The Joy Luck Club

Amazon.com

Four mothers, four daughters, four families whose histories shift with the four winds depending on who's "saying" the stories. In 1949 four Chinese women, recent immigrants to San Francisco, begin meeting to eat dim sum, play mahjong, and talk. United in shared unspeakable loss and hope, they call themselves the Joy Luck Club. Rather than sink into tragedy, they choose to gather to raise their spirits and money. "To despair was to wish back for something already lost. Or to prolong what was already unbearable." Forty years later the stories and history continue.

With wit and sensitivity, Amy Tan examines the sometimes painful, often tender, and always deep connection between mothers and daughters. As each woman reveals her secrets, trying to unravel the truth about her life, the strings become more tangled, more entwined. Mothers boast or despair over daughters, and daughters roll their eyes even as they feel the inextricable tightening of their matriarchal ties. Tan is an astute storyteller, enticing readers to immerse themselves into these lives of complexity and mystery.

Book Description

"Brilliant....Each story is a fascinating vignette, and together they they weave the reader through a world where the Moon Lady can grant any wish, where a child, promised in marriage at two and delivered at 12, can, with cunning, free herself; where a rich man's concubine secures her daughter's future by killing herself, and where a woman can live on, knowing she has lost her entire life."
WASHINGTON POST BOOK WORLD
A stunning literary achievement, THE JOY LUCK CLUB explores the tender and tenacious bond between four daughters and their mothers. The daughters know one side of their mothers, but they don't know about their earlier never-spoken of lives in China. The mothers want love and obedience from their daughters, but they don't know the gifts that the daughters keep to themselves. Heartwarming and bittersweet, this is a novel for mother, daughters, and those that love them.

Customer Reviews:

Amy Tan has a gift with words........2007-06-23

I read this book a little over a year ago for my ap english 2 class. I really
liked how it displayed the Chinese culture and values. It is basically a book of mother-daughter relationships. There are four mothers and four daughters. The mothers are Chinese women who immigrated in the United States. The daughters are Chinese-American. It shows how people (like those in the United
States) tend to take their heritage for granted and just label themselves as Americans. When in reality your heritage will always be there and when you finally except wonderful relationships and things can come out of it.

thank you for your time,
Loran

Good novels bring inspirations to readers.......2007-05-28

I am a high school freshman in the United States. I was assigned to choose one of five novels and read it throughout this semester. This novel, The Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tan was my first choice because the story is about Chinese culture plus Mandarin is my native language. I believed that I would enjoy reading something that relates to my culture and actually I did. It is different from other novels since the whole story is separated into different little stories and put in different orders. Each little story represents a mother and daughter's marriage or family conflict.
In my opinion, the conflicts are caused because of mothers' and daughters' generation gaps and growing backgrounds. The mothers grow up in China where has many traditions and rules to follow. However, the daughters who grow up in San Francisco can choose their lives and want to be what they want to be. This makes the mothers think their daughters have lacks of consideration about their own lives. Therefore, the mothers want to control their daughters' lives since they used to follow those rules which tell them to do all the things considerable.
This novel has magic because every time I read this novel I would compare the way mothers treat their daughter in the book and the way my mother treats me. I would also ask questions to my self by saying "Does this mother use the same way to treat her daughter as the way my mom treats me?" The answer can be varied. Some of them are yes and some of them are absolutely no. For example, the way Suyuan's mother tells her that it's too late to change the reality that she is her mother makes me think it can be the way my mother tells me. For the reasons that, this statement makes sense that it's impossible to change the reality of a blood relationship so I would also accept this very logical sense. However, Lindo's mother left her in a rich family in order to gain some respects back makes me think it is not the way my mother would ever done to me. Since my mother sacrifices a lot in order to raise me up and lets me receive the best education, she wouldn't want to destroy the bitter that she has eaten and pave that she has built for me. Therefore, I recommend this book for teenagers to read because it is an inspired book that can make adolescences to think about their lives and observe their surroundings

