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Con Gái Thầy Lang
Diện mạo văn học Mỹ trong những thập kỷ cuối cùng của thế kỷ 20 có những thay đổi sâu sắc. Giới nghiên cứu phê bình văn học Mỹ nhất trí với nhau ở một điểm là cần phải thay đổi cái nhìn chính thống trong những nhận định về văn học Mỹ. Vậy điều gì đã làm nên những thay đổi này? Có thể nói đó là sự xuất hiện của các nhà văn da màu, mà đại diện xuất sắc là các nhà văn nữ. Năm 1995, tony Morrison đạt giải Nobel về văn chương. Nhưng trước đó khá lâu từ những thập niên 70, 80 văn học Mỹ đã có thêm sinh khí mới với những sáng tác của các nhà văn, nhà thơ da đen như Alice Walker, Maya Angelou, những nhà văn gốc Mỹ la tinh như nhà văn được giải Pulitzer Oscar Hijuelos, Rdolfo Anaya…
Cùng lên tiếng với nhóm các nhà văn trên là những nhà văn gốc Châu Á. Vào giữa thập niên 70, Maxine Hong Kingston với Tripmaster Monkey đã đặt một cột mốc cho dòng văn học này, và nối tiếp con đường của bà là Amy Tan với The Joy Lụck Club – Phúc lạc hội (1988). Tác phẩm gây nên một tiếng vang lớn buộc độc giả và giới nghiên cứu phê bình phải nhìn lại những tác phẩm của những nhà văn Mỹ gốc Châu Á, Amy Tan với các tác phẩm tiếp theo của bà The Kitchen God's Wife – Phu Nhân Táo Quân (1991), The Hundred Secret Senses – Trăm miền ẩn thức (1995), The Bonesetter's Daughter – Con gái thầy lang (2000), cùng những sáng tác cho thiếu nhi The Moon Lady, tạm dịch là Hằng Nga, và The Chinese Saimese Cat, tạm dịch Co mèo xiêm Trung Quốc, trong vòn hơn một thập kỷ qua đã làm nên một hiện tượng trong văn học Mỹ. Các nhà phê bình đã thống nhất với nhau trong nhận định là cùng với Maxine Hong Kinsgton, Amy Tan đã khai phá một con đường mới, mở ra những giá trị nghệ thuật và nhân bản sâu sắc trong nền văn học đương đại Mỹ. Thêm vào giá trị văn học Mỹ những giá trị của một nền văn hoá phương Đông vốn thâm trầm mà sâu sắc.
Amy Tan sinh ngày 19 tháng Giêng năm 1952 ở Oakland, bang California. Tuổi thơ của bà trôi qua chủ yếu ở San Francisco, nhưng bà lại tốt nghiệp phổ thông ở Montreux, Thuỵ Điển và bà nhận được bằng thạc sĩ về ngôn ngữ của San Jose Sate University. Với tác phẩm đầu tay Phúc Lạc Hội, Amy Tan đã nhận được giải thưởng The National Book Award và L.A. Times Book Award năm 1989. Các tác phẩm sau này được đánh giá rất cao (Good và Excellent) trong dư luận bạn đọc.
Các sáng tác của Amy Tan, với những vấn đề của người phụ nữ, đặc biệt là những người phụ nữ gốc Á nhập cư ở Mỹ, tiếc thay mới được dịch ra tiếng Việt tác phẩm The Joy Luck Club – Phúc lạc hội (nhà xuất bản Trẻ). Nhưng chỉ riêng tác phẩm này đã gây nên được dư luận trong đông đảo bạn đọc Việt Nam vì những vấn đề nó đặt ra.
Nhà xuất bản Văn nghệ thành phố Hồ Chí Minh mạnh dạn giới thiệu những sáng tác mới nhất của Amy Tan vì các tác phẩm này gần gũi với thị hiếu thẩm mỹ cũng như cách cảm nghĩ của người Việt Nam. Thiết nghĩ có lẽ nền văh hoá Trugn Hoa và Việt Nam có nhiều điểm gần gũi tương đồng. Nhưng một nhận định như thế e có thu hẹp giá trị trong những tác phẩm của Amy Tan, bởi lẽ các tác phẩm của bà được dịch ra 20 thứ tiếng với hàng chục triệu bản in và được yêu thích trên toàn thế giới. Dù là người da trắng, người da đen sống ở Nam Phi, hay người Trung Hoa lục địa thì cũng đều tìm thấy trong sáng tác của bà những nồi niềm của chính mình, của ông bà mình, anh chị mình.
Đặc biệt khi người đọc là phụ nữ, là con gái, em gái, là mẹ hay là vợ thì lại càng cảm thấy tiếng lòng của mình trong mỗi sáng tác của Amy Tan. Có thể nói nhân vật bao giờ cũng là trung tâm, cũng đẹp theo nghĩa rộng của từ này, trong các tác phẩm của Amy Tan là Phụ Nữ, nhất là trong vai trò mẹ và con gái.
Cùng lên tiếng với nhóm các nhà văn trên là những nhà văn gốc Châu Á. Vào giữa thập niên 70, Maxine Hong Kingston với Tripmaster Monkey đã đặt một cột mốc cho dòng văn học này, và nối tiếp con đường của bà là Amy Tan với The Joy Lụck Club – Phúc lạc hội (1988). Tác phẩm gây nên một tiếng vang lớn buộc độc giả và giới nghiên cứu phê bình phải nhìn lại những tác phẩm của những nhà văn Mỹ gốc Châu Á, Amy Tan với các tác phẩm tiếp theo của bà The Kitchen God's Wife – Phu Nhân Táo Quân (1991), The Hundred Secret Senses – Trăm miền ẩn thức (1995), The Bonesetter's Daughter – Con gái thầy lang (2000), cùng những sáng tác cho thiếu nhi The Moon Lady, tạm dịch là Hằng Nga, và The Chinese Saimese Cat, tạm dịch Co mèo xiêm Trung Quốc, trong vòn hơn một thập kỷ qua đã làm nên một hiện tượng trong văn học Mỹ. Các nhà phê bình đã thống nhất với nhau trong nhận định là cùng với Maxine Hong Kinsgton, Amy Tan đã khai phá một con đường mới, mở ra những giá trị nghệ thuật và nhân bản sâu sắc trong nền văn học đương đại Mỹ. Thêm vào giá trị văn học Mỹ những giá trị của một nền văn hoá phương Đông vốn thâm trầm mà sâu sắc.
Amy Tan sinh ngày 19 tháng Giêng năm 1952 ở Oakland, bang California. Tuổi thơ của bà trôi qua chủ yếu ở San Francisco, nhưng bà lại tốt nghiệp phổ thông ở Montreux, Thuỵ Điển và bà nhận được bằng thạc sĩ về ngôn ngữ của San Jose Sate University. Với tác phẩm đầu tay Phúc Lạc Hội, Amy Tan đã nhận được giải thưởng The National Book Award và L.A. Times Book Award năm 1989. Các tác phẩm sau này được đánh giá rất cao (Good và Excellent) trong dư luận bạn đọc.
Các sáng tác của Amy Tan, với những vấn đề của người phụ nữ, đặc biệt là những người phụ nữ gốc Á nhập cư ở Mỹ, tiếc thay mới được dịch ra tiếng Việt tác phẩm The Joy Luck Club – Phúc lạc hội (nhà xuất bản Trẻ). Nhưng chỉ riêng tác phẩm này đã gây nên được dư luận trong đông đảo bạn đọc Việt Nam vì những vấn đề nó đặt ra.
Nhà xuất bản Văn nghệ thành phố Hồ Chí Minh mạnh dạn giới thiệu những sáng tác mới nhất của Amy Tan vì các tác phẩm này gần gũi với thị hiếu thẩm mỹ cũng như cách cảm nghĩ của người Việt Nam. Thiết nghĩ có lẽ nền văh hoá Trugn Hoa và Việt Nam có nhiều điểm gần gũi tương đồng. Nhưng một nhận định như thế e có thu hẹp giá trị trong những tác phẩm của Amy Tan, bởi lẽ các tác phẩm của bà được dịch ra 20 thứ tiếng với hàng chục triệu bản in và được yêu thích trên toàn thế giới. Dù là người da trắng, người da đen sống ở Nam Phi, hay người Trung Hoa lục địa thì cũng đều tìm thấy trong sáng tác của bà những nồi niềm của chính mình, của ông bà mình, anh chị mình.
Đặc biệt khi người đọc là phụ nữ, là con gái, em gái, là mẹ hay là vợ thì lại càng cảm thấy tiếng lòng của mình trong mỗi sáng tác của Amy Tan. Có thể nói nhân vật bao giờ cũng là trung tâm, cũng đẹp theo nghĩa rộng của từ này, trong các tác phẩm của Amy Tan là Phụ Nữ, nhất là trong vai trò mẹ và con gái.
490 pages, Paperback
First published February 19, 2001
2045 people are currently reading
59613 people want to read
About the author
Amy Tan
98 books11.1k followersAmy Tan (Chinese: 譚恩美; pinyin: Tán Ēnměi; born February 19, 1952) is an American writer whose novels include The Joy Luck Club, The Kitchen God’s Wife, The Hundred Secret Senses, The Bonesetter’s Daughter, Saving Fish From Drowing, and The Valley of Amazement. She is the author of two memoirs, The Opposite of Fate and Where the Past Begins. Her two children’s books are The Chinese Siamese Cat and The Moon Lady. She is also the co-screenwriter of the film adaptation of The Joy Luck, the librettist of the opera The Bonesetter’s Daughter, and the creative consultant to the PBS animated series Sagwa the Chinese Chinese Cat.
