Rating: 
Summary: Amazing!
Review: This book will never need an introduction or prologue. The story is full of flavor and spice. Amy Tan unraveled the story of eight Chinese women as they grow, learn, and interact with the Club. Each story shows some ancient Chinese views and mixes them with American ideals. For a book to show you Ameica's merger of different cultures, read this book. Her picture books are also a must read for children and adults alike.
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Summary: Enlightenment through relation
Review: Amy Tan has wriiten a truly touching story here. Between four mothers and their daughters there is a lot to tell. The mothers all came from China for on reason or another. Then all had lives which were different and for some reason they all went to the US of A. A big part of the story is the enlightenment that june goes through with the help of her mothers three close friends and her experience after the death of her mother. She learns what it means to be chinese and how one is chinese. She learns secrets her mother had kept her whole life. She learns about herself and most of all, who she is and how she became that way. Amy Tan has really been able to write the stories of 4 women and lead them all together in the end and the stories of 4 daughters and do the same at the end. The beginning was a bit confusing as to who was who and who was speaking when, but as you got to know the characters it because more like knowing one friend from another. It all became tied together with grand strings that Amy Tan has been able to weave wonderfully.
Rating: 
Summary: A very intuitive novel!
Review: I really liked The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan. Her short stories seemed so real, instead of fiction. Ms. Tan had such insight into the characters & what they had to deal with.She was also so creative in these stories. Ms. Tan definitely demonstrated the feelings of women at different ages and showed how your perception of life changes from age & lifestyle. The Joy Luck Club also displayed the strength that women possess to get through really difficult times. I gave this book a 4 because it was fantastic & I read it quickly but not a 5 because it was not perfect.
Rating:
Summary: A Collection of Delectible Stories
Review: Most everyone has heard of The Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tan; that is rare for a literary novel. Many readers searching for their first literary experience may choose it, reasoning that it must be one of the more accessible examples of "literary" because it is so popular. I worry that if an inveterate romance, crime or science fiction reader picks up this book, she's not going to try literary again.If, in fact the difference between a "literary" novel and genre fiction is that literary is character-driven and not plot-driven then this book is, indeed, literary. However, many literary novels focus on character and still have plots that carry the reader in rapt attention from beginning to end. Joy Luck will not do this. It is beautifully written. The voice is superb. There may (arguably) be no other book that gives its reader a sense of the Chinese culture in America, of the oriental mindset of many of our Asian sisters as well as this one does. It also tells stirring stories and therein lies the problem, it tells several of them. In fact it might have been better billed as a collection of stories. There is a thread between them, but so is there in many short story collections. The thread in "Joy Luck" is not linear and it will take a conscientious reader to track the relationships between the story tellers in each chapter. If a reader unfamiliar with "literary" works should take this book as the norm, she sadly may turn away from others. Those seeking a poignant afternoon or two of reading should consider this book. Those who might want to test literary waters might do better with a book that is more consciously aware of pacing, that leans more toward traditional narrative, say Anna Karinina by Tolstoy. Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of "This is the Place"
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Summary: An Epic Tale for all Mothers and Daughters
Review: This novel was an exceptional piece of literature. I have never read anything by Amy Tan before, but I can honestly state that it is one of the most beautiful and thought provoking stories I have ever read.
This story is about four Chinese mothers, who grew up during China's war with Japan, and before China became an officially Communist country, and their daughters, who grew up in America. The Joy Luck Club is a gathering of their families to celebrate life and heritage. Each of the mothers and daughters tell their own story, with the exception of Suyuan, whose story was told by her daughter because the book begins about three months after she has died. Each chapter can be looked at as a separate story, but the book still floes together beautifully. Most of the novel is set in a series of flashbacks, which give the readers an opportunity to understand the mothers, and the ways that their childhood and histories affected the decisions they made and the way that they raised their daughters. However, the mothers and the daughters have a hard time communicating with one another, and not because they do not understand each other's languages. They have a hard time communicating because the mothers and the daughters do not understand each other.
Each of the mothers has been through a very traumatic experience either as a child or as a young woman. They were all taught by their society that they were worth almost nothing, and judged "by their husband's belch." They were not valued for who they were as individuals, and each gained a sense of self-awareness because of their experiences. The readers gain insight on what life was like for these four amazing, strong, spirited women. Their daughter's stories involve the ways that their mothers raised them, and how it has affected them as adults. While their experiences are, for the most part, far less traumatic then their mother's, they have hard times as well. All of them have problems understanding their parents, who try to raise them with the same guidelines with which they were raised, but with the sense of American pride and self-worth. Nonetheless, all of the daughters interpret their mother's pressure the wrong way. They feel that they are a constant disappointment to their mothers. Unfortunately, they do not realize that their mother's constant pressure and subtleties in behavior happen because their mothers want to show them that they love them. This novel shows how important it is to know your mother, before it is too late.
One of the main themes and concepts of this wonderful novel is that you must understand your mother and your past before you can understand yourself, and that you must never doubt your own self-worth.
This novel is the most beautiful, heart-warming, and meaningful mother-daughter story that I have ever read. It explores mother-daughter relationships with heart-felt honesty and beauty, and has universal appeal. Its eloquent words and fascinating stories make it an absolute delight to read. "The Joy Luck Club" will make you laugh and cry. It may even help you understand your mother, and your other relationships as well. This novel does the best thing a novel can do; it helps you to understand the world.
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Summary: A beautiful story, that couldn't have hit closer to home...
