Rating: 
Summary: Amy Tan's Joy Luck Club
Review: This book fully exploits the relationship between the first generation Chinese in America and the Chinese immigrants. This story often depicts the rebelliousness of the Chinese-American children towards their parents because the parents continue to hold onto their traditions. THE JOY LUCK CLUB also shows the misunderstanding the parents have towards their children's actions. After much of the book, the parents either stick to their guns or adapt to their children's decisions. All in all, this book provides a very accurate picture of the modern situation of Chinese-American children and their immigrant parents
Rating: 
Summary: Lovely, but maybe a bit over emotional.
Review: Are ten year old boys in fifth grade, petrified of teachers and waiting for 'go-home-time' supposed to like this book? I don't know, and call me a different species of children, but I love this book. Okay, I thought it was a bit overly dramatic at times but that was one of the only flaws I saw. Tan has created an undying power in these strong women. She has used each word as some sort of poetry that flows over the reader like music. The Joy Luck Club is both intriguing and meaningful, and it tells a story so believable and compelling it can capture the soul of even the most stone-hearted of humans, it can even capture the souls of a limited number of strange ten year old boys (like me). The movie is, ummm.. unexplainably different. It didn't have the same message for me. And then I found it was rated R and then I thought 'no wonder.' No, the book has a stronger message and characters that are deeper developed. The Joy Luck Club has a little of everything: Jing Mei Woo has her sorrow, Waverly Jong has her wickedness, Rose Hsu Jordan has a dying pride, Lena St. Clair has a deep emotion, Lindo Jong has a bitterness that often transforms into vivid humor, An-Mei Hsu has a ground-breaking past, and Ying-Ying St. Clair has a strong fear and love for her daughter. These seven formidable women and their unfogettable pasts, presents and futures make up The Joy Luck Club. Lovely, so lovely- I've read it six times
Rating:
Summary: It was educational and humorous, yet it had disappointments.
Review: I liked The Joy Luck Club because it really explained how the Chinese think and act because of their traditions. The book even used Chinese words and then explained it in English what it means. So just by reading the book, it taught me a little bit of Chinese. It was humorous because of the way the Chinese mothers spoke to their Chinese-American daughters. The mothers were used to their old Chinese traditional ways while the daughters were used to the American ways. It had it's disappointments because thier daughters turned out just the same as their mothers. When they were trying to prevent the same mistakes they been through to repeat over
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic reading. GO WOMEN!
Review: Wonderful book that shows the comnplex relationship between cultures and mothers and daughters. Even though I an not of Asian decent, I could totaly relate with the daughters and my mother could relate with the mothers. It is totaly engrossing and hard to put down. I read it in two days, with time out to shower and eat. Too bad that literature is one of the only genres where women have equal contributions
Rating:
Summary: The Joy Luck Club
Review: Each of the four Chinese ladies at the Mahjong table has a story to tell. The Joy Luck Club tells the story in detail. Each arrived in America through different circumstances. Many faced poverty, arranged marriages and loss of children, family and possessions. They lived through hardships that they cannot forget. When they arrived in America, they learned to speak English and adapt to American ways although Chinese culture still dominated their lives. The Joy Luck Club is also about their daughters. The daughters are American-born Chinese and are totally different. They cannot understand their mothers and become frustrated easily by their ways.The story is rich with detail and engages the reader in small captivating chapters. It is easy to cry as you imagine some of the pain that the mothers experienced in China. One can tell the huge generation gap among immigrant mothers and their American-born daughters more clearly after reading this book.
Rating:
Summary: The Joy Luck Club
Review: I read this book in my sophomore year of high school when I was sixteen. I was truly amazed by the great word usage that Amy Tan was able to achieve. Being an asian-american myself, I found it very easy to relate to the four Chinese mothers and the four american daughters. But I do believe that regardless of race, color, or creed, anyone can enjoy this book and be able to appreciate the stylized story telling. Another thing I love about this book is its format. There are four different lessons that are subdivided into four stories that are all narrated by either the American daughters or the Chinese Mothers. (If you look at the book, it's make more sense than I'm making right now.) One of the main themes in the book is communication between generations. All the mothers really want for their daughters is for them not to lose "face" and remember where they came from. And all the daughters want is for their mothers to accept them for who they really are. This book shows how great a mother's wisdom can be even when a daughter doesn't want to hear it. This is my favorite book of all time and I advise everyone to read it regardless of age. It's a classic and a good one for a reason. I'll end this with my favortie quotes from The Joy Luck Club: A girl is like a young tree, you must stand tall and listen to your mother standing next to you. That is the only way to grow strong and straight. But if you bend to listen to other people, you will grow crooked and weak. You will fall to the ground with the first strong wind. And then you will be like a weed, growing wild in any direction running along the ground until someone pulls you out and throws you away."