Tan is an instructor with MasterClass on writing, memory and imagination. She is featured in the American Masters documentary Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir. She was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters and recently received the National Humanities Medal. She serves on the board of American Bird Conservancy.
Her forthcoming book The Backyard Bird Chronicles began as a journal in 2016, when she turned to nature for calm. She also began taking drawing classes with John Muir Laws (The Laws Guide to Nature Journaling and Drawing, and The Laws Guide to Drawing Birds). During the pandemic shutdown, she drew birds only in her backyard, documenting behaviors she found puzzling. Over time she identified 64 species of birds that have visited her backyard in Marin County. By 2022, she had more than nine journals of sketches and notes, which her editor at Knopf suggested she publish. The book, which will be released in April 2024, has already received high praise:
“Much of great writing comes from great interest, and in The Backyard Bird Chronicles, Amy Tan shows us how the world fascinates her, especially the birds. The result is both unexpected and spectacular.”
—Ann Patchett, author of These Precious Days
“What an enchanting and illuminating book! How lucky for us that Amy Tan has turned her genius, her deep empathy and insight, her keen eye for what is telling, to birds. Every page of these chronicles radiates warm curiosity, wonder, and delight.”
—Jennifer Ackerman, The Genius of Birds
“This is one of the most infectious and convincing books about nature I’ve read. For the bird-watcher, the would-be bird-watcher, or for the bird-watching skeptic, this offers great delight and unexpected intrigue. Through Tan’s ecstatic eyes, what could be a dry treatise on ornithological happenings becomes something far more fun and much more profound. It’s really a book about seeing.”
—Dave Eggers, author of Ungrateful Mammals
“Anybody even mildly interested in birds, or thinking about getting interested in birds (which are, after all, the indicator genus for the health of the planet), will want this book perched on their shelf, if only for the gift of Amy Tan’s eye and the example she gives us of how to pay attention. What a treasure.”
—Robert Hass, Pulitzer Prize-Winning author of Summer Snow: New Poems
“Backyard Bird Chronicles is fun reading. It shows how we can become engaged emotionally, literally and artistically with the natural world—to joyfully learn about the most accessible and yet wild animals, the often rare and beautiful birds that choose to come and live near and sometimes with us.”
—Bernd Heinrich, author of Mind of the Raven
“With this book as your guide, embark into the bird world Amy Tan. This is an intimate view, a sort-of love affair with the birds and their behavior, that Amy has come to know over several years. Within the leafy universe of her own backyard, she has quietly beheld, patiently observed, and taken in-depth notations of an extensive array of bird species. In colorful detail, she describes various bird’s behavior, while capturing their beauty in exquisitely rendered illustrations. Species include fearsome predators and watchful prey, long distance migrants and hometown residents. Through her unique insight and gift as an author and
Tan is an instructor with MasterClass on writing, memory and imagination. She is featured in the American Masters documentary Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir. She was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters and recently received the National Humanities Medal. She serves on the board of American Bird Conservancy.
Her forthcoming book The Backyard Bird Chronicles began as a journal in 2016, when she turned to nature for calm. She also began taking drawing classes with John Muir Laws (The Laws Guide to Nature Journaling and Drawing, and The Laws Guide to Drawing Birds). During the pandemic shutdown, she drew birds only in her backyard, documenting behaviors she found puzzling. Over time she identified 64 species of birds that have visited her backyard in Marin County. By 2022, she had more than nine journals of sketches and notes, which her editor at Knopf suggested she publish. The book, which will be released in April 2024, has already received high praise:
“Much of great writing comes from great interest, and in The Backyard Bird Chronicles, Amy Tan shows us how the world fascinates her, especially the birds. The result is both unexpected and spectacular.”
—Ann Patchett, author of These Precious Days
“What an enchanting and illuminating book! How lucky for us that Amy Tan has turned her genius, her deep empathy and insight, her keen eye for what is telling, to birds. Every page of these chronicles radiates warm curiosity, wonder, and delight.”
—Jennifer Ackerman, The Genius of Birds
“This is one of the most infectious and convincing books about nature I’ve read. For the bird-watcher, the would-be bird-watcher, or for the bird-watching skeptic, this offers great delight and unexpected intrigue. Through Tan’s ecstatic eyes, what could be a dry treatise on ornithological happenings becomes something far more fun and much more profound. It’s really a book about seeing.”
—Dave Eggers, author of Ungrateful Mammals
“Anybody even mildly interested in birds, or thinking about getting interested in birds (which are, after all, the indicator genus for the health of the planet), will want this book perched on their shelf, if only for the gift of Amy Tan’s eye and the example she gives us of how to pay attention. What a treasure.”
—Robert Hass, Pulitzer Prize-Winning author of Summer Snow: New Poems
“Backyard Bird Chronicles is fun reading. It shows how we can become engaged emotionally, literally and artistically with the natural world—to joyfully learn about the most accessible and yet wild animals, the often rare and beautiful birds that choose to come and live near and sometimes with us.”
—Bernd Heinrich, author of Mind of the Raven
“With this book as your guide, embark into the bird world Amy Tan. This is an intimate view, a sort-of love affair with the birds and their behavior, that Amy has come to know over several years. Within the leafy universe of her own backyard, she has quietly beheld, patiently observed, and taken in-depth notations of an extensive array of bird species. In colorful detail, she describes various bird’s behavior, while capturing their beauty in exquisitely rendered illustrations. Species include fearsome predators and watchful prey, long distance migrants and hometown residents. Through her unique insight and gift as an author and
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 4,335 reviews
April 13, 2017
As an adolescent reader, Amy Tan used to be one of my favorite authors, yet, at the time, I did not appreciate the scope of her writing. One of my 2017 reading goals is to revisit authors I read during that time so as to fully enjoy their work. The Bonesetter's Daughter, an sweeping novel that takes a reader from California to prerevolutionary China and back again, is the second of Tan's books that I have read this year. A story featuring a strong mother-daughter connection that is emblematic of Tan's writing, The Bonesetter's Daughter offers readers a captivating novel in three parts.
Ruth Luyi Young is middle aged and still dealing with baggage of her youth. Although she has been in a stable relationship for the past ten years and has a successful job, Ruth at age forty six still grapples with her upbringing as an only child to a widowed mother. Throughout her life, Ruth has become known as a people pleaser while not taking the time to assert herself about her own wants and desires in life. As a result Ruth is in a long term relationship yet not married and ghost writing books instead of authoring her own stories.
Ruth's life undergoes dramatic changes when her mother LuLing is diagnosed with the beginning stages of Alzheimer's. Ruth's own life takes a back seat as she moves in with her mother and becomes her caregiver. While living in her childhood home, Ruth discovers a memoir LuLing had written seven years earlier when she first feared that she was losing her memory. Ruth takes the manuscript to be translated, and Tan takes her reader on a journey to pre-revolutionary, rural China.
Liu LuLing grew up in the village of Immortal Heart as the daughter of Precious Auntie, her Bao Bomu. Precious Auntie suffered many hardships including the murder of her father, a respected bone doctor, and her fiancé on the day of her wedding. Precious Auntie was already pregnant with LuLing at the time, and was taken in to life with her to be husband's family. Following LuLing's birth Precious Auntie stayed as her nursemaid, and never let LuLing know that she was her mother until it was too late to form real maternal bonds. As a result, LuLing has also been grappling with ghosts and curses for her entire life.
Tan provides the reader with a glimpse of life in Peking and Hong Kong before China became a modern country. One sees this in the orphanage run by missionaries where LuLing lives and the crowded streets of Peking and Hong Kong where she waits for her journey to America. Tan provides a contrast to life in China still dictated by Buddhist g-ds and practices to modern San Francisco where LuLing ends up, escaping the hardships that befell her in her youth.
Written in three parts, Tan creates a strong mother-daughter relationship in LuLing and Ruth as she offers similar themes in their childhood. Tan's mother daughter motif as well as the differences between immigrants and their children born in the United States is evident in her other books as well. She provides the reader with a modern feel good story as well as quality historical fiction all in one book. The Bonesetter's Daughter was enjoyable for me to revisit, and I look forward to spending more time reading Tan's novels. 4 stars.
Ruth Luyi Young is middle aged and still dealing with baggage of her youth. Although she has been in a stable relationship for the past ten years and has a successful job, Ruth at age forty six still grapples with her upbringing as an only child to a widowed mother. Throughout her life, Ruth has become known as a people pleaser while not taking the time to assert herself about her own wants and desires in life. As a result Ruth is in a long term relationship yet not married and ghost writing books instead of authoring her own stories.
Ruth's life undergoes dramatic changes when her mother LuLing is diagnosed with the beginning stages of Alzheimer's. Ruth's own life takes a back seat as she moves in with her mother and becomes her caregiver. While living in her childhood home, Ruth discovers a memoir LuLing had written seven years earlier when she first feared that she was losing her memory. Ruth takes the manuscript to be translated, and Tan takes her reader on a journey to pre-revolutionary, rural China.