A Book Remembered After 13 Years.......2007-04-06

The Joy Luck Club had stayed with me all these years even when I examine my own personal life in the current time. I had read the book when I was in the seventh grade and had a remarkable teacher. She was Mrs. Lattimer (and yes, she was white), a Harvard graduate teaching at an impoverished neighborhood from where I used to grow up. Sometimes, I wondered why she never taught at one of the more prestige middle schools even right now. Still, it was a book that we middle school students had to read and analyze. The class was actually an advance seminar class. Even to this day, I am surprised that we middle school students got a chance to watch a rated "R" movie. It was a "never" to watch a rated "R" movie. The only movies that I can remember watching that were rated "R" were movies in my former AP english literature class-Othello (which actually contained nudity). It's funny because from what I recall, I had couple of friends from the regular classes and they have never seen a rated "R" movie shown in an educational setting. Perhaps being in a gifted class really did come with all the special privileges(even though I was never identified as "gifted"; I was recommended). It just seemed that every book my classmates and I read in AP english could never resist incorporating some kind of sexual element. Indeed, the literary works were very great. And of course, sex is also shown in this movie.

Besides the entertainment value of the movie and the book, as well as the complex relationships between the mothers and the daughters, it was certainly a movie about survival. Presently, as I sit in my comfortable room, I could only relate to the need to survive and live a fulfilling life, a life that is so wonderful and full of bliss. Life is about survival. The word "survival" will always vibrate and echoe inside my ears and in my mind. It is a word that summarizes the very essence of life. When you're child or an adolescent, it is about surviving through school. Once you graduate from high school, a new level of survival comes into play; and that is to make a living. Let's face it. Life really does center around making a living. We all need and want to live a life free from having to live a low standard of living like poverty and shortages of healthy food and crapy material possessions. Virtually everyone desires to have a career and be financially stable. In times where the poor are getting poorer and the rich are getting richer, insecure feelings arise and stays in tact somewhere in our minds. The desire to be married to wonderful wife or husband, the desire to feel safe living in a dream home, the desire to not feel frieghtened when you are heavily sick, the desire to give your children and your grandchildren the best possible life, and the list can go on forever...-Indeed, let's face it, MONEY MAY NOT BE EVERYTHING, BUT IT IS CERTAINLY SOMETHING WE ALL STRIVE TO OBTAIN IN ITS VARIOUS FORMS. Money does have its value contrary to the popular belief that you hear about how money isn't everything or how money can't buy love. Like the feather of the swan-This feather may look like any other feather and seem worthless, but "it comes from a far away distance and contains all of my good intentions."

Mothers and Daughters.......2007-04-05

Any mother or daughter will love reading this collection of interwoven stories of family relationships. Some parts are graphic, but it makes for an important novel.

Please enter a title for your review.......2007-04-03

the one brief section that felt forced (dwelling on the significance of the ink used to sign a check) helped emphasize what is so effectively authentic about the writing of this novel generally. the origins and implications of an event are both presented as having equal substance, it never seems like something is just a bridge to get to a meaningful predecided outcome. aside from an occasional flaunted apathy to animal rights it's a good book.

Average customer rating:

Very Complicated And Often Tedious.
Beyond Spectacular.
Book Review for "The Joy Luck Club"
'Uncle Tom' Author Perpetuates False Stereotypes
The Joy Luck Review

The Joy Luck Club
Amy Tan
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0143038095

Customer Reviews:

Very Complicated And Often Tedious........2007-09-02

When I recieved my list of Summer 2007 reading assignments, I'll come right out admit that I chose to read Amy Tan's "The Joy Luck Club" for the simple reason that I actually heard of it. I went in not expecting much, and came out with my feelings confirmed.

I do understand that this book is often regarded as a classic, but I for the life of me can't say this book being anything more than merely average. Tracing the life of a group of Asian families whose head leader has passed on, leaving her daughter with the unpleasant task of filling her shoes, "The Joy Luck Club" deals with topics such as death, family, marriage, divorce and togetherness. All of which are intriguing at first, but ultimately amount to little.

The book overall lacks a cohesive flow. I found myself confused at many points in the book to the point where it was useless for me to even try to even pay attention to the book. Tan's writing style is also very simplistic, lacking any real originality and leaving very little to the imagination.

Overall, I can't for the life of me see why this book is as highly regarded as it is. Perhaps it's just not my type of book. Nonetheless, I am befuddled as to why it is a classic piece of literature.

