This book has been on my reading list for quite some time. It was published in 1986 (got into my list only in 2014 :P) and has spent 40 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. I picked it up because the plot revolved around the mother-daughter bond. Human relationships, especially family ties, are so sensitive and delicate. There is a lot to be learnt from each one of them. The more you learn, the more you give and soon you realize the more you will receive too. As such, I find it very hard to critique this book. It is like a bedtime story told to you by your grandmother. Magical and engrossing. Parts of it true and parts of it made up. It speaks of good and evil, boons and curses, happiness and hardship. Although the rational mind questions, the heart knows that there are fine pearls of wisdom woven into the yarns of these tales.
The story opens into an oriental setting. Four Chinese families are united in America by a game of Mahjong. They call themselves The Joy Luck Club (JLC). JLC was started as a means to be happy even in the face of adversity. “To despair was to wish back for something already lost. Or to prolong what was already unbearable”. The four families form the four players of the game, each of them with a story of its own. The mothers who are forced to move away from their roots and find identity in a new country. The daughters who are struggling to be accepted in the very country they were born. JLC unites these families which are otherwise divided on their own. After all, birds of a feather flock together. Each character has a story to share, unique in its own way.
The highlights of the book are the mothers who are emotionally strong and practical. They have a tendency to stand straight in the eye of storm. And once it’s over, they brush away the dust and move on. However, their no-nonsense nature often makes them blind to the plight of their daughters. One can feel the helplessness of the mothers and the anguish of the daughters as they fail to communicate. The broken English is a delight and many a times lightens the situation.
But the story is a bit difficult to follow if you are not familiar with Chinese names. I kept getting confused about which story belonged to whom. The characters are not well distinguished and there are no marked features which makes it all the more difficult to remember. I wish the author had elaborated more on how the events of the past in the lives of the mother shaped them and influenced the lives of their children. On a similar note, the role of JLC is not at all justified. I wish there was more bonding between the families. Instead all you see is jealousy and a need to show one up on each other. The only glimpse of true friendship is when the members of the club pool in to fulfil their dying friend’s wish.
As a reader, I expect closure to all plots in the book, however trivial they are. I did not like the way the author chose to focus on the main character towards the end. We were introduced to four families. Wouldn’t we want to know what happened to the other three? Did they resolve their issues and overcome their situations? Did they succumb to their insecurities and lose hope? Unfortunately, these questions will remain answered forever (unless someone chooses to write a sequel). Apart from this, the book is a lovely journey of the need for the daughters to blend in with the modern society and the want of the mothers to hold on their heritage.
The story opens into an oriental setting. Four Chinese families are united in America by a game of Mahjong. They call themselves The Joy Luck Club (JLC). JLC was started as a means to be happy even in the face of adversity. “To despair was to wish back for something already lost. Or to prolong what was already unbearable”. The four families form the four players of the game, each of them with a story of its own. The mothers who are forced to move away from their roots and find identity in a new country. The daughters who are struggling to be accepted in the very country they were born. JLC unites these families which are otherwise divided on their own. After all, birds of a feather flock together. Each character has a story to share, unique in its own way.
The highlights of the book are the mothers who are emotionally strong and practical. They have a tendency to stand straight in the eye of storm. And once it’s over, they brush away the dust and move on. However, their no-nonsense nature often makes them blind to the plight of their daughters. One can feel the helplessness of the mothers and the anguish of the daughters as they fail to communicate. The broken English is a delight and many a times lightens the situation.
But the story is a bit difficult to follow if you are not familiar with Chinese names. I kept getting confused about which story belonged to whom. The characters are not well distinguished and there are no marked features which makes it all the more difficult to remember. I wish the author had elaborated more on how the events of the past in the lives of the mother shaped them and influenced the lives of their children. On a similar note, the role of JLC is not at all justified. I wish there was more bonding between the families. Instead all you see is jealousy and a need to show one up on each other. The only glimpse of true friendship is when the members of the club pool in to fulfil their dying friend’s wish.
As a reader, I expect closure to all plots in the book, however trivial they are. I did not like the way the author chose to focus on the main character towards the end. We were introduced to four families. Wouldn’t we want to know what happened to the other three? Did they resolve their issues and overcome their situations? Did they succumb to their insecurities and lose hope? Unfortunately, these questions will remain answered forever (unless someone chooses to write a sequel). Apart from this, the book is a lovely journey of the need for the daughters to blend in with the modern society and the want of the mothers to hold on their heritage.
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