Liu LuLing grew up in the village of Immortal Heart as the daughter of Precious Auntie, her Bao Bomu. Precious Auntie suffered many hardships including the murder of her father, a respected bone doctor, and her fiancé on the day of her wedding. Precious Auntie was already pregnant with LuLing at the time, and was taken in to life with her to be husband's family. Following LuLing's birth Precious Auntie stayed as her nursemaid, and never let LuLing know that she was her mother until it was too late to form real maternal bonds. As a result, LuLing has also been grappling with ghosts and curses for her entire life.
Tan provides the reader with a glimpse of life in Peking and Hong Kong before China became a modern country. One sees this in the orphanage run by missionaries where LuLing lives and the crowded streets of Peking and Hong Kong where she waits for her journey to America. Tan provides a contrast to life in China still dictated by Buddhist g-ds and practices to modern San Francisco where LuLing ends up, escaping the hardships that befell her in her youth.
Written in three parts, Tan creates a strong mother-daughter relationship in LuLing and Ruth as she offers similar themes in their childhood. Tan's mother daughter motif as well as the differences between immigrants and their children born in the United States is evident in her other books as well. She provides the reader with a modern feel good story as well as quality historical fiction all in one book. The Bonesetter's Daughter was enjoyable for me to revisit, and I look forward to spending more time reading Tan's novels. 4 stars.
March 25, 2008
Amy Tan has a way of starting a story that's impossible to put down. For the first half of the book I kept wondering what about it made it so good. Anecdotal stories, relatable characters, Chinese folklore for interest ... these are all good, but I finally realized in the last quarter of the book why I liked it so much. Because it's a book about learning to love your past no matter how many scars it gives you, and learning to love and forgive your parents and ancestors, no matter what they may have done to your gene pool. It's a story about loving people the best way you know how, and believing that some day they'll know just how much you love them, and just how much you wish you could change your faults so you could love them better. But you hope that your feeble offering will be enough. And it's a story about accepting the feeble offering for the gold mine that it is ... not feeble at all. I learned a lot about myself and my family relationships through reading this book, and would recommend it to anyone who has a loved one they just can't quite relate to or understand.
January 25, 2025
This work is a trip to the past. The most significant events took place near Beijing around 1910-1920. The book tells the saga of the Liu family, whose real name is Gu. It was the most successful during the time of the father of Precious Antie, a bonesetter highly esteemed for his talents. The book's central figure is Precious Antie, who is called Gu Liu Xin, a shooting star, but we only learn about it in the last lines of the text.
The book is the saga of a family that manufactured Indian inks, which were very popular with calligraphers. The plot is well done. The author followed the guiding thread of the story of her grandmother, Precious Antie, and her mother, Luling.
This book tells the story of the "Peking man," whose bones are dated nearly 500,000 years back. The author also describes the horrors suffered by the population during the war with the Japanese. It is also the story of migrants of Chinese origin who had to leave their country to save their skin. Precious Antie's story is also enlightening regarding women's struggles.
It is entertaining in its history but also instructive. It is also necessary to consider that it is a testimonial book.
The book is the saga of a family that manufactured Indian inks, which were very popular with calligraphers. The plot is well done. The author followed the guiding thread of the story of her grandmother, Precious Antie, and her mother, Luling.
This book tells the story of the "Peking man," whose bones are dated nearly 500,000 years back. The author also describes the horrors suffered by the population during the war with the Japanese. It is also the story of migrants of Chinese origin who had to leave their country to save their skin. Precious Antie's story is also enlightening regarding women's struggles.
It is entertaining in its history but also instructive. It is also necessary to consider that it is a testimonial book.
September 3, 2017
Amy Tan's books are like a fine wine: they're meant to be savored, to get the maximum amount of enjoyment out of each drop (or word) on each page.
I have yet to read a book that's worthy of anything less than 5 stars. Knock on wood, let's hope it stays that way.
Ruth is a 46 year-old professional woman with a busy life of her own: she has a successful but demanding career, a live-in boyfriend with whom she has a complicated relationship, 2 step kids who are bratty (imho) for most of the book, and finally, an elderly mother who may have some serious health issues to face.
Her mother LuLing has one foot planted firmly in her past; her roots are in China, and she has spent a lifetime coming to terms with what happened there before she moved to the United States after WWII.
There are things she has revealed to her daughter, but only in Chinese. Ruth is forced to come to terms with herself, her boyfriend and her mother.
This book is broken into 3 parts, with the middle part going into LuLing's history in war-torn China. The fluidity of Tan's writing is so superb, and her ability to weave a tale that's written so perfectly is simply wonderful.
Tan is a master at writing about history (she offers richly vivid depictions), complicated issues, multi-generational conflicts, redemption, forgiveness and self-awareness.
I can't say enough good things about this book. My only regret is that I didn't read it sooner.
I have yet to read a book that's worthy of anything less than 5 stars. Knock on wood, let's hope it stays that way.
Ruth is a 46 year-old professional woman with a busy life of her own: she has a successful but demanding career, a live-in boyfriend with whom she has a complicated relationship, 2 step kids who are bratty (imho) for most of the book, and finally, an elderly mother who may have some serious health issues to face.
Her mother LuLing has one foot planted firmly in her past; her roots are in China, and she has spent a lifetime coming to terms with what happened there before she moved to the United States after WWII.
There are things she has revealed to her daughter, but only in Chinese. Ruth is forced to come to terms with herself, her boyfriend and her mother.
This book is broken into 3 parts, with the middle part going into LuLing's history in war-torn China. The fluidity of Tan's writing is so superb, and her ability to weave a tale that's written so perfectly is simply wonderful.
Tan is a master at writing about history (she offers richly vivid depictions), complicated issues, multi-generational conflicts, redemption, forgiveness and self-awareness.
I can't say enough good things about this book. My only regret is that I didn't read it sooner.
November 25, 2025
Why I chose to listen to this audiobook:
1. I purchased hardcopies of Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club and The Bonesetter's Daughter from a thrift shop after reading glowing GR reviews;
2. the audiobook was a free loan via Libby; and,
3. October 2025 was my "S and T Authors" Month!
Praises:
1. Tan is skilled at characterizing powerful relationships between mothers and daughters. Whether it was between Ruth and her aging mother, LuLing Young, or between youthful LuLing and her "Precious Auntie"', I felt my emotions run the gamut - sympathetic, frustrated, and hopeful; and,
2. the setting of early 20th-century China was so picturesque! I truly felt like a part of young LuLing's family life.
Niggle:
Narrated by two women, one being the author herself, the voices lacked expressiveness (with the exception of the elderly character of LuLing - she was a treat to listen to!) Several times I had to rewind to catch various pieces of narrative that seemed to come across as lackluster. I recommend reading the print version.
Overall Thoughts:
An entrancing story featuring strong female characters and the familial ties that bind them. A rich history wraps these women together when misunderstandings and confusion could undo their connections.
1. I purchased hardcopies of Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club and The Bonesetter's Daughter from a thrift shop after reading glowing GR reviews;
2. the audiobook was a free loan via Libby; and,
3. October 2025 was my "S and T Authors" Month!
Praises:
1. Tan is skilled at characterizing powerful relationships between mothers and daughters. Whether it was between Ruth and her aging mother, LuLing Young, or between youthful LuLing and her "Precious Auntie"', I felt my emotions run the gamut - sympathetic, frustrated, and hopeful; and,
2. the setting of early 20th-century China was so picturesque! I truly felt like a part of young LuLing's family life.
Niggle:
Narrated by two women, one being the author herself, the voices lacked expressiveness (with the exception of the elderly character of LuLing - she was a treat to listen to!) Several times I had to rewind to catch various pieces of narrative that seemed to come across as lackluster. I recommend reading the print version.
Overall Thoughts:
An entrancing story featuring strong female characters and the familial ties that bind them. A rich history wraps these women together when misunderstandings and confusion could undo their connections.
February 19, 2023
Audiobook….read by Amy Tan and Joan Chen
…..11 hours and 51 minutes
It’s been years since reading an Amy Tan book — [this is the first time I’ve listened to one of her books] …..and I was inspired to download the library audiobook after my friend Alli shared with me of loving it.
It was a terrific audiobook at that.
I’ve great memories meeting Amy Tan — on a movie set in San Francisco of all places.
This is an inspiring story of struggles with self discovery- self acceptance-cultural differences between being in China born and Chinese American born —
Fascinating family history- (Mother’s tragic story in pre-revolution China), society pressures of sexual biases-secrets, betrayals, love, loss, hope, and forgiveness.
At times very funny. Nude yoga anyone?
Other times - pretty sad. With Ruth’s mothers’ health decline from Alzheimer’s. Disease, (the sadness of her memory loss was so real)….
And…
Ruth’s grief and regret from years of anger, resentments, and criticisms she had towards her mother begins to breakdown. (also very real)
And as Ruth comes to understand her Mother’s past (get to know her mother as the person she was before being her mother)— her heart opens and we see how love and forgiveness begin to unravel organically.
Mom’s favorite ice cream flavor was Rum Raisin….
Paul and I use to share a pint of it every night when I was nursing our first child -
Oh the ‘good-old-days’ of babies in the house and ice cream after-dinner treats!
There are a million wonderful things I could say about this book…
But I think what I most want leave other people with is if you really do enjoy listening to audiobooks — this was an enriching - enjoyable- one!!!
The very beginning I felt was a little slow to fully be the great train ride it becomes — but once past the beginning it’s marvelous…. and the storytelling comes very ‘alive’.
Intimate - and heartfelt in the most humanitarian ways.
