Karin Jensen’s Reviews > The Bonesetter's Daughter > Status Update

I’ve often thought about how babies and the elderly get us to slow down and pay attention to what’s important. Tan captures the latter so beautifully, that moment when you realize the most important thing in the world is to put your life on hold, so you can listen to your mother tell you her story before it’s too late.

I’ve often thought how babies and the elderly are the two sorts of people who get us to slow down and pay attention to what’s really important. Tan captures the latter so beautifully, that moment when you realize the most important thing in the world is to put the rest of your life on hold, so you can listen to your mother tell you her story before it’s too late.

Tan is so good at capturing cultural micro-tensions. "What's that?" Ruth heard Boomer ask at the other table. He scowled at the jiggling mound of jellyfish as it swung by on the lazy Susan.