, I have read most of her novels and this one reminds me very much of the novel about the chess prodigy (can't think of the title just now,) the mother's mannerisms and exclamations, even the living arrangements. The book has it's fresh points, it's weak points, and a few surprises along the way. Tan did something very refreshing, however, she added two books within a book. The character Ruth's life story is the focus of the book. When a grim fact is discovered about her mother, Ruth decides it is time to investigate LuLing's life. In the book is a memoir of LuLing's life and her "nursemaid" (I won't say more than that for now,) Precious Auntie. The book deals with the very real emotions of caring for the elderly. As the very same thing happened to my grandmother, I can admit being especially touched. I am proud to say that I OWN this one. It's far too good to just borrow from the library.
Rating:
Summary: This is the first book by Amy Tan that I have read.
Review: I have no idea of how good, bad or indifferent her previous work might or might not be. I HAVE heard a great deal of wonderful things said about her previous work, but never felt drawn to reading it myself. But then I read a synopsis about "The Bonesetter's Daughter," and something clicked. This sounded like a book that I really should read. Judging by the reviews that I've read here, readers seem to either really like or really hate this particular book. There doesn't seem to be any middle ground.And my reaction to "The Bonesetter's Daughter"? It may have a flaw or two, but it is still one of the best books that I have ever read. The story and the characters drew me in from the very beginning, and held on until the very end. I wanted to know what, when, where, how and why the story was going to progress. Not too many books do that for me these days. By the end of the story I felt such emotion that I wanted to cry for these characters. I wanted to cry because of the importance of family for all people. What Amy Tan wrote touched me that deeply.
Rating:
Summary: It's the Mother/Daughter Thing...
Review: Amy Tan is such a great writer, and the way she examines the mother/daughter relationship is extraordinary and honest. The Bonesetter's Daughter tells so many stories about Chinese culture, family relationships, stepfamilies, superstitions, love, triumph, growing up, the past, ancestors, knowing ourselves, knowing our family, family curses, and breaking family curses. I was actually envious of Ruth not being able to talk for a whole week each year. The story of Ruth's grandmother is absolutely wonderful and sad. The book left me with hope for Ruth and her mother. Their lives are not cursed by some unhappy ghost and a passing curse from an evil man. The story is wonderful and well written. It's a must read for Amy Tan fans and people who love mother/daughter stories.
Rating:
Summary: I loved this book!
Review: All of the above reviews are right on - I agree except for the fact that it starts off a bit slow. Stick with it and you will be so glad you did. I felt extremely empowered once I finished it, it's a must have!
Rating:
Summary: Want a page turner?
Review: This book was an amazing read. I am a high school student who is addicted to reading and for a week straight I didn't get any homework done because I couldn't put this book down. My favorite charactor was the mother because I could picture her in my mind and it was like watching a movie. I really enjoyed reading this book and will surely read more books by Amy Tan.
Rating:
Summary: A sincere portayal of strong, maternal love.
Review: "The Bonesetter's Daughter" is a story rich with a strong, maternal love that I will cherish forever. The spiritual therapy I received from this book with regards to my own mother was absolutely priceless. I often cried and laughed at some of the remarkable similarities of Tan's characters to my own mother and myself. I feel very happy and fortunate for having the oppurtunity to read this beautiful novel. As for the Asian American, Amazon.com reviewers who find Tan's writing too "stereotypical" to Asians, most of these criticisms are usually unjustified banter. I've got four words for those people, "Show me the proof!". If Tan's writing seems offensive, boring, or predictable to disgruntled reviewers such as "Native Chinese Reader" or "Asian Guy From New York", they can quit their whining and try reading works by the numerous other famous Asian American literature authors available at Amazon such as: Maxine Hong Kingston ("The Woman Warrior" & "China Men"), Helie Lee ("Still Life With Rice"), Wakako Yamauchi ("Songs My Mother Taught Me"), Chung Rae Lee, etc.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointment
Review: After having read all of Amy Tan's prior novels, which were magically compelling on many levels including spiritually and historically, I was disappointed with the lackluster performance of The Bonesetter's Daughter. Unlike The Joy Luck Club and The Hundred Secret Senses, which weaves complex tales of past and present into a miraculously seamless package replete with colorful Asian history and culture, joyful yet tragic relationships and characters rich with flawed personality and unpredictability, The Bonesetter's Daughter was strangely forumulaic and never really hit its mark. My expectation after reading the opening chapter was high. Luling's character was at once a mystery waiting to be unraveled; however, as the story progresses to Ruth's modern day life, complete with dysfunctional relationships with both men and matriarch, Tan's prose goes strangely flat and loses the essence of a promising story. The elements of style typically embedded in Tan's work: metaphor, substantive character development, poetic command of the written word, are just not as present in Bonesetter. While in other novels Tan transitions effortlessly between past and present characters and story lines, Bonesetter awkwardly jerks back and forth between Ruth's modern life and Luling's tragic past without evoking relevance between the two worlds. The thread that Tan usually so magically constructs to tie the stories and characters together becomes somehow unraveled and as a result, the story has a disheveled quality to it. Regarding the story's ending, it's almost as if Tan runs out of material and wraps the conclusion in an uncreative, albeit neat, package. Hopefully her next novel will be a better one.
Rating:
Summary: The Bonesetter's Daughter
Review: This book took me back in history and to China. What an amazing and heartfelt tale. Any fan of Amy Tan should run not walk to get this book. I didn't want to finish reading the book it was so AMAZING!
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