I have been on a pursuit of Amy Tan's works for a considerable period, delving into numerous of her books.

However, I have sometimes felt a tinge of disappointment as I struggle to precisely fathom her thoughts and the messages she endeavors to convey.

Nonetheless, I keep returning to her because I have a daughter who was born in China and joined our family at the age of 3 1/2.

Similar to many of Amy's books, this one spans a relatively extensive timeframe, reaching back to when the main character's mother was young and even further to when her grandmother was young in China, in a completely different world.

The ending of this book left a profound impact on me as it dawned on me the connection among the lives and personalities of all these women.

Perhaps it is fair to classify it from a feminist perspective, with the strength of the females eventually becoming evident, albeit not always experienced in an obvious manner.

It is a story of a woman not only sharing her own tale but also uncovering the stories of her ancestors.

It involves looking back in time and history, and in this case, it surprisingly reaches as far back as to include the Peking man/woman.

It also incorporates the famous Chinese oracle bones and elaborates on their meaning in a way that those of us in a completely different culture can better understand.

Amy Tan somehow weaves all of this together. She has authored quite a few books, and I suspect I will never know when I might have read the last one.

Her stories often center around Chinese women, but in some way, they must be about all women.

Review also available on my blog The Shameful Narcissist Speaks/

\\"What is the past but what we choose to remember?\\"

Amy Tan has been one of my favorite authors since high school. I've read The Joy Luck Club, The Kitchen God's Wife, and The Hundred Secret Senses quite a few times. When I finished The Bonesetter's Daughter, I realized I'd read it before too. Miss Tan specializes in the relationships between mothers and daughters. In this novel, she shows how these relationships can be fraught, fragile, and broken in more than one way.

Every year around mid-August, Ruth Young, a ghostwriter with many other responsibilities, loses her voice for eight days. She no longer questions it but enjoys the quiet time. She lives with her boyfriend and his two teenage daughters while worrying about her aging mother who has strange mental ailments. Ruth has a lot to stress about. She worries about everything and is constantly afraid of missing something important that would prevent her from making the right decision. This, among other things, is a sign of anxiety, and every factor in her life adds to it. She feels she's \\"too Chinese\\" for Art and his family, as seen during a cross-family dinner where a \\"Chinese table\\" is established and the children are disgusted with her favorite childhood foods. The cultural divide in her life causes dysphoria.

The other side of the story is LuLing, Ruth's mother. Her words bookend the novel, emphasizing their importance. There's a stark contrast between how she's portrayed through Ruth's eyes and her own. Ruth's parts focus on the past and center around LuLing's nursemaid, Bao Bomu or Precious Auntie. She was disfigured and her name has been forgotten. When LuLing starts insisting things Ruth knows are not true, Ruth takes her to a doctor and her fears are confirmed. Their relationship has always been tumultuous, and LuLing's guilt trips and evasiveness make it harder for Ruth to translate her memoir. Eventually, the secrets in LuLing's memory are revealed, and the story is both heartbreaking and hopeful, beginning in a Chinese village near where the remains of Peking Man were found, tying into the title and the bonekeeper legacy.

The major theme of this novel is silence. It starts with Precious Auntie who lost her tongue and later manifests in Ruth who loses her voice every August. It also shows in LuLing whose words are scattered by dementia and only revealed when translated by Ruth. Ruth learned to be silent when her mother's behavior was unbearable, even using Precious Auntie's ghost as a cover. Despite all this, The Bonesetter's Daughter is a beautiful story about family, finding one's roots, and knowing one's past. While it doesn't excuse LuLing's treatment of her daughter, she herself suffered abuse and hardship. The novel is rated lower than I gave it, and some reviewers criticize Ruth, calling her \\"whiny.\\" But she was dealing with an overbearing, emotionally abusive mother with mental health issues while trying to balance work and life. Reading the comments reveals more about the culture and society of the commenters than the novel itself, showing how mental health is still often ignored or ridiculed. Ruth endured forced silence and yet found a way to make it empowering. There were varying degrees of abuse in the story, including Ruth being molested and her mother not believing her. I'm appalled that some reviewers are so cruel to an abuse survivor. In the end, Ruth no longer loses her voice because she discovers the strength of its source.

I truly relished this particular book, as I had longed to read it for numerous years.

It is set in both pre-communist China and contemporary California, chronicling the story of Ruth and her mother, LuLing. Their relationship is far from easy. LuLing is argumentative, manipulative, and has made Ruth's life a living nightmare for many years. Ruth endeavors to be understanding, but her mother is driving her to the brink of insanity. When the doctors inform Ruth that LuLing is slipping into dementia, her life is turned upside down, leaving her to收拾 the残局.

As Ruth sorts through her mother's rubbish-filled home, she discovers that what she thought she knew about LuLing might have been quite different. The story is told from two perspectives, spanning decades from China to America, and is replete with history, encompassing inkmaking, arranged marriages, and Peking Man.

