Favorite Quotes:
"The East is where things begin, my mother once told me, the direction from which the sun rises, where the wind comes from." -page 33
"I once sacrificed my life to keep my parents' promise." This means nothing to you, because to you promises mean nothing. A daughter can promise to come to dinner, but if she has a headache, if she has a traffic jam, if she wants to watch a favorite movie on TV, she no longer has a promise." -page 49
"My mother never talked about her life in China, but my father said he saved her from a terrible life there, some tragedy she could not speak about. My father proudly named her in her immigration papers: Betty St. Clair, crossing out her given name of Gu Ying-ying. And then he put down the wrong birthyear, 1916 instead of 1914. So, with the sweep of a pen, my mother lost her name and became a Dragon instead of a Tiger." -page 104
"...I knew what lay on the other side: Her side attacks. Her secret weapons. Her uncanny ability to find my weakest spots. But in the brief instant that I had peered over the barriers I could finally see what was really there: an old woman, a wok for her armor, a knitting needle for her sword, getting a little crabby as she waited patiently for her daughter to invite her in." -page 184
"I smile. I use my American face. That's the face Americans think is Chinese, the one they cannot understand. But inside I am becoming ashamed. I am ashamed she is ashamed. Because she is my daughter and I am proud of her, and I am her mother but she is not proud of me."-page 255
About the Main Character:
Jing-mei "June" Woo lost her mother and is now being asked to take her place at the monthly Joy Luck Club meetings. And she is daunted by the task because her mother, this Chinese woman with a life and past June was not a part of, is a mystery to her. When June mentions this in the first meeting she attends the other three Chinese mothers in the group immediately try to convince her otherwise. They do this because June is going to China to meet the older sisters her mother had to abandon and she's never known. But, they are also adamant that June must understand her mother because they have daughters who simply must understand them. The book continues to essentially prove that the mother's worst fear is true...there is a barrier between mother and daughter.
Another Character to Note:
June's mother, Suyuan Woo, is deceased before the novel begins, but the audience is introduced to her character through the reflections of her daughter. It's interesting to learn of a mother's love from the perspective of the daughter. There were often misunderstandings, which is true of all the mother-daughter interactions in this book, but for June and Suyuan there is no chance to make up for lost time. It's touching to watch June realize her mother's true intentions and struggles, even if she can't tell her mother face to face how much she loves and appreciates her.
Plot Breakdown:
1. June of the Joy Luck Club...when her father insists she replace her mother at the mah jong table, how can she say no?
2. The North, The South, The West...the three other women of the Joy Luck Club pull on the thread that will guide the rest of the novel: Suyuan's search for her twin daughters.
3. The Upbringing of the Mothers...each mother explains her upbringing in a chapter. They pretty unanimously hint at darkness.
4. Lives of Misunderstanding...the disconnect between the mothers and the daughters is so evident in the descriptions of the events in these chapters. But the daughters do know their mothers, at least their perspectives of their mothers.
5. The Hardships of the Daughters...the next sections is filled with chapters about what trials the daughters face as adults.
6. Tales from China...the mother's call upon stories from their past lives to try and help their daughters with their present day issues.
7. Fulfillment of a Dream...June travels to China to complete the journey her mother always dreamed of taking.
Something Interesting to Note:
One of the things that continually stuck out to me was the cultural differences and identity issues the mothers faced as they transitioned to life in America. The account of Ying-ying St. Clair losing her name and birthdate when she came over really stayed with me. It made me realize how even the simplest of luxuries, like the assurance of my birthday, should not be taken for granted.
Should you read The Joy Luck Club before you die?
Yes. There are layers upon layers of lessons to learn. There are still so many symbols I want to decipher because I know Tan hid some jewel within them. Although I'd read this before, it was refreshing to visit again. Loved it!
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