The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

I deviated from my usual reads of mystery novels by reading The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan.

I found this 1989 paperback printing in a book sale and thought, “Why the hell not? I’ve seen positive reviews and praises of it; why shouldn’t I read it to find out why the fuss over it?”

I was hooked just after the introductory essay.

After reading it for almost a week, I discovered that Joy Luck is a collection of short stories told by four Chinese mothers and their four Chinese-American daughters about their lives in China and America–a combination of past recollections and experiences, as well as present encounters and events. It is the classic mother-daughter story similar to that in the movie, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. Each sub-chapter (which can stand on its own) is a story about a person (either the mother or the daughter), which then comprises a chapter on the specific generation.