Beyond Spectacular........2007-07-04

You know, it is funny, I have read Amy Tan's The Bonesetter's Daughter and The Hundred Secret Senses, adoring them both beyond words--why it took me this long to get to her first work is nothing short of inexcusable. Not unlike Louise Erdrich's first novel, Love Medicine, this debut of Tan's is absolutely spectacular (it boggles my mind that first time authors can produce such seemingly flawless, multi-voiced narratives). Given the fact that Amy Tan was so young when she wrote this book blows my mind simply because the wisdom and expertise inherent in her storytelling go far beyond her years. In fact, I think this is my new favorite Tan novel, and not only do I believe she is the best Chinese American novelist out there, but at the top of the list of all authors, period. True storytellers are few and far between. Tan straddles the line between academic literature and pleasure reading, which, unfortunately, is not often accomplished.
I have been a devoted student of literature for over six straight years now (specializing in American minority literatures), and the other day, I was talking with a fellow colleague and classmate about this book. When she told me, in her "yawny" way, that she felt it was boring, I realized for the first time, that regardless of "smarts," there are actually literature students out there without one iota of literary taste. What a shame.
This book is truly phenomenal and speaks volumes about what it means to be a woman, for better or worse. I cannot recommend this book, or this author enough.

Book Review for "The Joy Luck Club".......2007-06-08

Each and everyday, our generation continues to expand its range of different ethnicities and backgrounds as more families immigrant to the U.S. What Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club proves to show is the universal yet distinctive everyday conflicts of ethnic parents raising American children.
In this novel, readers begin a journey with four Chinese mothers and daughters through series of storytelling-including all woman taking a flashback to their childhood or some previous memory.
Moreover, the novel extracts how the American lifestyle that is somewhat different to the lifestyle the mother's were accustomed to creates a gap between the mother and daughters. The Joy Luck Club itself is a club where one mother, Suyuan Woo, created with three other Chinese woman in order to save and collect money as a group and bring up the spirits through the hard times of WWII. After Suyuan dies, her daughter, Jing-mei, has to fill her spot in the club as she finds out more about her mother than ever before, for example, Jing-mei discover she has two half-sisters. This novel creates a character that is able to grow with the reader as she finds out more about her mother's life and ultimately her own life as well. The discoveries allow not only Jing-mei but the readers as well to leave the book with hope as a closer bond with her mother is formed. Jing-mei creates closure with her mother's death as the readers and Jing-mei herself learn the sacrifices and loyalties of all for mothers when raising their daughters.
Since the novel is divided into four major parts, in which the mothers speak out in the first section, readers never seized to boredom, for there is a new exciting adventure that begins as each mother and daughter tells their own story. Even though the structure contributes to grasping the readers attention, readers may find it hard to collect and remember all the stories together.

'Uncle Tom' Author Perpetuates False Stereotypes.......2007-04-12

The author Amy Tan is an Asian female 'Uncle Tom' (look up the term) for her garbage called the 'Joy Luck Club'. It portrays all Asian men in a made-up, negative light, while causing her Asian female protagonists to marry White men, who even cheat on them in the movie, but that doesn't stop the Asian girls from staying with them.

Amy Tan is a self hating Asian female. She is like some Asian girls who grew up hating the fact that she looked so different from her classmates/peers, and fit in however way she could by acting White, and wanting only White men. Personally, she has been massively depressed most of her life (look it up), and has had a terrible marriage with a Caucasian. In her books, she tries to justify her life decisions by portraying White men as White knights, and Asian men as controlling and oppressive, when that couldn't be farther from the truth.

Amy Tan set Asian men and women back decades in this country. How come in Hollywood flicks we see mostly see Black-Black couples, or Latin-Latin couples, but the Asian women are always with a White guy? It seems like every TV show and movie in the past ten years pairs an Asian girl with a White guy romatically. Asian men are being completely suppressed in television and film. Amy Tan helped glamorize the exclusive Asian female/White male pairing that is everywhere on TV, movies, and commercials these days, at the complete suppression of Asian men.

These shows affect kids. Teens, especially girls, judge themselves on others' opinions, and are easily influenced. Young, insecure Asian girls are conditioned through social norms/media to 'act White' and want only White men, and young Asian American boys growing up in the US are conditioned to think they are unattractive.

Have you ever met any Asian families!? The Asian men are predominantly kind, quiet, giving, loving husbands, and providing fathers, and their WIVES make almost all the decisions (at least in Chinese culture). They direct the husband and kids, so to speak. I'm tired of hearing false oppression crap about Asian men from White people, and brain-washed Asian girls, just to make us unattractive in their minds. Also, here's a FACT, not a generalization - as a group, Asian men have the highest average education and income, combined with the lowest avg rates of murder, theft, infidelity, spousal abuse, rape, child molestation, divorce, and crime in this country.