Lovely novel!!!
Note…. I had forgotten how wonderful it is to engage in anything written by Amy Tan.
I loved being back in San Francisco—nothing like the ‘at home’ feelings from settings in our home area’s…
An easy 5 star rating!!!
…..11 hours and 51 minutes
It’s been years since reading an Amy Tan book — [this is the first time I’ve listened to one of her books] …..and I was inspired to download the library audiobook after my friend Alli shared with me of loving it.
It was a terrific audiobook at that.
I’ve great memories meeting Amy Tan — on a movie set in San Francisco of all places.
This is an inspiring story of struggles with self discovery- self acceptance-cultural differences between being in China born and Chinese American born —
Fascinating family history- (Mother’s tragic story in pre-revolution China), society pressures of sexual biases-secrets, betrayals, love, loss, hope, and forgiveness.
At times very funny. Nude yoga anyone?
Other times - pretty sad. With Ruth’s mothers’ health decline from Alzheimer’s. Disease, (the sadness of her memory loss was so real)….
And…
Ruth’s grief and regret from years of anger, resentments, and criticisms she had towards her mother begins to breakdown. (also very real)
And as Ruth comes to understand her Mother’s past (get to know her mother as the person she was before being her mother)— her heart opens and we see how love and forgiveness begin to unravel organically.
Mom’s favorite ice cream flavor was Rum Raisin….
Paul and I use to share a pint of it every night when I was nursing our first child -
Oh the ‘good-old-days’ of babies in the house and ice cream after-dinner treats!
There are a million wonderful things I could say about this book…
But I think what I most want leave other people with is if you really do enjoy listening to audiobooks — this was an enriching - enjoyable- one!!!
The very beginning I felt was a little slow to fully be the great train ride it becomes — but once past the beginning it’s marvelous…. and the storytelling comes very ‘alive’.
Intimate - and heartfelt in the most humanitarian ways.
Lovely novel!!!
Note…. I had forgotten how wonderful it is to engage in anything written by Amy Tan.
I loved being back in San Francisco—nothing like the ‘at home’ feelings from settings in our home area’s…
An easy 5 star rating!!!
July 14, 2020
While I loved the LuLing's story I can't say the same about Ruth. I was fascinated by Luling's story and equally bored by Ruth's. I think I skipped few parts just to reach Luling's parts. It was beautifully written telling us about Chinese culture and story itself was mesmerizing.
November 7, 2008
This is a chronicle of voicelessness across three generations of a Chinese family: it captures how these women lost their voices, why they continued to be voiceless, and how they attempted to reclaim their voice. Voice in this book is both literal and figurative: it's about standing up for oneself, speaking one's truth, being acknowledged, being understood, and not being censored. And the perpetrators who claim the women's voices can be cultural, personal (through the violation of one's secrets or body), cross-cultural, as what happens to the youngest when she finds herself in a relationship with a man who already has two Caucasian children, and even professional, as what happens for those who choose to give voice to others' ideas but not their own (as ghostwriters). And not incidentally, it is also a book about ghosts who remain with us from our past, haunting us with their curses or benevolently giving us advice about our current choices. Serendipitously enough, this book made me proud to be part-Chinese, but also sad that there was so much about Chinese culture and especially its writing and its calligraphy that I cannot understand. But in the end, it inspires the reader to speak out, to express appreciation to relatives, to insist on being heard in one's relationship, and to rediscover the paths of their ancestors. It may sound corny, but this book was an incredibly moving read for me, unsettling me and making me question my own experiences at its more difficult passages.
On a general note, however, please stop titling book's The Blank's Daughter. From the abortionist to the gravedigger to the bonesetter, I'm tired of women being defined by the occupation of their father. What shall I title my memoir? The Senior Health-care Analyst's Daughter? Hmm. . . . Regardless, after Joy Luck Club, this is definitely Tan's most powerful novel. Bravo.
Some passages that struck a chord:
There's a lovely discussion on someone's favorite word, vapors, a passage too long for me to quote, but very thoughtfully done (pgs. 20-21).
"A lot of her [mother's] admonitions had to do with not showing what you really felt about all sorts of things: hope disappointment , and especially love. The less you showed, the more you meant" (p. 92). Or in my own mother's case, the less you showed, the more you were in control of your feelings, your effect on others, and the situation involved: a misguided philosophy I took years to unlearn, though I know it's hopeless to convince my mom of the error of her affective formula.
"'You can have pride in what you do each day, [. . .] ut not arrogance in what you were born with" (p. 250).
And lastly, "It broke her heart to see her mother trying so hard, being so conscientious, do determine to be valuable. Making her mother happy would have been easy all along. LuLing simply wanted to be essential, as a mother should be" (p. 301).
On a general note, however, please stop titling book's The Blank's Daughter. From the abortionist to the gravedigger to the bonesetter, I'm tired of women being defined by the occupation of their father. What shall I title my memoir? The Senior Health-care Analyst's Daughter? Hmm. . . . Regardless, after Joy Luck Club, this is definitely Tan's most powerful novel. Bravo.
Some passages that struck a chord:
There's a lovely discussion on someone's favorite word, vapors, a passage too long for me to quote, but very thoughtfully done (pgs. 20-21).
"A lot of her [mother's] admonitions had to do with not showing what you really felt about all sorts of things: hope disappointment , and especially love. The less you showed, the more you meant" (p. 92). Or in my own mother's case, the less you showed, the more you were in control of your feelings, your effect on others, and the situation involved: a misguided philosophy I took years to unlearn, though I know it's hopeless to convince my mom of the error of her affective formula.
"'You can have pride in what you do each day, [. . .] ut not arrogance in what you were born with" (p. 250).
And lastly, "It broke her heart to see her mother trying so hard, being so conscientious, do determine to be valuable. Making her mother happy would have been easy all along. LuLing simply wanted to be essential, as a mother should be" (p. 301).
October 18, 2022
A gorgeously crafted novel on secrets, sacrifice, and finally finding the ability to speak one’s truth. Told in raw honestly, we see the cycles of silence and trauma caused by grief and anger. We also see the winding journey of finding one’s way back to family, to one’s inner self. A perfect blend of heart ache and healing, of revelation and forgiveness.
April 20, 2022
Hmm - I re-read this and clicked on Save because it has been taken out of circulation?? Why?
I enjoyed this - very much in fact; and I was surprised because it's not my usual fare - I don't go for "Bestsellers". Tan splits the story into three sections told by mother and daughter - in first person, which works well. Ruth is second-generation Chinese/American, and her story comes first, set in 2009. She tells us about her very difficult relationship with her aging mother, Luling. The second part - set in Immortal Heart village, rural north China is Luling's story of her growing up, and the traumatic story of her mother, Precious Auntie. The name of Ruth's grandmother is finally recovered in the last part of the story - Gu Xian Lin - which I think is meant to symbolize the possibility of recovery; of being able to re-write a positive present even from terrible injustices in the past. The final part returns us to San Francisco, in the present day.
I have to say I LOVED the fraught relationships between mothers and daughters in both of the main sections. In fact I wanted to run to Amy Tan and say - someone finally speaking the truth about the difficult relationship most women have with their mothers and possibly vice-versa - I can't comment here because I only have a son. Anyway what I wanted to say to Tan - is YES - the truth at last - we love and hate them in equal measure, which we find confusing and disturbing.
A note on the narrative style - Tan focuses on the story - there is no fancy writing - it is plain - 'this is what is happening/this is what happened' true, fast-paced narrative style. But be careful reader there is plenty of irony and nuance in this 'plain' style.
Allow me to reproduce a neat little scene where - Luling and the other orphan children are requested to paint over the Buddhist and Tao statues at the request of the Christian sisters from America - who run the school/orphanage.
One day, before Christmas, when it was too cold to go anywhere, Miss Grutoff decided that we should convert the Chinese gods into Christians. We would baptize them with paint . . . some of the students who had come later did not want to deface the gods and tempt their wrath. They were so scared that when they were dragged to the statues they screamed and foamed at the mouth, then fell to the ground as if possessed. I was not afraid. I believed that if I was respectful to both the Chinese gods and the Christian one, neither would harm me. . . The Chinese gods understood that we were living in a Western household run by Americans. If the gods could speak, they too, would insist that the Christian deities have the better position. . . . As my brush ran over their gold-and-red faces, I said, "Pardon me, Jade Ruler, forgive me, Chief of the Eight Mortals, I am only making a disguise for you, in case the Communists or the Japanese come and recruit statues for a bonfire."
I particularly liked Tan's clear and accurate explanations of how Chinese words are built from several characters each with a different meaning, and together they form a new word - which has a specific meaning, but also includes overtones of other possible meanings. Our main character Luling is an expert calligrapher - so we get to hear plenty of interesting details about this ancient art - which I found delightful. In fact one of the very great pleasures of this book was to have so many aspects of Chinese art and culture integrated so elegantly into the narrative.
My only reservation and hence the four stars is that the pacing does become a little hectic. There were several points where I wanted the story to slow - so that I could hear more about for example - the other orphans or more about physical details of the village, or more about Hong Kong as WWII ended. The last section - and I think one other reviewer commented - was a little too neat, with perhaps one too many happy endings. I suspect there is a sort of symbolism in that all parties have grown in the course of the story; so I could understand this search for "happiness". Overall Tan achieved incredible balance with all the different elements that she wanted to relate - for example, the horrors of war; the difficult process of integrating into a foreign culture; the effect of being disconnected from your family and traditions; the trauma of disinheritance. An incredibly powerful read.