Review: I think that we can all agree that sometimes it's nearly impossible to communicate with others, especially, when that person is one of your parents. If you can imagine an entire book dedicated to the miscommunication between mother and daughter, you would get The Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tan. Amy Tan intensely brings to life Suyuan Woo, An-mei Hsu, Lindo Jong, Ying-ying St.Clair (the mothers), Jing-Mei, Rose Hsu Jordan, Waverly Jong, and Lena St. Clair (the daughters). All of the listed mothers are Chinese Immigrants. Each voice struggles to choose between a strong Chinese heritage, and the American way of life.
Although the setting of this story take place in modern day San Francisco, each of the women tells stories. In these mini-stories, Amy Tan vividly opens your eyes. You visit places like China during WW2, a traditional Chinese wedding, or grow up as an immigrant in China Town. The author cleverly describes the setting through what the main character at the time sees. If it is a flashback, and the character is a child, you instantly see the situation through a child's eyes. The author's sense of atmosphere is also amazing. When she describes the wartime tension through Suyan Woo's eyes, you can just feel the tension and uncertainty. One portion of the book, in which I felt that the atmosphere and setting were both excellently described was when Suyan Woo was on a trail to escape a brutal fate.
"Along the way, I saw others had done the same, gradually given up hope. It was like a pathway inlaid with treasures that grew in value along the way. Bolts of fine fabric and books. Paintings of ancestors and carpenters tools. Until, one could see cages of ducklings now quiet with thirst, and later still, silver urns lying in the road, where people had been too tired to carry them for any kind of future hope."
One of the most appealing things about this book was that you got to hear from eight very unique characters, all of which you feel you can relate to. In this book, due to the number of main characters and sub-plots, there is no set protagonist and antagonist. One mother could be the villain to her daughter, but to the mother, her daughter could be the evil one. In other words, this book accurately displays real-life relationships-relationships in which we misunderstand and misjudge people. I think throughout the story, you do learn a lot about the individual characters. Yet, these characters don't really change, except for one, Jing-mei Woo. Jing-Mei, also called June, is the only daughter whose mother is no longer alive. Through this story, she learns to appreciate her mother's legacy and value the relationship that she and her mother had. She is the only one who truly changes.
Each chapter of this book seems to have its own plot, with a beginning, climax, and resolution. With each chapter you are left satisfied, but curious to learn more. What ties all of these stories together is the actual Joy Luck Club. This club was started by Suyuan Woo, who wanted to get together with three other Chinese women to play Mah Jong. The women got together each week, and remained close friends for many years. I saw frequently that people from the other families would show up in flashbacks of the other women's stories. What really keeps the story interesting is Jing-Mei's voyage to meet her sisters that were left in China many years before. This mission periodically comes up, and really completes the story. If you sit back and look at it from a different perspective, you really see the jealousy that exists between a close-knit group of friends. You see the bragging between the mothers, and a drive to be better than the rest. All this book does is take a slice out of a completely real life situation.
I found the author's writing style very refreshing. If one of the mothers was talking, the writing would be in broken English, which contributed to the character's voice. Everything about this piece made it seem real. The word choice and sentence structure varied with each character. If that particular character had high English skills, then it would be displayed by good vocabulary and sentence structure. The author held true to each individual character's voice. I felt that this author did an amazing job with flashbacks. Perhaps often flashbacks can be confusing. They certainly weren't in this case. I found the flashbacks to be necessary and crucial to the story. Amy Tan also vividly described the setting with each new setting change. With this story, you're definitely not left confused. I think the reason for having so many unique characters was to give the message that we all in some way have the same problems. With each family, and relationship, the problem was communication. Each character was struggling to be heard, just like we all are. To read this book, you would have to be a reader that is very interested in others' lives, and how we communicate with each other. This book isn't difficult, and I believe that people of all ages could read it and enjoy. With that said, I highly recommend this book. When a book makes me stop and think about how I interact with people and manage my own life, then I know it was worth the read
Rating:
Summary: best book ever
Review: I don't know if I write a review for this or not but anyways i loved this book. It's very real and deep. It's true that you won't be able to do anything important until you have read this book.
Rating:
Summary: great book
Review: This is probably my favorite novel right now. I'm chinese so I can understand the book better than some people. The book has a deep meaning and the stories are very close to real life back in world war 2. Well, it's similar to the stories that my grandma told me. I read this book with my heart and soul and nobody would understand what this book means to me! I highly recommend this book to everyone!
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Summary: !!Joy Luck Club!! ->Mrs. Lenhardt<-
Review: I read this book for World Literature presentation. I saw the movie before I read this book. I pretty liked that movie too.
I challenge you to read this book with dry eyes.
This book tells us that author; Amy Tan explores the different mother-daughter relationships between the characters, and at a lower level, relationships between friends, lovers, and even enemies. This book is organized into four sections, two devoted to the mother and two devoted to the daughters, with the exception of June. The first section, logically, is about the mothers' childhoods in China, the period of time during which their personalities were molded. And the second and third sections are about the daughters' lives, and the vignettes in each section trace their personality growth and development. The mothers' describes through the eyes of the daughters.
I strongly recommend this book. You guys should read this book. And Tan's novel is a worthy read.
Rating:
Summary: An adventurous yet lovely story!
Review: The Joy Luck Club is a fasnating adventure filled wit love. You can't put the book down, yooh just have to keep reaing and reading! ie suggest you to read this book!
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