The Joy Luck Review.......2006-10-24

The book opens with the story of a Chinese woman who bought a swan because she believed it was born a duck then stretched its neck to become more. The woman wished to do the same. To sail to America and make a better life for her and her children than she could have ever hoped for in China. When she arrived in America, however, they took her swan away amd she was left with nothing but a feather, and a few broken dreams.
Amy Tan's "The Joy Luck Club is the story of four women and their daughters. In a series of fladhbacks we see how each woman came to America, fleeing their Chinease past of opression and fear to build a better life for their children. Their strories are of war and ancestral pride, mariage and never losing hope. Theirs is the story of the women of China and how they rose above their place in the world, teaching their daughters to do likewise.

Average customer rating:

This is one of my favorite books....ever
once is not enugh
A beautiful, eloquent and insightful book about relationships

The Joy Luck Club

Manufacturer: G.P. Putnam's Sons
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: B000BUKHTS

Customer Reviews:

This is one of my favorite books....ever.......2007-05-25

Words can't express how much I love this book. It is definitely a page turner. I read this for the first time 7 years ago, and I can't even remember how many times more after that. It is an easy read with a great story. Whenever I travel anywhere, have to wait for a meeting, or just have some time to kill, "The Joy Luck" club is book I always grab.

once is not enugh.......2007-04-19

I read this book about 10 years ago with my previous book club. I had a hard time following it. This time around, I enjoyed it. It is hard to follow, but if you split the names up. And think what they did, it may help.
The story is about mother's and daughter's relationships. Mostly, the asian mother's being able to relate to their daughter's which they did not seem to do well. The mother's did not understand them and the daughter's did not understand their mother. I would recommend this for anyone who has a book club.

A beautiful, eloquent and insightful book about relationships.......2007-04-05

This is the story of four Chinese families that centers on the Mothers and Daughters in each unit. It reminds you that you come from somewhere and the influences of culture and family and situations makes each of us who we are. It also speaks volumes to the fact that Mothers are human beings, and definitely worth getting to know better.

The writing is wonderful! Amy Tan is very witty and engaging. She creates very vivid pictures with her words. This is an amazingly real tale that I highly recommend. No wonder it spent 9 months on the NY Times Bestseller List! The only drawback is that I would have preferred to read in trade paperback format.

The Joy Luck Club (Barnes and Noble Reader's Companion) (Barnes & Noble Reader's Companion)

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A unforgettable Book

The Joy Luck Club (Barnes and Noble Reader's Companion) (Barnes & Noble Reader's Companion)
Amy Tan
Manufacturer: Barnes & Noble
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1586638580

Book Description

From English classes to book clubs, Amy Tan's bestseller The Joy Luck Club has become a staple of contemporary American fiction. Its heartrending and powerful stories speak volumes about the trials both of the immigrant experience in America and of mother-daughter relationships in any family. The Companion takes you inside this favorite:
* What are the Joy Luck Club daughters expected to do with the stories their mothers tell them?
* How autobiographical is Tan's novel? Which daughter did she base on herself?
* What role does the past play in the lives of immigrants and their children?

Customer Reviews:

A unforgettable Book.......2000-05-07

This book is wonderful. It is the best book I've ever read. It is about a relationship with a mother and daugter. It is so realistic. I love this book. YOu have to read it. There is also a movie on this book which is fantastic.

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The Joy Luck Club

Manufacturer: Phoenix Audio
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: 1597770736

Book Description

In 1949, four Chinese women begin meeting in San Francisco for fun. Nearly 40years later, their daughters continue to meet as the Joy Luck Club. Abridged.3 CDs.

Amy Tan's the Joy Luck Club (Cliffs Notes)

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The Game Of Friendship
OnE oF Da BeSt BoOkS!
I Loved This Book!
Very good book for minority women
Great insight into human nature, yet often overly confusing

Amy Tan's the Joy Luck Club (Cliffs Notes)
Laurie Neu Rozakis
Manufacturer: Cliffs Notes
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0822006855

Book Description

The original CliffsNotes study guides offer expert commentary on major themes, plots, characters, literary devices, and historical background. The latest generation of titles in this series also feature glossaries and visual elements that complement the classic, familiar format.

Explore how generational and cultural differences can divide — and then unite — immigrant mothers and their American-born daughters as you study CliffsNotes on The Joy Luck Club.

