This is a beautiful story about four mothers who emigrate from China to San Francisco and their four daughters who grow up here in the States. The mothers call themselves the "Joy Luck Club" and meet to eat, talk, invest in stocks, and play mahjong (a Chinese board game). The eight women's stories center around one woman's trip to China to meet her half-sisters, who her mother left on the side of a road in China while trying to escape the Japanese invasion during World War II.It's hard to elaborate more on the plot because the stories are so complex and interwoven. But here's one passage I thought was so well-written and said so much, from the perspective of one of the mothers:
"It's my fault she is this way. I wanted my children to have the best combination: American circumstances and Chinese character. How could I know these two things do not mix? I taught her how American circumstances work. If you are born poor here, it’s no lasting shame… If the roof crashes on your head, no need to cry over this bad luck. You can sue anybody- you do not have to sit like Buddha under a tree letting pigeons drop their dirty business on your head… In America, nobody says you have to keep the circumstances somebody else gives you. She learned these things, but I couldn’t teach her about Chinese character. How to obey parents, and listen to your mothers mind. How not to show your own thoughts, to put your feelings behind your face so you can take advantage of hidden opportunities.. Why Chinese thinking is best.”
I know I'm not very familiar with Asian-American literature, but this book was very different from anything I've read ... and it definitely deserves all the praise it's received. The triumphs and tragedies that the mothers endured in China and in the States give a glimpse into Chinese culture; they are also beautiful stories about mother-daughter relationships.
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