The book commences in contemporary America, with Pearl, a second-generation Chinese emigrant, as the narrator. She endeavors to strike a balance between her own 21st-century American family life and the needs of her Chinese mother, Winnie, and her mother's friends.

From the third chapter, Winnie takes over the narration, and the story transforms into an account of her life. Set against the backdrop of her living in Shanghai in the 1930s and 40s, under the Kuomintang rule, with the Communists already making their presence felt, and her experiences during the Japanese invasion of Shanghai, it delves deep into her personal relationships. These include her bond with her own mother, her first husband Wen Fu, her friends Hulan, Peanut, Min, and Grand Auntie Du, and finally, her connection with the Chinese-American translator Jimmy Louie.

For me, the first pillar of the book is the suffocating nature of the portrayed family life. Beginning in the present day, the mother/daughter relationship is cringingly intrusive. In fact, the entire family is overly domineering, and this extends beyond blood relatives to include various friends ensnared in this gooey familial web.

The second pillar is the superstition that pervades the entire story. From the eccentricities of Grand Auntie Du's household altar to a plethora of omens that saturate the lives of these people, inspiring or damning, and always taken seriously. At one point, there is a visit to a fortune teller, but it seems superfluous given the already intense awareness of portents of good and bad fortune.

The third and final pillar is the ubiquitous male dominance in Chinese society at that time. Illustrated in the general culture, in the license given to Winnie's first husband, and in the heavy governance of her father towards her and her mother, men ruled and marriage was everything. However, this pillar had its flaws as the women in the story were rebelling through friendship, support for one another, the changing politics of the time, and the sheer determination of the main female protagonists.

My least favorite character initially was Helen, or Hulan as she was known in China. But as the story progressed, I couldn't help but be charmed by the depth the author brought to her personality. She was a complex mix of stupidity, clumsiness, touchiness, wile, endearment, maddening traits, loyalty, naivety, preposterousness, being a turncoat, and vulnerability. By the end of the book, I found her quite irresistible. In fact, all the women characters had a significant presence for me.

The book concludes with a return to the present day, as Winnie and her daughter Pearl come to terms with many secrets in each other's lives, and we sense a newfound closeness between them.

For the most part, though, the book is harsh and brutal. Winnie endured a difficult life, not only personally but also during the bombing, while fleeing the Japanese army, and in the aftermath of the war. Nevertheless, there is a happy ending, and the warmth from that did much to touch my heart.

I thought I had read this book many years ago. However, I knew that if I truly had, I would notice it right away. So, I guess I didn't read it after all!

What an incredibly wonderful story it is! It's a story filled with secrets that have been held for many, many years. It's about a mother and daughter who come from not only different generations but also different cultures and continents.

I find the stories of new immigrants and their American born children absolutely fascinating. This is especially true when the immigrant's life in their home country was impoverished, abusive, and horrifying, particularly due to war.

In such cases, there is often a huge gap between the parents and children, and a lack of understanding. Unless the stories are shared, this gap will continue to widen. The threat of secrets being exposed in this story sets the stage for the mother to share her history with her daughter.

It's never too late to reveal how your history has impacted who you are today. By sharing these stories, we can gain a better understanding of ourselves and those around us.

Secrets, secrets, and more secrets.

This story is filled to the brim with them. There was old Aunt and New Aunt, and a whole host of relatives, each one bringing their story secrets to vivid life.

Growing up and living in China during and after World War II, they faced numerous difficulties. The war had brought chaos and destruction, yet they persevered.

Winnie, a beautiful and strong-willed woman, has an unforgettable voice in the story. It's not just her life that is told, but also her mother's life in China and then her daughter's life in America. The story weaves together the experiences of three generations, showing the impact of time, place, and family.

It's truly a joy to read, as it takes the reader on a journey through different cultures and eras, filled with love, loss, and the power of family secrets.

DNF @ 41%

The writing in this work is indeed well-crafted and masterful. However, at this moment, I simply couldn't immerse myself in the plot. It gives the impression of being a forgotten story from "The Joy Luck Club," yet lacking the same degree of interaction with the younger generation that served as a counterpoint to the direness of the mothers' tales. I feel really bad for not being able to complete this because I generally do enjoy Tan's characters. Her ability to create vivid and complex characters is truly remarkable. But perhaps in this particular instance, something about the plot failed to engage me on a deeper level. It's possible that the pacing was off or that the themes didn't resonate with me as strongly as I had hoped. Nevertheless, I still have a great deal of respect for Tan's writing and will likely give her other works a try in the future.

I absolutely adored this book. It has set two new goals for me. Firstly, to read more works by Amy Tan. Secondly, to aim for books that are longer than 300 pages, as I find that longer books offer the depth of plot that I desire.

Wow! What an incredibly enjoyable read it was. I would say it was somewhat like riding a rollercoaster, albeit a slow one. The plot twists managed to surprise me almost every time. They were not just cliche attempts to add excitement but rather, they built upon each other in a seamless manner. No plot line was left forgotten; everything tied back in the end or at some point in the story.

Is this a love story or a portrayal of the evolving relationship between a mother and daughter? Perhaps it is both. So far, this is hands down the best romance-like book that I have read between 2020 and 2021. If you are seeking excellent character development and a captivating story line, I highly recommend that you start reading this book right away!