This novel describes the lives of four women, who fled China in the 1940s, and their contentious relationships with their four very Americanized daughters. Through the love of their mothers, each of these young women learns about her heritage and so is able to deal more effectively with her life.

CliffsNotes provides detailed plot summaries, critical commentaries, and a helpful character list to help you uncover all the insight this novel has to offer. Make studying easier with CliffsNotes on The Joy Luck Club. Other features include

Critical essays
A review section that tests your knowledge
Background on the author, including career highlights

Classic literature or modern modern-day treasure — you'll understand it all with expert information and insight from CliffsNotes study guides.

Customer Reviews:

The Game Of Friendship.......2003-04-02

The four winds may change direction, and histories may shift at any given moment, but Amy Tan's, `The Joy Luck Club' remains a captivating tale about four mothers and their four daughters.
The Chinese game Mah-jong works to join the mother's together as they form the club and share the secrets and tragedies of their lives as well as their hopes and dreams for their daughters. The women in this novel struggle to bestow their daughters with the virtues of Chinese traditions and at points seem to go too far-pitting their daughters against each other and sadly living their lives through them.
Tan writes both honestly and sensitively examining the generation gap between mothers and their daughters as well as the struggles migrants face when joining other countries. `The Joy Luck Club' belongs to a genre which can only be described as realistic with characters which are both three dimensional and relatable.
The story is written through defined chapters-each dedicated to either a mother or a daughter; as they weave their histories and spin their stories.
The novel, through this chapter fragmentation allows each character to develop, with an emphasis on the main narrative- the death of one of the members of the club. The death of Suyuan Woo results in the incorporation of her daughter Jung Mei `June' Woo into the group. June realises her mother- who died suddenly of a cerebral aneurysm - had unfinished business which leads June to face one of the biggest tragedies in her mother's life. `The Joy Luck Club' is an inspiring novel which is moving both moving and courageous-a definite pleasure to read.

OnE oF Da BeSt BoOkS!.......2002-01-16

As I wAs ReAdInG tHiS bOoK, I rEaLiZeD hOw MuCh I wAs GeTtInG iNtO iT...iT's AlMoSt As If YoU aRe ThErE eXpErIeNcInG wHaT tHeY wErE. I sTaRtEd ThInKiNg AbOuT mY gRaNdMa WhO wAs AlSo In A wAr, aNd It ReAlLy GoT mE tHiNkInG...So, I wOuLd ReCoMmEnD tHiS bOoK tO eVeRyOnE...

I Loved This Book!.......2000-12-02

I had to read this book for school this year and I was one of the only people in the class that really enjoyed it. It is hard to understand the different stories, but if you just take out a piece of paper and chart what is happening with each person, you can really enjoy the book without becoming confused. DON'T BUY THE CLIFFS NOTES becuase you really won't get the experience that you would with the real book! Just take some effort and read the book, and take time to chart the stories and I guarantee that you will LOVE it as well!

Very good book for minority women.......2000-07-17

Although the book was somewhat confusing to follow, the excellent stories and the manner in which they were told were very real. I really enjoyed relating to each character because I too am a minority woman and I know how important it is to hold on to tradition, yet learn new ways of living. I recommend this book to any woman who is curious about the Chinese-American woman.

Great insight into human nature, yet often overly confusing.......1999-10-03

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.

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The Joy Luck Club
Amy Tan
Manufacturer: Perfection Learning Prebound
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

The Joy Luck Club (Oxford Bookworms Library)

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The Joy Luck Club (Oxford Bookworms Library)
Amy Tan , and Clare West
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0194230899

Book Description

There are so many things that a mother wishes to teach her daughter. How to lose your innocence but not your hope. How to keep hoping, when hope is your only joy. How to laugh for ever. This is the story of four mothers and their daughters - Chinese-American women, the mothers born in China, and the daughters born in America. Through their eyes we see life in pre-Revolutionary China, and life in downtown San Francisco; women struggling to find a cultural identity that can include a past and a future half a world apart.

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The joy luck club: Teacher guide
Gloria Levine
Manufacturer: Novel Units, Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Book Description

This time-saving, easy-to-use teacher guide includes inspiring lesson plans which provide a comprehensive novel unit--the legwork is done for you! The guide incorporates essential reading, writing and thinking practice. (This is NOT the paperback novel.)

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The Joy Luck Club.
Amy Tan
Manufacturer: Putnam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0434756067

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