It is well-written, and I wholeheartedly recommend it. Overall, I give it four stars.

For the more in-depth review, please visit here: http://www.epinions.com/review/The_Bo...

The old biddies used to issue warnings to him. They said it was perilous that I was so unreservedly happy, rather than being shy and shrinking in the presence of strangers. And they questioned why he didn't bind my feet. My father was accustomed to witnessing the most extreme forms of pain. However, when it came to me, he was powerless. He couldn't endure seeing me cry.

The novel was divided into three parts. And I don't know about you, but when I encounter a novel with the present character contrasted against the past, I typically have a greater affinity for the past story. And that's precisely what occurred here. It was a story within a story, and I desired it to be solely about LuLing and her youthful days.

Overall, I have a penchant for the stories that Amy Tan weaves for us, and this one did not disappoint. The tales of the elderly should be recounted and treasured by their living descendants. Their countenances light up as they reminisce and delight in their childhoods. I observe my mom's joy when she recounts her youth, and even during her most impoverished times, she was the happiest. I love how Amy Tan traverses generations and seizes what is truly significant: family, all while incorporating the tumultuous era and events of the times.

Highly recommended for lovers of the HF genre or those who enjoy reading about family dynamics.

I would rate this story 3.5 stars.

The story itself is quite good. It has an interesting plot that keeps the reader engaged. However, for my personal taste, it is a little too wordy.

There are times when the author could have conveyed the same information in a more concise manner. This would have made the story flow better and been more enjoyable to read.

Despite the wordiness, the good aspects of the story cannot be ignored. The characters are well-developed and the setting is vividly described.

Overall, it is a decent read, but with a bit of trimming, it could have been even better.

I would recommend it to those who don't mind a slightly longer and more detailed story.

I was firmly convinced that I would not have any liking for this story. However, to my surprise, I do.

It is not merely a mother-daughter story; rather, it encompasses the stories of women, the community, and reveals how profoundly our experiences mold us.

While reading this, I also contemplated transgenerational trauma. (Perhaps it was just my personal perception.) Our past, our memories, and our history are intricately connected to how we remember and the extent to which they have deeply influenced us.

The story might have been a little slow-paced, yet it managed to draw me into the lives of these women, their flaws, and their redemptions. I took my time to relish their experiences, realizing the vast richness that lies within the lives of so many silenced and oppressed individuals.

It made me understand that even in the face of adversity and silence, there is a world of emotions, struggles, and hopes that are waiting to be discovered and understood.

This story has truly opened my eyes to the complex and beautiful tapestry of human experiences.

I read this book several years ago and truly enjoyed it.

It was such a captivating read that left a lasting impression on me.

Interestingly, it's currently on sale for Kindle for only $1.99. This is an incredibly steep drop in price for an Amy Tan novel, considering her reputation and the quality of her works.

If you haven't read it yet, now is the perfect opportunity. You should definitely get one here while the getting's good.

Don't miss out on this chance to experience the wonderful world that Amy Tan has created in this novel.

It's a bargain not to be overlooked, and you're sure to have a great reading experience.

So go ahead and grab your copy today!

2.5 STARS
This is my second book by Amy Tan, following The Joy Luck Club. I truly relished reading TJLC, so I was highly anticipating this one. The Bonesetter's Daughter is presented from two perspectives: Ruth, a first-generation Chinese-American who works as a ghost writer in San Francisco, and her mother LuLing, depicting her growth in China and subsequent move to America.

I took great pleasure in reading the initial part of the book and was promptly captivated by Ruth's story. Nevertheless, it took a downward turn when the narrative shifted to LuLing's point of view and her account of her childhood in China, her beloved Auntie, and other events that occurred. Typically, I have a penchant for everything related to historical fiction and learning about diverse cultures. Regrettably, I found this section extremely tiresome to the extent that finishing the book began to seem like a burden. I even contemplated abandoning it, but after devoting so much time to it, I simply resolved to "push through." The conclusion was marginally better as the story reverted to Ruth and pieced everything together, providing the reader with a clear understanding of the book's meaning. Overall, it had a great start and a decent ending, but I would not recommend this book due to the cumbersome middle part concerning LuLing.

These were my favorite quotes:
”What is the past but what we choose to remember?”
”A mother is always the beginning. She is how things begin.”
”You should think about your character. Know where you are changing, how you will be changed, what cannot be changed back again.”

A Slow Start with a Rewarding Payoff

The story begins at a rather slow pace. However, those who have the perseverance to push through will be handsomely rewarded with a rich and nuanced narrative about mother-daughter relationships, much like what Amy Tan so masterfully does. On Ruth's side of the story, it does drag a little bit. But as soon as one delves into LuLing's past, it becomes impossible not to be completely committed.

