Rating: 
Summary: Let's be honest!
Review: The first section was boring. I'm not Asian but I agree with a reader from New York. Amy has to change her characters and find another way to develop the story. The middle section was ok. But never was it a book that couldn't be put down. Time needs to be taken to consider the plot of your next book, Amy, and think, have you said it before? do we need to hear again the struggle of a relationship between an Asian woman and a lackluster "American " male. A reader from Michigan
Rating: 
Summary: A Great Writer is a Terrible Thing to Waste
Review: I once thought Amy Tan has the potential to be an important modern writer, especially for Asian Americans. However, this book proves me wrong. In The Bonesetter's Daughter, her lyrical writing style remains quite good but there are serious flaws in the storytelling.First of all, Amy Tan has told this exact story in her three previous endeavors. If this were the first Amy Tan novel I read, I might have a better impression. That not being the case, I just think she lacks imagination. Also, the pace of the story is inconsistent. The first two-thirds of the book moves at a painstakingly slow pace while the final third moves at break neck speed. It's almost as if Amy Tan herself got bored with the story and just wanted to finish up the novel. She does tie up her loose ends but leaves a bunch of sloppy knots. Lastly, the characters are emotionally unappealing. They left no impact on me except for bitterness because I wasted my time reading about them. I hope Amy Tan takes another five years off to think about what she wants to do with her talent before writing her next book. Maybe then she will live up to her potential.
Rating:
Summary: An Window into the Chinese World.
Review: I like that Amy Tan depicts an America through a outside viewpoint. All of her books serve as a quasi-history lesson for me. I've learned so much about Chinese culture and history just from reading her books. Though all of her stories tell of mother/daughter relationships, they are not one dimensional. Tan gives her readers a multifaceted view of the world. Every mother/daughter relationship is not the same, but most of us can find something in her stories that we relate to. her writing helps validate the lives of so many people, people who'd probably not have their voices heard in mainstream America. I applaud her efforts and look forward to another dose of Chinese/American soulfood.
Rating: 
Summary: A Very Good Read, Especially If You Liked Her Other Books.
Review: It seems like it gets harder and harder to find a book that I really enjoy and want to read in a single sitting. This is one of them. I've read all of Amy Tan's books and I was really looking forward to buying this one. It doesn't disappoint, especially if you're an Amy Tan fan. I don't agree with the other reviewers who say that it is tiresome that this is another mother-daughter relationship themed novel. I think that it's just her style to set up a book that way-- and it's something that most people who have a close but tumultuous relationship with a close relative can identify with. The reason why I find Ms.Tan's books so intriguing is because being 1/2 Chinese and unable to speak the language, I grew up with a Grandmother and Grandfather who came from China and I never really completely understood why they act the way they do. I used to wonder why my grandmother did certain things like burn paper and put food out for the ancestors. Like some of the characters in this book, she certainly had some weird superstitions- she once yelled at me for putting a blue barette in my sister's hair for some reason. And she was always so protective of me, too- she had a lot of warnings that I had to follow, and she used to hold my hand when we would go to Chinatown to shop for food- even when I was 18 years old! But, I digress... I'm sure that my grandparents have some really interesting stories- but since I can't understand Chinese, it's not possible for me to experience them. I like to think that maybe their stories are similar to the ones in Ms. Tan's books. I live and grew up in San Francisco (The Fountain Court restaurant, which was mentioned in this book catered my wedding reception)- so that's another thing that really makes this book special to me. I can see the places she talks about in my mind's eye. Even if you don't live in S.F. and you aren't Chinese, I still think that most people would enjoy this book a lot. I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Storyteller
Review: By now, like it or not, Amy Tan has made an impressive mark in American literature. She is truly a gifted storyteller with a pair of sharp ears for fluid language and dialogues. Tan has captured the audience, both national and international, in 1989 with her clever and easy-to-read "Joy Luck Club." Subsequently, Tan continues to dazzle her readers with the more coherent "The Kitchen God's Wife" and the cartoonish and somewhat weak-plotted "A Hundred Secret Senses." However and fortunately, Tan once again recaptures her glory with "The Bonesetter's Daughter." "The Bonesetter's Daughter" is a touching portrait of a daughter searching for her mother's gradual loss of memory and history. Ruth, ironically, a ghostwriter of self-help books, begins to suspect that there is something wrong with her mother, LuLing, who meanwhile is grasping as much of her waning memory as possible. Tan, again, uses the themes of oral-telling and history to weave an important lesson of preserving one's heritage. Furthermore, having losing her own mother to Alzheimer in real life, Tan timely incorporates the vitally important theme of the dreadful disease. As usual, Tan's language is effortless and flowing like a zen waterfall -- smooth and consistent. "Yet I have memory of her telling me with her hands, I can see her saying this with her eyes.When it is dark, she says this to me in a clear voice I have never heard. She speaks in the language of shooting star" reads like a luminous lantern flickering behind the back of the reader. Symbollically, LuLing's memory is short but bright. Luling's part (II)is so powerfully written that it stands out by itself. For those critics who accuse Tan of rehashing the themes of mother-and-daughter, it is absolutely unfair and unsubstantiated. Yes, Tan has the annoying habit of portraying Asian/ Asian American men in such negative light (As an Asian American man, I cannot stand the movie version of the "Joy Luck Club"). However, to attack her for her themes is totally unnecessary. It is like persecuting William Faulkner for his writing of Mississippi or of the Sartoris clan, or Louise Erdrich of her Indian heritage, or John Updike of middle-class family tragedies. Nonetheless, what makes Tan's works less challenging than others is her too neat and conventional endings. Everything always ends predictably resolved, leaving no room for readers to ponder or soak in the emotion. Regardless, "The Bonesetter's Daughter" is a great book, perhaps her best yet. Racial politics aside, Amy Tan is a natural-born storyteller in the tradition of Willa Cather and Louise Erdrich.