Rating:
Summary: Why 'Joy Luck' Brings Me Misery
Review: Why 'Joy Luck' Brings Me Misery
©2001 Julia Oh
China doll. Meek, submissive, mysterious and sultry. White man's geisha. She shrieks at the sight of a mouse. She takes insults as a reminder to improve upon her flawed self. She is the survivor of abuse by Asian men from her past, just as she watched her mother abused by the hands of her father. She endures. She sits quietly alone, waiting for her white knight to come untie her from generations of misery. Who is she?
The answer is simple. She is a creation. She is a fantasy Asian woman crafted by the minds of White men and bought without question by Asian women.
Be Real
I am a real Asian woman. I don't see myself fitting the synthetic mold by any stretch of the imagination. Fortunately, I am able to separate myself from this Asian female persona, as I am aware that she is a third-party creation, an amalgamation of laughable stereotypes. My life, while filled with many goals and driven by a multitude of ambitions, has undeniably been shaped by my constant battle with fighting racism and stereotypes. As my life experiences have taught me, many people mistake the myths about Asian women for reality. I realize, however, that those who hold misconceptions about Asians cannot be placed entirely at fault. Asian Americans currently comprise only 4% of the total US population. Therefore, those who have little to no daily contact with Asian Americans have only the media and second-hand accounts to rely on for their images and perceptions of Asian Americans.
The disturbing element in all of this is the flagrant inaccuracies attached to the media-constructed image of the Asian American woman. And the consequence that I suffer due to this is that I am viewed as an aberration from the supposed "norm". I am an aberration because I speak my mind. I am an aberration because I assert my preferences. I am an aberration because I choose to date Asian males exclusively.
In thinking of ways in which to combat stereotypes, I came upon the following conclusion: If people who have little to no contact with Asians continue to rely on the media as their source of information, then the media image should at least be a more accurate reflection of reality. It is with this determination that I came upon a certain idea.
Campaign against Joy Luck Club
My campaign, or better put, my goal is simple: to either replace or supplement Amy Tan's Joy Luck Club from the reading lists of high schools and universities across the nation with works written by other Asian American authors who more accurately portray Asian Americans. JLC is currently used by institutions of learning across the nation, and is referenced as a novel that is "representative of the AA experience". Its recognition is so mainstream, in fact, that it comes along with study guides by Cliffs Notes. Furthermore, JLC holds the record for the highest gross sales for a novel written by an Asian American author, and even hit the silver screens in 1993, directed by Hollywood big shot Oliver Stone. Through Amy Tan and JLC, the images of self-loathing Asian women and abusive Asian men have reached the minds of thousands across the nation.
In my campaign to replace JLC from school curriculums, I have enlisted the support of Asian American groups of every feasible nature. I am not looking to wipe out all works written by Asian American authors. Nor am I looking to censor Amy Tan. If academic institutions would even supplement their reading lists with other more representative works by Asian American authors in addition to JLC, I feel that many misconceptions that non-Asians hold about Asians could be clarified.
My angst with JLC is that it plays upon all of the Asian stereotypes that were described in my opening paragraph. Asian women are depicted as lonely miserable characters whose ultimate salvation comes when united in marriage with a White male. Furthermore, the author mercilessly smears all of the Asian male characters, confining them to the role of the wife-abuser, or the nit-picking egomaniac. That a novel inclusive of such detrimental stereotypes is touted as the representative of the AA experience, that it is highly acclaimed by critics, and that the concerns regarding its portrayal of Asian Americans comes only from other Asian Americans is as puzzling to me as racism itself. When Amy Tan (who is, in real life, married to a White man) herself asserts that she would never date an Asian man because she would not date her father or her brother, how can anyone not question the impetus behind the fiction she creates? If a prominent White figure claimed that she would never date a white man because he would remind her of her brother, or even if a prominent Black figure claimed that she would never date a Black man because she would never date her father, the public would certainly question the mental well-being of the individual. But in Amy Tan's case, neither the personal comment nor the dynamics between Asian men and women in JLC are questioned. Could this be because the public believes that she represents the collective voice of Asian America? In such a "PC" country, certainly no one would dare object to the morale of an entire ethnic group.