I enjoyed this - very much in fact; and I was surprised because it's not my usual fare - I don't go for "Bestsellers". Tan splits the story into three sections told by mother and daughter - in first person, which works well. Ruth is second-generation Chinese/American, and her story comes first, set in 2009. She tells us about her very difficult relationship with her aging mother, Luling. The second part - set in Immortal Heart village, rural north China is Luling's story of her growing up, and the traumatic story of her mother, Precious Auntie. The name of Ruth's grandmother is finally recovered in the last part of the story - Gu Xian Lin - which I think is meant to symbolize the possibility of recovery; of being able to re-write a positive present even from terrible injustices in the past. The final part returns us to San Francisco, in the present day.
I have to say I LOVED the fraught relationships between mothers and daughters in both of the main sections. In fact I wanted to run to Amy Tan and say - someone finally speaking the truth about the difficult relationship most women have with their mothers and possibly vice-versa - I can't comment here because I only have a son. Anyway what I wanted to say to Tan - is YES - the truth at last - we love and hate them in equal measure, which we find confusing and disturbing.
A note on the narrative style - Tan focuses on the story - there is no fancy writing - it is plain - 'this is what is happening/this is what happened' true, fast-paced narrative style. But be careful reader there is plenty of irony and nuance in this 'plain' style.
Allow me to reproduce a neat little scene where - Luling and the other orphan children are requested to paint over the Buddhist and Tao statues at the request of the Christian sisters from America - who run the school/orphanage.
One day, before Christmas, when it was too cold to go anywhere, Miss Grutoff decided that we should convert the Chinese gods into Christians. We would baptize them with paint . . . some of the students who had come later did not want to deface the gods and tempt their wrath. They were so scared that when they were dragged to the statues they screamed and foamed at the mouth, then fell to the ground as if possessed. I was not afraid. I believed that if I was respectful to both the Chinese gods and the Christian one, neither would harm me. . . The Chinese gods understood that we were living in a Western household run by Americans. If the gods could speak, they too, would insist that the Christian deities have the better position. . . . As my brush ran over their gold-and-red faces, I said, "Pardon me, Jade Ruler, forgive me, Chief of the Eight Mortals, I am only making a disguise for you, in case the Communists or the Japanese come and recruit statues for a bonfire."
I particularly liked Tan's clear and accurate explanations of how Chinese words are built from several characters each with a different meaning, and together they form a new word - which has a specific meaning, but also includes overtones of other possible meanings. Our main character Luling is an expert calligrapher - so we get to hear plenty of interesting details about this ancient art - which I found delightful. In fact one of the very great pleasures of this book was to have so many aspects of Chinese art and culture integrated so elegantly into the narrative.
My only reservation and hence the four stars is that the pacing does become a little hectic. There were several points where I wanted the story to slow - so that I could hear more about for example - the other orphans or more about physical details of the village, or more about Hong Kong as WWII ended. The last section - and I think one other reviewer commented - was a little too neat, with perhaps one too many happy endings. I suspect there is a sort of symbolism in that all parties have grown in the course of the story; so I could understand this search for "happiness". Overall Tan achieved incredible balance with all the different elements that she wanted to relate - for example, the horrors of war; the difficult process of integrating into a foreign culture; the effect of being disconnected from your family and traditions; the trauma of disinheritance. An incredibly powerful read.
April 23, 2008
This was the first Amy Tan book I read. This book wasn't specifically recommended, but the author was. I was expecting something magical to happen as I turned the pages, but I couldn't get past the first four or five chapters of the book. Besides the overly long sections of actionless description (the story stagnated because of a poor balance between backstory, scene setup and description, and actual let's-move-things-along plot), the main character Ruth is so weak and whiny that I couldn't empathize, sympathize or even remotely identify with her; she made it impossible to get into the novel. It may be unfair to give The Bonesetter's Daughter a poor review without reading the whole thing, but I wonder how anyone could stay with this character for any length of time. I did like the character of LuLing, even if the stilted, stereotypical dialog coming from her seemed unecessary at best and amateurish at worst. LuLing, Ruth's aging and Alzheimer-stricken mother, is a strong character and the only thing that kept me in the novel as long as I was.
Bottom line: the protagonist was forgettable and the pace was too slow. Even January molasses memoirs get somewhere, but this book just ended up back at the library well ahead of its due date.
Bottom line: the protagonist was forgettable and the pace was too slow. Even January molasses memoirs get somewhere, but this book just ended up back at the library well ahead of its due date.
September 28, 2023
The old biddies used to warn him that it was dangerous that I was so boldly happy, instead of shy and cowering around strangers. And why didn't he bind my feet, they asked. My father was used to seeing pain of the worst kinds. But with me, he was helpless. He couldn't bear to see me cry. (PG 165)
The novel was broken up in three parts and I don't know about you but when I have a novel with the present character versus the past I usually enjoy the past story more and this is exactly what happened here. It was a story within a story and I wanted it only to be about LuLing and her youth.
Overall, I enjoy the stories Amy Tan weaves for us and this was not a disappointment. Stories of the elderly should be told and cherished by their living descendants. Their faces light up reminiscing and rejoicing in their childhoods. I see my mom's happiness recounting her youth and even at her poorest she was happiest. I love that Amy Tan crosses generations and captures what is really important::: Family, all while including the turbulent era and happenings of the times.
Highly recommended to HF genre lovers or family dynamic readers.
The novel was broken up in three parts and I don't know about you but when I have a novel with the present character versus the past I usually enjoy the past story more and this is exactly what happened here. It was a story within a story and I wanted it only to be about LuLing and her youth.
Overall, I enjoy the stories Amy Tan weaves for us and this was not a disappointment. Stories of the elderly should be told and cherished by their living descendants. Their faces light up reminiscing and rejoicing in their childhoods. I see my mom's happiness recounting her youth and even at her poorest she was happiest. I love that Amy Tan crosses generations and captures what is really important::: Family, all while including the turbulent era and happenings of the times.
Highly recommended to HF genre lovers or family dynamic readers.
November 21, 2013
Like The Joy Luck Club, this book is about relationships between mothers and daughters, and the importance of knowing each other's life stories. In the first part of the book, we meet Ruth, a first generation Chinese-American working as a ghostwriter for New Age self-help books in California. She has a hard time asserting herself in her ten-year relationship with her boyfriend. Her mother, LuLing, has been recently diagnosed with dementia, and can no longer live alone. LuLing is depressed, critical, sends her daughter on guilt trips, and threatens to commit suicide whenever she is crossed. She believes in superstitions and curses, and needs to communicate with the dead when she makes important decisions.
The second part of the book tells the story of LuLing and the bonesetter's daughter back in China. This memoir written by LuLing, was my favorite part of the book. LuLing was part of a rural family that made high quality ink that was used in calligraphy. Both LuLing and her mother faced difficult challenges, and were never totally accepted by her father's family. In her teens, LuLing was taken in by missionaries during the Japanese occupation of China, and she later immigrated to the United States. LuLing's journal gives Ruth the knowledge to understand her mother better, and to make sense of Ruth's childhood.
The third part of the book is set in the present, and easy solutions are found for both LuLing's and Ruth's problems. A thread seems to tie the three generations of women together in strong, but difficult, mother-daughter relationships.
I had mixed feelings about this book. The first part of the book, about Ruth's problems and LuLing's negative parenting, dragged for me. The second part, set in China, was exciting with wonderful characters--the bonesetter grandfather, the wicked relatives, LuLing's first love, the suicidal nursemaid. The short third part brought things together well, but seemed to promise an almost too rosy future.
The second part of the book tells the story of LuLing and the bonesetter's daughter back in China. This memoir written by LuLing, was my favorite part of the book. LuLing was part of a rural family that made high quality ink that was used in calligraphy. Both LuLing and her mother faced difficult challenges, and were never totally accepted by her father's family. In her teens, LuLing was taken in by missionaries during the Japanese occupation of China, and she later immigrated to the United States. LuLing's journal gives Ruth the knowledge to understand her mother better, and to make sense of Ruth's childhood.
The third part of the book is set in the present, and easy solutions are found for both LuLing's and Ruth's problems. A thread seems to tie the three generations of women together in strong, but difficult, mother-daughter relationships.
I had mixed feelings about this book. The first part of the book, about Ruth's problems and LuLing's negative parenting, dragged for me. The second part, set in China, was exciting with wonderful characters--the bonesetter grandfather, the wicked relatives, LuLing's first love, the suicidal nursemaid. The short third part brought things together well, but seemed to promise an almost too rosy future.
June 17, 2025
This book was ok.
There were elements that I liked about the book, but there were certain areas that were so repetitive that did put me off this book.
Some funny moments with what Chinese mom's sayings to themselves or their children.
Overall, it didn't huck me in.
There were elements that I liked about the book, but there were certain areas that were so repetitive that did put me off this book.
Some funny moments with what Chinese mom's sayings to themselves or their children.
Overall, it didn't huck me in.
September 5, 2016
4 - 4.5 stars.
Tan portrayed in a great way the cultural and language conflicts between migrant parents and their kids.
I also enjoyed the part of the book set in China from 1915 to 1950.
Tan portrayed in a great way the cultural and language conflicts between migrant parents and their kids.
I also enjoyed the part of the book set in China from 1915 to 1950.
