The relationship between a mother and her daughter is a complex one which goes through many phases. For the mother, the daughter is "a bundle of joy" who needs to be protected. For the daughter, mother is the one who she can always cling for help. As time goes, mother continues to protect her child but ..., the daughter no more needs to be protected. She is independent and wise,or so she thinks. Mother has those pearls of wisdom still left with her which are to be passed on to her daughter but daughter is not willing to take those. She is not ready to accept a dictator as a mother and the mother cannot accept her daughter as a rebel. Time continues to fly and the dictator suddenly disappears, so does the rebel. The protector and the protected reappears but now, who is the one who protects and who is the one who wants to be protected? The mother,or the daughter? May be the answer is both.
Amy Tan's touching novel tells the story of four mothers and four daughters. All the mothers being Chinese immigrants of America, still try to remain Chinese and pass on the Chinese culture to their daughters. But the daughters, being daughters in addition to American citizens, cannot understand it. The book describes the journey of these eight individuals , their struggles and confusions.
The Joy Luck Club was started by Suyuan Woo along with her friends during the time of Second World War. They used this club as a means to get distracted from the hardships of war. Later when Suyuan Woo migrates to USA , she is restarting the club with three other Chinese friends. The book starts from the point when Suyuan's daughter Jing Mei joins the club when her mother dies. The book is organised into four parts ;each part with four stories, each told by one of the eight characters. The novel ends with the story where Jing Mei is united with her two half sisters whom her mother had lost during the war.
A touching book...4 out of 5.
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