Who Are These Guys?
In my countless correspondences with Asian Americans of every background, the overwhelming consensus is that the story is NOT representative of the Asian American experience. I must confess that there were parts to JLC that I could relate to, such as the generational and cultural gap the protagonist felt with her immigrant parents. But alongside these anecdotes came, what I felt, were flagrant generalizations. I especially never felt that abusiveness and arrogance were traits exclusive to Asian men.
So long as JLC and Amy Tan are the only widely recognized products of Asian American literature, the strife for equality of Asian Americans will continue to be stifled. The kung-fu evil master and the white male's sexual servant stereotypes will continue their reign as the foremost images attached to Asian Americans. And if the only contact that many non-Asians have with Asian Americans is through television or literature, we must, by all means, do our best to provide a clearer, more comprehensive and affirmative picture.
www.modelminority.com
Rating:
Summary: Right on the money
Review: "Americanized" daughters living in California. The difference between their generations and cultures creates conflict between the mother and daughters. Each chapter in the novel is a separate narrative told by one of the eight main characters. This allows the reader to see all the conflicts from both sides and understand why there are conflicts. The title of the novel comes from one of the mothers, Suyaun. She started a club in China during the war to keep the women's minds off the war and preoccupied with something fun. She called it the "Joy Luck Club". All four women would gather together to play Mahjong and tell stories. The story mainly focuses on the character of Jing-mei. Her mother has just died and the three other mothers from "The Joy Luck Club" try to encourage Jing-mei to travel to China and tell her half sisters about their mother whom they never knew and her life. Since Jing-mei does not believe that she will be able to tell her mother's life story to her sisters, the other mothers become concerned. They wonder what their own daughters would be able to say of them and if they would do there lives justice. They then begin telling each other stories in hopes that Jing-mei will go to China. Finally Jing-mei decides to visit her two sisters and takes her father along for support and so that he can visit his relatives in China. The trip to China is filled with anxiety and deep wondering thoughts by Jing-mei. When they arrive in China Jing-mei's father's aunt and cousins greeted them. After staying with them for a day they take a train to find the two girls. Picturing them as young girls, Jing-mei is awe struck when she sees them for the first time and they are grown. All three of them act as if they have always known each other and feel a sense of completeness when they meet. The message in Amy Tan's novel to me is that no matter what the conflicts are that you are faced with in your family they still wish good things upon you even if they do not always show it. Her novel also allows the reader to see the "gaps" that are in there own families and how they can possibly deal with them by seeing both of sides of the conflict. I really enjoyed this novel and would recommend it to anyone looking for a "quick" but in-depth read. Even though it is somewhat long it moves along quickly and keeps the readers attention. It is a wonderful book for anyone with its historical and cultural events and mother/daughter conflicts similar to those today. The Joy Luck Club is an all around good book and made me realize even more just how important family can be and is. If you enjoyed books such as McCrae's "Bark of the Dogwood," then you'll like the intricacies of "Joy."
Rating:
Summary: Flawless story telling depicts intergenerational tension.
Review: When Rose Hsu Jordan attempts to define the Chinese words hulihudu and heimongmong she says, "they can't be easily translated because they refer to a sensation that only Chinese people have." And this sums up Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club - it is an introspective search into what it means to be a Chinese American. Tan adeptly translates these unique Chinese "sensations" to the reader through cleverly created characters of gimlet-eyed mothers and their incorrigible daughters. An indirect dialogue between mothers and daughters is set up through Tan's flawless storytelling. It is edifying without being didactic. Readers from all walks of life will walk away feeling wiser.
Rating:
Summary: The Joy Luck Club is by far one of the best novels I have...
Review: Profound, emotional, tragic, delightful: Chinese/Chinese-San Franciscan mother daughter revelations. Magnificently universal, too.
|