June 18, 2008
I just didn't enjoy this as much as Amy Tan's other books. Her plot development, with its mother-daughter issues, has become almost a formula. She does do a credible job describing life in China in the last century and I came away with a deeper understanding of that culture. I just never thought of Amy Tan as the Maeve Binchy of Asian writing. This is not meant to be a criticism of Maeve Binchy, an author whose well-written books I think are fun to read. It just is I get the impression that she keeps writing the same story, just changing the locations a little and adding nuances to the characters. That is how I am beginning to feel about Amy Tan.
October 1, 2016
I almost gave up on this book early on. I'm glad I didn't. While I didn't really care for the character of Ruth too much or her life in San Fransisco, the story of her mother LuLing really saved the book and turned the entire novel into a deeply affecting work. The middle act where LuLing is allowed to tell her story in her own words was the obvious high point of the book for me.
December 14, 2023
Sometimes I feel like I'm a pair of eyes and ears, and I'm just trying to stay safe and make sense of what's happening. I know what to avoid, what to worry about. I'm like those kids who live with gunfire going off around them. I don't want pain. I don't want to die. I don't want to see other people around me die. But I don't have anything left inside me to figure out where I fit in or what I want. If I want anything, it's to know what's possible to want.
Amy Tan once again dives deep into the relationship between mothers and daughters - concentrating, as is her wont, on the secret histories of the women who struggled to survive a war-torn China and escape to the promise of freedom.
Ruth Young, a West Coast ghostwriter, has begun to notice lapses in her mother's memory and routine behaviors. The doctor suggests dementia, and the immediate future is suddenly upended with options to explore and avenues to test. LuLing has given her daughter a sheaf of papers, painstakingly written out in Chinese script, that she instructs her child to read immediately. Ruth dismisses the task, much as LuLing herself dismissed reading her own mother's story all those many decades ago. Will the cost of such negligence prove as dear today as it did back then?
Amy Tan was far, far ahead of the game when it came to generational trauma and the way the maternal psyche bestows its dilemma like a legacy into the experience of its progeny. In The Bonesetter's Daughter she revisits the construct; teasing out the tragic skein of genealogical ignorance with the slow approach of memory's loss. Her conveyance of dementia is painfully accurate - the nuanced paranoia, the crisp difference between ancient recollection and the maelstrom of recent events, and beneath it all the striving to set affairs in order - regardless of a daughter's fearful resistance.
She has done a wonderful job with this.
Amy Tan once again dives deep into the relationship between mothers and daughters - concentrating, as is her wont, on the secret histories of the women who struggled to survive a war-torn China and escape to the promise of freedom.
Ruth Young, a West Coast ghostwriter, has begun to notice lapses in her mother's memory and routine behaviors. The doctor suggests dementia, and the immediate future is suddenly upended with options to explore and avenues to test. LuLing has given her daughter a sheaf of papers, painstakingly written out in Chinese script, that she instructs her child to read immediately. Ruth dismisses the task, much as LuLing herself dismissed reading her own mother's story all those many decades ago. Will the cost of such negligence prove as dear today as it did back then?
Amy Tan was far, far ahead of the game when it came to generational trauma and the way the maternal psyche bestows its dilemma like a legacy into the experience of its progeny. In The Bonesetter's Daughter she revisits the construct; teasing out the tragic skein of genealogical ignorance with the slow approach of memory's loss. Her conveyance of dementia is painfully accurate - the nuanced paranoia, the crisp difference between ancient recollection and the maelstrom of recent events, and beneath it all the striving to set affairs in order - regardless of a daughter's fearful resistance.
She has done a wonderful job with this.
April 24, 2008
At the beginning of Amy Tan's fourth novel, two packets of papers written in Chinese calligraphy fall into the hands of Ruth Young. One bundle is titled Things I Know Are True and the other, Things I Must Not Forget. The author? That would be the protagonist's mother, LuLing, who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. In these documents the elderly matriarch, born in China in 1916, has set down a record of her birth and family history, determined to keep the facts from vanishing as her mind deteriorates.
A San Francisco career woman who makes her living by ghostwriting self-help books, Ruth has little idea of her mother's past or true identity. What's more, their relationship has tended to be an angry one. Still, Ruth recognizes the onset of LuLing's decline--along with her own remorse over past rancor--and hires a translator to decipher the packets. She also resolves to "ask her mother to tell her about her life. For once, she would ask. She would listen. She would sit down and not be in a hurry or have anything else to do."
Framed at either end by Ruth's chapters, the central portion of The Bonesetter's Daughter takes place in China in the remote, mountainous region where anthropologists discovered Peking Man in the 1920s. Here superstition and tradition rule over a succession of tiny villages. And here LuLing grows up under the watchful eye of her hideously scarred nursemaid, Precious Auntie. As she makes clear, it's not an enviable setting: I noticed the ripe stench of a pig pasture, the pockmarked land dug up by dragon-bone dream-seekers, the holes in the walls, the mud by the wells, the dustiness of the unpaved roads. I saw how all the women we passed, young and old, had the same bland face, sleepy eyes that were mirrors of their sleepy minds. Nor is rural isolation the worst of it. LuLing's family, a clan of ink makers, believes itself cursed by its connection to a local doctor, who cooks up his potions and remedies from human bones. And indeed, a great deal of bad luck befalls the narrator and her sister GaoLing before they can finally engineer their escape from China. Along the way, familial squabbles erupt around every corner, particularly among mothers, daughters, and sisters. And as she did in her earlier The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan uses these conflicts to explore the intricate dynamic that exists between first-generation Americans and their immigrant elders.
A San Francisco career woman who makes her living by ghostwriting self-help books, Ruth has little idea of her mother's past or true identity. What's more, their relationship has tended to be an angry one. Still, Ruth recognizes the onset of LuLing's decline--along with her own remorse over past rancor--and hires a translator to decipher the packets. She also resolves to "ask her mother to tell her about her life. For once, she would ask. She would listen. She would sit down and not be in a hurry or have anything else to do."
Framed at either end by Ruth's chapters, the central portion of The Bonesetter's Daughter takes place in China in the remote, mountainous region where anthropologists discovered Peking Man in the 1920s. Here superstition and tradition rule over a succession of tiny villages. And here LuLing grows up under the watchful eye of her hideously scarred nursemaid, Precious Auntie. As she makes clear, it's not an enviable setting: I noticed the ripe stench of a pig pasture, the pockmarked land dug up by dragon-bone dream-seekers, the holes in the walls, the mud by the wells, the dustiness of the unpaved roads. I saw how all the women we passed, young and old, had the same bland face, sleepy eyes that were mirrors of their sleepy minds. Nor is rural isolation the worst of it. LuLing's family, a clan of ink makers, believes itself cursed by its connection to a local doctor, who cooks up his potions and remedies from human bones. And indeed, a great deal of bad luck befalls the narrator and her sister GaoLing before they can finally engineer their escape from China. Along the way, familial squabbles erupt around every corner, particularly among mothers, daughters, and sisters. And as she did in her earlier The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan uses these conflicts to explore the intricate dynamic that exists between first-generation Americans and their immigrant elders.
July 21, 2017
I think that when Amy Tan is right on she is definitely right on. A few years ago I devoured every book she had written and still have all of her books on my bookshelf. I decided to re-read "The Bonesetter's Daughter" for my Booklikes-opoly square.
The "Bonesetter's Daughter"is told as a shifting narrative of a Chines American daughter (Ruth) trying to deal with her mother (LuLing) who is starting to lose her memory due to Alzheimer's. Ruth feels frustrated trying to deal with her mother and with her relationship with her lover Art. At times Ruth becomes mute and is unable to express herself. When she finds her mother's diary she decides to have it translated and the diary allows her to really see her mother for the first time.
Ruth was a trial for me at times. Seriously. I wanted her to take a stand against her boyfriend/lover and his terrible kids. They were exhausting to even read about. But I did feel smidgens of sympathy for her here and there. Her mother's obsession with ghosts, curses, and embarrassing her as a child are definitely things that would make it hard for you to sympathize initially with LuLing until we get to her story.
I will admit that at first I didn't like LuLing until we (readers) get to read the memoirs that Ruth is having translated from what her mother wrote. You get LuLing's earlier younger voice and your heart is definitely going to break when you read about what she dealt with while living in China. It also helps Ruth better understand her mother and realize why her mother acted the way she did while she was growing up. The two women get closer towards the end of the book which did make me happy.
I have always loved Amy Tan's writing. She manages to make every sentence count and just draw you in. I felt every second of LuLing's younger voice via her diary as she remembers what her life in China was like. And also her sadness when she realizes her daughter is pulling away from her. I will say though the reason why I only gave this four stars is that the first part of the book that primarily is told from Ruth's POV was hard to get through. That's why I didn't give it 5 stars.
The setting of the book goes back and forth from San Francisco to China. The China parts of the book felt the most alive to me. Reading about LuLing living at Immortal Heart made it seem like the a stark and desolate place.
The ending was poignant but also sad. I know that this book is quite realistic with showing how Alzheimer's affects people and families, but I still wished for a different ending.
The "Bonesetter's Daughter"is told as a shifting narrative of a Chines American daughter (Ruth) trying to deal with her mother (LuLing) who is starting to lose her memory due to Alzheimer's. Ruth feels frustrated trying to deal with her mother and with her relationship with her lover Art. At times Ruth becomes mute and is unable to express herself. When she finds her mother's diary she decides to have it translated and the diary allows her to really see her mother for the first time.