Rating:
Summary: As good as Joy Luck Club and that says a lot
Review: Amy Tan writes great books. This is as good as it gets. A great book well written by a wonderful author. I love reading her books. She pulls you into her story even if like me you have no personal knowledge of the culture she writes about. I was enthralled by this one. I read it cover to cover without putting it down. It's a book you're sorry to see the end of. Finishing it was like saying goodby to a friend.
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Summary: Tan Sells Out Yet Once Again
Review: I have been reading Amy Tan for years and years...not because I am a huge fan of hers, but I read her, and other Asian American writers in the hopes that one day we can be represented fairly. The characters of Tan's novels all take on the same tired roles. There is always the protagonist who rebels against her Chinese upbringing until the mother who we are lead to believe is "wacky and off her gourd" spills her guts about her unbelievably tragic life in China and then the daughter finds her Chinese roots in the last pages of the book. The mother either dies, or in this case, is shipped off to a nursing home. The daughter always has a Caucasian boyfriend...not that there is anything wrong with that...but do all of the Asian men in Tan's books have to be evil misogynists? Or apathetic cads? Of course there may be a positive male character...but he is either an old father (who may or may not die during the course of the book) or he is the young mother's first love...and he usually dies...tragically...along the lines of "the last good man in China" syndrome... I could go on and on about what I think is unoriginal and insulting about this book. But the main issue I have with Tan's books (and I know this is supposed to be a review of "Bonesetter's Daughter" but I think that if you blur your vision, all of Tan's books read pretty much the same) is this: The characters and plots come at you as being genuinely Asian...all the set dressing is there...but at closer examination, they aren't. Being Asian is just another plot device Tan uses...it adds that little something exotic that makes readers curious and makes readers think that they are getting a glimpse into the real thing. It's a disguise the book wears to hide the fact that it is a completely commercial book with little new to offer. Many of my friends cannot read Amy Tan because of this...it is insulting. It is heartbreaking to know that a writer of such immense talent continues to sell out pieces of her ethnic heritage for a bestseller. And it also hurts when non-Asians ask me what I think of the new Amy Tan and I have to say I was incredibly disappointed. All we want is a truly representation...not the further promotion and exploitation of stereotypes.
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Summary: Tan's best novel yet!
Review: In THE BONESETTER'S DAUGHTER, Amy Tan's literary talents shine even more brilliantly than in her other books, all of which (with perhaps the exception of her last) deserve serious reading. Released on Tan's fiftieth birthday, her newest novel shows a maturity absent from her earlier work. As a result, this book feels more complete and richer than her others - a real feat. Ruth is a ghostwriter, an appropriate job considering that her mother believes she has a special ability to channel the spirit of long dead Precious Auntie. Ruth lives with her boyfriend, Art, and his two daughters, and has strung together a hectic life of professional and personal responsibilities, losing herself in the needs of others. When her elderly mother LuLing begins to show signs of dementia, Ruth is thrown into crisis, knowing that she is losing someone she has never truly known. Because she can no longer trust her mother's answers to questions, she hires a translator to decode her mother's story, a manuscript written in elegant calligraphy which Ruth has never found time to decipher herself. The translation of LuLing's story, a compelling narrative of a girl and her disfigured nanny, Precious Auntie, occupies the middle of the novel. Slowly, the reader is led through the intricate paths of LuLing's childhood and the truths she has hidden. Knowing what we do about Ruth and her mother, certain details take on a complexity of meaning. When Tan returns us to the present day in the closing chapters, we understand not only the difficult relationship between Ruth and her mother, but gain insights on life itself and the fragility of love. This is truly an ambitious and successful novel, with only a few missteps on Tan's part. Her ability to tell a story and to engage the reader completely is as strong as ever. If you are an Amy Tan fan, you can't afford to miss this one.
Rating:
Summary: very enjoyable story
Review: I really enjoyed reading this book. This is the first book that I have read by Amy Tan. I thought the whole book was a great read and didn't feel the need to skip pages or find any parts of the story slow. I really enjoyed reading about the mother and daughter and could have read on and on about their lives. I felt a part of the daughter's life in San Fransico and the mother's in China. The characters really came alive for me. I was sorry when I finished the book. It deserved every one of the five stars
Rating:
Summary: Amy, Will You Help Me?
Review: Amy, please help me write my family's history! Actually, so many elements are similar to yours, I may not need to. I started crying after reading just the Acknowledgements and the Dedication. I nursed my Chinese mother and grandmother as they both died within the last 3 years. I never knew their original names until I wrangled them out of my grandmother a few months before she died. Ruth's frustrations and guilt are portrayed exactly as I felt them while growing up. I loved the many-layered theme of the ghostwriter. This book touched me deeply, and I don't know how I'll be able to do a better job with my family's history. Some of the details are different, but the feelings are exactly the same.
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