I simply cannot say enough good things about how Amy Tan portrays mothers and daughters. She has an uncanny ability to capture the complex web of emotions - the love, the horror, the shame, and the joy - in such a relatable way. It is both heartbreaking and lovely, making the reader feel as if they are right there in the midst of these relationships, experiencing all the ups and downs along with the characters.

Tan's writing is a true testament to the power of storytelling and her deep understanding of the human heart and the dynamics between mothers and daughters. It is a journey well worth taking, despite the initial slow start.

Luling and Ruth. Mother and daughter. Two women, two stories, two generations, two different worlds.

Luling is over seventy years old. She was born in China and after the Japanese invasion before World War II, she was forced to emigrate to the United States, where she has never truly felt at home. Ruth, forty years old, was born in America. Apart from her appearance, everything about her, from her mentality to her language, reflects her American identity.

When Luling begins to show symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, such as sudden disappearances and memory losses, Ruth rediscovers and dusts off a Chinese manuscript that her mother had written in the past and entrusted to her. Curious, she decides to have it translated into English to preserve her mother's words in time before it is too late. And what she discovers will help her better understand that difficult, distant, sometimes complex but ultimately affectionate and kind woman that Luling has been.

"The Bonesetter's Daughter" is divided into three parts. In the first part, we meet Ruth, her husband, her all-American life, and her shock when she realizes what is about to happen to her mother. The impression is that of a flat narration but capable of attracting the reader, who feels that beneath the lines, there is like a fog to be dispelled, a mystery to be discovered, a curtain to be lowered. The second part is nothing but Luling's manuscript. We learn the true story of her family (including her grandfather, who, in the best Chinese tradition, was a bonesetter, as the title says) and we get to know a little better her difficult spirit, and Ruth does too. The impression is more fairy-tale like, almost fantastic, also strengthened by a series of references to Chinese culture and legends. Apparently the most interesting part, it actually turned out to be the most boring. In the third part, we return to the present, with a reckoning and a greater awareness on Ruth's part, whose sensitivity is significantly sharpened.

What strikes, overall, is the tenderness with which the character of Luling (especially the elderly Luling) is painted. She seems like a child at the mercy of her whims, but in reality, she is a woman with a difficult past who has forged a great inner strength within herself. But she has also built a kind of wall in communication with others, first and foremost her daughter, who feels as distant from her as she feels from her daughter. I believe that the distance, at a communicative and metaphorical level, and the attempt to stem it, is, at the base, one of the many themes of the novel. Which Amy Tan knows how to handle with a delicate pen. In short, it is worth discovering.

This book is an incredibly heart-wrenching and gut-punching read. It delves into a wide range of themes, including a curse, dementia, death, destruction, love, geology, history, and war. But most importantly, it imparts a valuable lesson: to strive to understand our loved ones or at the very least, make an effort to hear them out. I have a deep affection for Amy Tan's "The Joy Luck Club," so I was truly overjoyed to discover another book penned by her that features the captivating mother-daughter drama. "The Bonesetter's Daughter" is, however, a fair bit darker than its predecessor.

Your mother, while seemingly intent on ruining your life by not allowing you to do as you please and having no comprehension of the fun you desire, has endured her own share of hardships. She didn't always get along with her mother, and the same was true for her mother's mother. It's a cycle that seems to perpetuate. The most poignant aspect of this book is the realization that by the time the daughters finally come to understand their mothers, it's often too late as the mothers have already passed on.

I hold this book in high regard because it truly hits close to home and makes you recognize that parents are far from perfect. They are simply attempting to do what they believe is right. They may lack the knowledge or go about it in the wrong way, but their intentions are to ensure the best for their children. I have a soft spot for the women in this book. They are strong, love passionately, can be selfish at times yet are also giving. They are stubborn and learn their lessons the hard way.

I firmly believe that you could pick up this book in your teens, in your sixties, or even in your 100s and still glean something meaningful from it. The exploration of Chinese culture is fascinating, with all the sayings, local customs, and the overall way of life being truly captivating. If you have a penchant for "The Joy Luck Club," I wholeheartedly encourage you to give this one a try!!

This book truly took me on a journey back in time. It vividly reminded me of watching the movie "The Painted Veil", which was set in the remote villages of China.

The book, without giving away any storyline spoilers, has a lovely and sensitive storyline. It has the power to make the reader feel emotional at times. In fact, very few books have managed to evoke such strong emotions in me for a character, but this one did precisely that.

Through this book, you get to learn about the Asian way of life for a female. It delves into their daily struggles and the dreams they have for a better future. I really enjoyed reading this book. It is well written, with a nice book cover. The structure of the book is also good, and the story progresses at a pace that allows the reader to fully absorb what they are reading without feeling overwhelmed by an excess of information.

Overall, this is a very good book. If you have a penchant for period dramas set in China, then this book is well worth reading. It offers a captivating and emotional experience that will stay with you long after you have turned the last page.