The Joy Luck Club

by Amy Tan
The Joy Luck Club cover
Good Books rating 3.88
Literary Fiction
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Paperback • £9.99
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  • ID: 7542
  • Added: 2025-12-14
  • Updated: 2026-02-03
  • ISBN: 9781407072852
  • Publisher: Random House
  • Published: 2008-12-26
  • Formats: 2
  • Reviews: 4

In San Francisco, four Chinese immigrant women form the Joy Luck Club, meeting weekly to play mahjong and share stories of their pasts. Their daughters, raised in America, struggle to connect with their mothers' traditional values until their own lives force them to confront the inherited wisdom and pain of their family histories. /n/n Amy Tan's novel is a rich tapestry of intergenerational stories, revealing the complexities of mother-daughter relationships and the enduring power of cultural identity. The book is celebrated for its emotional depth and the way it weaves together themes of loss, hope, and the search for belonging.

Reviews
The Melodramatic Bookworm · 2023-03-20
powerful 3.50

The book is confusing but powerful, with a narrative that is both challenging and impactful. The emotional depth and cultural insights make it a memorable read.

The reviewer acknowledges that The Joy Luck Club is a confusing read, but they also find it deeply powerful. The narrative is challenging, but the emotional depth and cultural insights make it a memorable and impactful read. They appreciate the way Tan explores the complexities of identity and the immigrant experience, making it a book that stays with the reader long after finishing it.

Quick quotes

    The Joy Luck Club is a book that makes me do this. Yes, it's a confusing thing to reconcile oneself with, but it's still a powerful narrative.

    The emotional depth and cultural insights make it a memorable read.

    The narrative is challenging, but the emotional depth and cultural insights make it a memorable and impactful read.

LitReaderNotes · 2020-02-12
insightful 4.50

The novel captures the Chinese-American experience with depth and prestige. The interconnected stories highlight the cultural and generational divides between mothers and daughters.

The reviewer found The Joy Luck Club to be a deserving icon of the Chinese-American experience. They appreciated how Tan weaves together stories that explore the complex relationships between mothers and daughters, highlighting the cultural and generational divides. The novel's structure and themes are praised for their emotional depth and resonance, making it a significant work that captures the essence of immigrant experiences.

Quick quotes

    I found The Joy Luck Club deserving of its prestige as an iconic book capturing the Chinese-American experience.

    Throughout the novel Tan explores the complex relationships between mothers and daughters.

    The interconnected stories highlight the cultural and generational divides.

SamAnneElizabeth · 2018-08-14
enjoyable 3.50

The vignette style of the book is enjoyable, allowing readers to get to know the characters and their interactions. The emotional depth and cultural insights make it a memorable read.

The reviewer enjoyed the vignette style of The Joy Luck Club, finding it a fun way to get to know the characters and their interactions. They appreciated the emotional depth and cultural insights that Tan brings to the story, making it a memorable and impactful read. The reviewer also noted that the book's structure and themes make it a significant work that captures the essence of the immigrant experience.

Quick quotes

    The vignette style of this book was really fun.

    I enjoyed getting to know the women and their daughters, how their lives interacted and affected each other.

    The emotional depth and cultural insights make it a memorable read.

The Guardian · John Mullan · 2013-11-16
satisfying 4.00

The novel is a satisfying character study of the culture clash born out of immigration. It is more than the sum of its parts, offering a rich exploration of its themes.

John Mullan found The Joy Luck Club to be a satisfying character study of the culture clash that arises from immigration. They appreciated the novel's depth and complexity, noting that it is more than the sum of its parts. Mullan highlights the rich exploration of themes and the satisfying portrayal of characters.

Quick quotes

    Though it is not essential to the enjoyment of Amy Tan's geometrically structured novel, some understanding of the rules of mah-jong might help.

    This novel is a satisfying character study of the culture clash that is born out of immigration.

    It's more than the sum of its parts, to be sure.

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