When wars descend upon the world and unlikely friends find themselves crossing paths, it is often the case that the bonds they form can endure a lifetime. These are not the ordinary best friends that young women with relatively trivial First World Problems seek. No, these are the kind of friends who know most of each other's deepest secrets. However, the existence of those unknown secrets, the ones that are deliberately kept from the other friend, has the power to make life extremely complicated.

And then there is a daughter added to the mix, creating a situation where two generations of women, who have grown up in different continents, interact. The women of the older generation attempt to convey to the young woman born in another continent what life was like in the old country, albeit in a somewhat limited way. The respect for each other's feelings still significantly impacts their willingness to reveal their truths. Sometimes, they still resort to telling lies. Oh, the complex nature of mature friendships that manage to last a lifetime. The question that lingers is whether such friendships are still possible in the same way as they were in the old country?

"It's not you it's me" is what I truly feel like expressing to this book!

At the beginning, it touched on several sensitive points for me due to my own mother/daughter relationship. I set it aside for a while as I found the shift in point of view to the mother rather difficult to manage. It was really just rhetorical complaining and the story was consistently depressing. I had to continuously take breaks and read something else to lighten my mood.

I highly doubt that I will read anything else written by this author. The overall tone and style of this book didn't resonate with me, and it left me with a rather negative impression. Maybe others might find it more engaging, but for me, it simply didn't work.

What a remarkable journey this is!

The story commences with Pearl, a stressed-out mother of two lively little girls and the wife of Phil, an upbeat and lovable man who hasn't bought into the cloying ways of Pearl's Asian-American family. However, the true focus is on Winnie, her mother. When Winnie's sister-in-law menaces to disclose family secrets, Winnie is compelled to sit Pearl down and reveal all. Thus, this is a frame story, with 90% of the actual novel dedicated to Winnie's narrative.

After the opening, we are transported back to Winnie's childhood. She unfolds the tale of growing up as an orphan in China, finding a home with caustic relatives. Winnie matures and marries a dreadful, abusive man. Then, World War II erupts, and the Japanese cause widespread destruction. Winnie endures and eventually emigrates to the U.S.

My description fails to encompass all that occurred in this sumptuous, sprawling novel. Amy Tan is truly a wizard of storytelling. She takes a moment in history and envisions experiencing it through the eyes of, for instance, a pregnant woman fleeing through the dirt streets of her village to evade Japanese machine-gunning planes. Yet, there is so much beauty! Such vivid descriptions. Resilience, love, unexpected loyalty, and kindness abound.

By the time we return to the present day and Pearl has her own secret to share with her mother, I almost felt disoriented, having been so engrossed. And certain triumphant scenes where Winnie acts fearlessly - I have replayed them in my mind. The story becomes even richer in retrospect. What a magnificent work of art.

I made up my mind to re-read this book as it had been at least 15 years since I first read it, and I could not recall a single thing about it. (This probably says more about me than it does about the novel.) However, there are now Cliffs Notes on it?! Argh! A friend of mine who teaches with me also confessed that she got tired of teaching "The Joy Luck Club," so she began teaching this one instead because many of the same themes are explored.

I would concur that it is just as satisfying as "The Joy Luck Club." Although, if I had to make a choice between the two books to be stranded with on a desert island, I would select Amy Tan's first novel. I happen to adore the alternating viewpoints in that book (which, I am fully aware, confused some people to no end). "The Kitchen God's Wife" has a simple framing device and then it is told mostly from a single point of view, so it is less challenging in that regard. But the mother's story is just as heart-wrenching and Tan's writing is equally talented here.

In fact, Amy Tan has written nothing that I did not like EXCEPT for her last novel, "Saving Fish From Drowning," which was an utter disaster. I hated it.

I simply couldn't put this book down.

It commences with a concise conversation between the mother and the daughter.

Subsequently, a family relation issues a threat to disclose the mother's story to the daughter if the mother refuses.

And thus, the story of Winnie in China commences.

So much of it is tragic, painting a vivid and poignant picture.

It offers an interesting perspective into the ways of the Chinese in 1930's China.

We get to explore the rich traditions, the diverse food, the complex relationships, and the intriguing superstitions that prevailed during that era.

It's truly a captivating read that takes you on a journey through a different time and culture.

4.5!

I was supposed to read this for the book club several months ago. However, I made a mistake and read "A Pale View of Hills" instead. Surprisingly, it was great and remarkably similar to this book. But still, this one was better.

I found Pearl to be really deeply unlikeable. I didn't much enjoy the parts when she was narrating. On the other hand, Winnie's story was so engrossing and so moving. It made me feel very lucky to have the life I have.

The details in Winnie's story were vivid and really drew me in. I could picture the scenes and the emotions she was going through. It was a powerful read that made me reflect on my own life and the choices I've made.

Overall, despite not being a fan of Pearl's narration, I would highly recommend this book. It's a thought-provoking and emotional journey that will stay with you long after you've finished reading.

It is truly very poignant. Once you step into this story, you find yourself staying with the hell that she lived through. It is astonishing that nothing seems to have been done to alleviate her suffering. There are some questions that remain unanswered, lingering in the air like a heavy fog. She is an incredibly strong woman, yet he is the embodiment of pure evil. The narrative takes you through the China/Japan war, a time when the Japs were most hated by the Chinese. She describes this historical period with such precision and authenticity that it feels as if you are right there, experiencing it all firsthand. She really nails it, making you feel every emotion and understand the gravity of the situation.