Ruth was a trial for me at times. Seriously. I wanted her to take a stand against her boyfriend/lover and his terrible kids. They were exhausting to even read about. But I did feel smidgens of sympathy for her here and there. Her mother's obsession with ghosts, curses, and embarrassing her as a child are definitely things that would make it hard for you to sympathize initially with LuLing until we get to her story.
I will admit that at first I didn't like LuLing until we (readers) get to read the memoirs that Ruth is having translated from what her mother wrote. You get LuLing's earlier younger voice and your heart is definitely going to break when you read about what she dealt with while living in China. It also helps Ruth better understand her mother and realize why her mother acted the way she did while she was growing up. The two women get closer towards the end of the book which did make me happy.
I have always loved Amy Tan's writing. She manages to make every sentence count and just draw you in. I felt every second of LuLing's younger voice via her diary as she remembers what her life in China was like. And also her sadness when she realizes her daughter is pulling away from her. I will say though the reason why I only gave this four stars is that the first part of the book that primarily is told from Ruth's POV was hard to get through. That's why I didn't give it 5 stars.
The setting of the book goes back and forth from San Francisco to China. The China parts of the book felt the most alive to me. Reading about LuLing living at Immortal Heart made it seem like the a stark and desolate place.
The ending was poignant but also sad. I know that this book is quite realistic with showing how Alzheimer's affects people and families, but I still wished for a different ending.
May 4, 2011
Meaningless words are a mere group of letters. And if these words are weaved into a 350+ pages manuscript, the essential plot is misplaced between the evaporation of its characters. Tan exaggeratedly lengthens the stereotypical dilemma of two generations of women (mother- daughter) trying to find solace in a past laden with secrets and customs that mold cultural uprightness. Disappointing outcome to what might have been an admirable chronicle.
July 17, 2019
I waffled between three and four on this. It was a great story. Wonderful plot. It didn't really have any slow spots. I just didn't feel like I cared about the characters as much as I should. In that way it felt a little Meh.
January 13, 2023
Amy Tan’s writing is always so beautiful. It all at once feels familiar and relatable even though I’m not Asian and even though my parents were not immigrants. She captures humanity in a way I don’t experience with many writers. I sunk right into this one, like having lunch with an old friend you haven’t seen in a while.
This book has a lot of parallels with her mother’s true life story. While listening to this book, in which the author narrates a portion of the story, I watched Unintended Memoir on Netflix, a documentary about Ms Tan, her writing career and family background. She’s an interesting person - I recommend the documentary if you are interested in learning more about her.
The Bonesetter’s Daughter has wonderfully woven detail without getting too caught up in unnecessary sub-plots. We explore the characters in ways that feel very real. People are complex, flawed and we can even feel multiple emotions about them at the same time. I recommend especially for those that enjoy complex mother-daughter stories.
This book has a lot of parallels with her mother’s true life story. While listening to this book, in which the author narrates a portion of the story, I watched Unintended Memoir on Netflix, a documentary about Ms Tan, her writing career and family background. She’s an interesting person - I recommend the documentary if you are interested in learning more about her.
The Bonesetter’s Daughter has wonderfully woven detail without getting too caught up in unnecessary sub-plots. We explore the characters in ways that feel very real. People are complex, flawed and we can even feel multiple emotions about them at the same time. I recommend especially for those that enjoy complex mother-daughter stories.
January 27, 2012
Lovely.
February 22, 2019
'The Bonesetter's Daughter' reminded me of The Joy Luck Club quite a bit, but I liked 'The Joy Luck Club' better. 'The Joy Luck Club' seemed less domestic and Chick-lit than 'The Bonesetter's Daughter'. That said, 'The Bonesetter's Daughter' is an emotional domestic fiction and a deep Chick-lit dive into a relationship between a Chinese-American daughter and her Chinese mother.
The book is divided into three parts. Part one is narrated (third person) by Ruth Young about her American life. She has been in a relationship with Art for years. Ruth lives with Art and his two girls, Dory and Fia, from a previous marriage. Despite that they're not married, Art and Ruth seem like all middle-class married Americans to me, with all of the usual stresses and joys of family life. Ad nauseum. For me. For many chapters. But given the popularity of books similar in tone like this (but FAR worse), including The Paris Wife and The Japanese Lover, well. Bite me. Moving on.
Ruth used to work in corporate communications, but she did some freelance editing. Editing developed into a full time job 'co-writing' books written by authors who needed help fixing up their books, so she works at home, Art's house. Art works at the Center on Deafness at UCSF. He is a specialist in body language, not just sign language, which is a good thing in his relationship with Ruth. Ruth tends to being a perfectionist and a worrier. Both traits are causing Ruth a lot of stress, particularly in dealing with her mother, Chinese-born LuLing. Mandarin is LuLing's first language, but Ruth does not speak Mandarin at all, her first language and only language being English. Other people warn Ruth they think LuLing is developing some form of dementia, but Ruth ignores them, and the growing evidence of her own interactions with her mother. However, eventually, Ruth takes on more and more of her mother's problems, and once again she gets a little curious about LuLing's past. LuLing had given her a handwritten synopsis of her past in Mandarin, but Ruth had shoved it into a drawer.
Part two is about LuLing's life in China. As a child, LuLing grew up in a family of ink makers. The men ran a store in Peking, while the women made the ink in a family house in a little village out in the country. When the Japanese invade China in World War II, life becomes a struggle to survive. But even before that, LuLing's life had been upturned after her nursemaid commits suicide. Precious Auntie, the nursemaid, had secrets, one which cause her to drink hot ink years before, which deformed her mouth, lower face and tongue. Life had continued for Precious Auntie, but she was not very respected in the household.
LuLing's life takes many twists and turns, but eventually she arrived in America, marries, and had Ruth.
Part three concludes the story, bringing LuLing and Ruth closer together. Ruth realizes after reading her mother's synopsis (after she gets it translated) how mixed up her understanding of her mother's life was, and she wishes she had dug into the past of her family much sooner. Ruth had waited to the point of many elders in her family dying before she finally got curious enough to ask questions. Discovering her mother's past resolves some issues and solves a mystery.
Three-and-a-half stars.
The book is divided into three parts. Part one is narrated (third person) by Ruth Young about her American life. She has been in a relationship with Art for years. Ruth lives with Art and his two girls, Dory and Fia, from a previous marriage. Despite that they're not married, Art and Ruth seem like all middle-class married Americans to me, with all of the usual stresses and joys of family life. Ad nauseum. For me. For many chapters. But given the popularity of books similar in tone like this (but FAR worse), including The Paris Wife and The Japanese Lover, well. Bite me. Moving on.
Ruth used to work in corporate communications, but she did some freelance editing. Editing developed into a full time job 'co-writing' books written by authors who needed help fixing up their books, so she works at home, Art's house. Art works at the Center on Deafness at UCSF. He is a specialist in body language, not just sign language, which is a good thing in his relationship with Ruth. Ruth tends to being a perfectionist and a worrier. Both traits are causing Ruth a lot of stress, particularly in dealing with her mother, Chinese-born LuLing. Mandarin is LuLing's first language, but Ruth does not speak Mandarin at all, her first language and only language being English. Other people warn Ruth they think LuLing is developing some form of dementia, but Ruth ignores them, and the growing evidence of her own interactions with her mother. However, eventually, Ruth takes on more and more of her mother's problems, and once again she gets a little curious about LuLing's past. LuLing had given her a handwritten synopsis of her past in Mandarin, but Ruth had shoved it into a drawer.
Part two is about LuLing's life in China. As a child, LuLing grew up in a family of ink makers. The men ran a store in Peking, while the women made the ink in a family house in a little village out in the country. When the Japanese invade China in World War II, life becomes a struggle to survive. But even before that, LuLing's life had been upturned after her nursemaid commits suicide. Precious Auntie, the nursemaid, had secrets, one which cause her to drink hot ink years before, which deformed her mouth, lower face and tongue. Life had continued for Precious Auntie, but she was not very respected in the household.
LuLing's life takes many twists and turns, but eventually she arrived in America, marries, and had Ruth.
Part three concludes the story, bringing LuLing and Ruth closer together. Ruth realizes after reading her mother's synopsis (after she gets it translated) how mixed up her understanding of her mother's life was, and she wishes she had dug into the past of her family much sooner. Ruth had waited to the point of many elders in her family dying before she finally got curious enough to ask questions. Discovering her mother's past resolves some issues and solves a mystery.
Three-and-a-half stars.
March 27, 2018
La historia de tres mujeres de la misma familia contada por ellas. Amy Tan nos lleva desde una China, plagada de supersticiones y con tintes sobrenaturales en la que conviven realidad y espíritus, hasta terminar en el mundo actual. Pero, sobre todo es la historia de una madre y de su hija, y del descubrimiento de esta última de la verdadera madre que se esconde tras esa fachada. El conflicto entre ellas y la paz final.
Se pueden ver como dos partes muy marcadas que son la historia de la hija y el resto de la novela. Parece más real, más personal, como si Amy Tan nos estuviese contando sus propias experiencias. Experiencias que podemos reconocer como propias e identificarnos con muchas de las situaciones planteadas. Con muchos de los sentimientos de esa hija ante una madre fuerte y algo distante. En esos momentos, la autora parece dejarse llevar por sus propios sentimientos y eso se nota. Consigue llegarnos profundamente. El relato se enriquece y gana profundidad. Algo que no puede conseguir con el resto de la historia que cuenta con una especie de distanciamiento, no sé si por la propia personalidad del personaje narrador o por no ser totalmente coincidente con la propia autora del libro.
Tal vez peca de excesivamente largo en algunos momentos, pero es plenamente recomendable su lectura. Una novela que, a través del relato de las vidas de esas mujeres, se descubre un trasfondo lleno de fuertes sentimientos que van aflorando en determinados momentos. Una historia de relaciones materno filiales más que la narración de unos hechos.
Se pueden ver como dos partes muy marcadas que son la historia de la hija y el resto de la novela. Parece más real, más personal, como si Amy Tan nos estuviese contando sus propias experiencias. Experiencias que podemos reconocer como propias e identificarnos con muchas de las situaciones planteadas. Con muchos de los sentimientos de esa hija ante una madre fuerte y algo distante. En esos momentos, la autora parece dejarse llevar por sus propios sentimientos y eso se nota. Consigue llegarnos profundamente. El relato se enriquece y gana profundidad. Algo que no puede conseguir con el resto de la historia que cuenta con una especie de distanciamiento, no sé si por la propia personalidad del personaje narrador o por no ser totalmente coincidente con la propia autora del libro.
Tal vez peca de excesivamente largo en algunos momentos, pero es plenamente recomendable su lectura. Una novela que, a través del relato de las vidas de esas mujeres, se descubre un trasfondo lleno de fuertes sentimientos que van aflorando en determinados momentos. Una historia de relaciones materno filiales más que la narración de unos hechos.
December 14, 2018
My edition of this book is actually the large print hardcover, which I discovered on my shelf and remembered that I was supposed to read and send it along to a friend. Since I have another book ready to send to her, I am glad I found this one before and not after a trip to the post office!
When I first started reading this story about the relationship between Ruth and her mother LuLing, I had the oddest feeling that I had read the book at sometime in the past. But as it turned out I had not, I was just recognizing Tan's favorite topic, the bittersweet interactions between mother and daughter. There always seems to be a hidden past on the mother's part, and there was here as well. but will the daughter learn all of the secrets?
What made this one more poignant was Mom LuLing developing dementia. Would she remember the facts she wanted her daughter to know? How would Ruth cope with this new stress added onto her baggage from the past and her dicey current relationships?
This was a good story, even though I could not identify too closely with Ruth, who seemed so very full of conflicts and obsessions. So full of them she seemed to miss living in her present moment. I think I wanted to like this more than I actually did. But I do think my friend will enjoy it, and I'm glad my Mom got it at the library book sale when she did. (She read the book too, and liked it very much. )
When I first started reading this story about the relationship between Ruth and her mother LuLing, I had the oddest feeling that I had read the book at sometime in the past. But as it turned out I had not, I was just recognizing Tan's favorite topic, the bittersweet interactions between mother and daughter. There always seems to be a hidden past on the mother's part, and there was here as well. but will the daughter learn all of the secrets?
What made this one more poignant was Mom LuLing developing dementia. Would she remember the facts she wanted her daughter to know? How would Ruth cope with this new stress added onto her baggage from the past and her dicey current relationships?
This was a good story, even though I could not identify too closely with Ruth, who seemed so very full of conflicts and obsessions. So full of them she seemed to miss living in her present moment. I think I wanted to like this more than I actually did. But I do think my friend will enjoy it, and I'm glad my Mom got it at the library book sale when she did. (She read the book too, and liked it very much. )
March 8, 2018
The Bonesetter's Daughter was a beautiful and complicated story about maternal lineage, Chinese culture and family bonds. An absolutely mesmerizing and heartwrenching tale that focuses on the lives of 3 generations of the well respected and famous bonesetter from a small Chinese village.
The author has a gift for creating a story rich in history and emotion. The plot spans from early 20th century to present day. It takes place in Peking, Hong Kong and North America.
This is a slower moving tale that takes its time. We get to know and understand Ruth, her mother and Precious Auntie very well. By the end, old secrets are revealed and life lessons are learned. A beautiful end to a beautiful story.
The author has a gift for creating a story rich in history and emotion. The plot spans from early 20th century to present day. It takes place in Peking, Hong Kong and North America.
This is a slower moving tale that takes its time. We get to know and understand Ruth, her mother and Precious Auntie very well. By the end, old secrets are revealed and life lessons are learned. A beautiful end to a beautiful story.
March 5, 2020
(review in English below)
3,5*
Há muito tempo que não lia nenhum livro de Amy Tan e acho que estou a ficar cada vez mais exigente com a escrita à medida que os anos - e os livros - vão passando.
Neste caso, acho que a tradução não terá ajudado muito, sobretudo nas partes mais "líricas". Quando ler Os Cem Sentidos Secretos, que tenho no original em inglês, hei-de tirar as dúvidas.
A história é interessante, especialmente a segunda parte, em que a mãe de Ruth conta a sua história, desde a infância numa aldeia chinesa até à ida para os Estados Unidos, já adulta.
Apesar de uma primeira parte um pouco enervante, devido às dificuldades de relacionamento entre Ruth e a mãe, este livro acabou por ser uma leitura agradável e cativante.
Recomendo sobretudo a quem se interesse pela cultura chinesa e pelas relações familiares, principalmente entre mães e filhas.
3.5 stars
It's been a long time since I've read a book by Amy Tan and I think i'm getting more and more picky with the writing as the years - and the books - pass by.
In this case, maybe the translation wasn't very helpful, especially in the more "lyrical" parts. When I get to read The Hundred Secret Senses in the original English I'll know if this is true.
The story is interesting, in particular the second part, in which Ruth's mother tells her story, from her childhood in a Chinese small village until her journey to the United States, already an adult woman.
In spite of an unnerving first part, because of the difficult relationship between Ruth and her mother, this book turned out to be a pleasant and captivating reading.
I recommend it especially to those interested in the Chinese culture and in family relationships, mostly between mothers and daughters.
3,5*
Há muito tempo que não lia nenhum livro de Amy Tan e acho que estou a ficar cada vez mais exigente com a escrita à medida que os anos - e os livros - vão passando.
Neste caso, acho que a tradução não terá ajudado muito, sobretudo nas partes mais "líricas". Quando ler Os Cem Sentidos Secretos, que tenho no original em inglês, hei-de tirar as dúvidas.
A história é interessante, especialmente a segunda parte, em que a mãe de Ruth conta a sua história, desde a infância numa aldeia chinesa até à ida para os Estados Unidos, já adulta.
Apesar de uma primeira parte um pouco enervante, devido às dificuldades de relacionamento entre Ruth e a mãe, este livro acabou por ser uma leitura agradável e cativante.
Recomendo sobretudo a quem se interesse pela cultura chinesa e pelas relações familiares, principalmente entre mães e filhas.
3.5 stars
It's been a long time since I've read a book by Amy Tan and I think i'm getting more and more picky with the writing as the years - and the books - pass by.
In this case, maybe the translation wasn't very helpful, especially in the more "lyrical" parts. When I get to read The Hundred Secret Senses in the original English I'll know if this is true.
The story is interesting, in particular the second part, in which Ruth's mother tells her story, from her childhood in a Chinese small village until her journey to the United States, already an adult woman.
In spite of an unnerving first part, because of the difficult relationship between Ruth and her mother, this book turned out to be a pleasant and captivating reading.
I recommend it especially to those interested in the Chinese culture and in family relationships, mostly between mothers and daughters.
March 22, 2015
This is my third Amy Tan book. I have not read a novel from her in years and this book helped me to remember why she is one of my favorite authors. Amy Tan has a timeless writing style. That is the only way I can describe it. She doesn't write overly poetic or too simple. Amy Tan writes with a unique style that is perfect in every way. Her Chinese voice and American Chinese voice interchange with ease.
This book addresses mother-daughter relations and the complexes feelings involved. Ruthie is the daughter most of us are. At times, our mom's are not making any sense to us, other times we are just fitting them into our busy lives, while we trying to be mothers to our kids.
I love reading books about historical Chinese culture, like Snow Flower and The Secret Fan and The Concubine Saga. This book mixes the past with the present of the women in one family. From generation to generation the reader gets to see why things are the the way they are in one family. Why does Ruthie's mom think she going to be punished?
I like the way Amy Tan makes the sequence of events follow so easily in this book. You can see the cause and effect in each chapter.
The only reason I am taking a star away, is this book did not have me hooked like her other book Saving Fish From Drowning. Was I missing something? I think it was just the slow start in the beginning. It gets me every time.
Overall, a good read.
This book addresses mother-daughter relations and the complexes feelings involved. Ruthie is the daughter most of us are. At times, our mom's are not making any sense to us, other times we are just fitting them into our busy lives, while we trying to be mothers to our kids.
I love reading books about historical Chinese culture, like Snow Flower and The Secret Fan and The Concubine Saga. This book mixes the past with the present of the women in one family. From generation to generation the reader gets to see why things are the the way they are in one family. Why does Ruthie's mom think she going to be punished?
I like the way Amy Tan makes the sequence of events follow so easily in this book. You can see the cause and effect in each chapter.
The only reason I am taking a star away, is this book did not have me hooked like her other book Saving Fish From Drowning. Was I missing something? I think it was just the slow start in the beginning. It gets me every time.
Overall, a good read.
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