The Joy Luck Club

The Joy Luck Club is the first book that I have read for IB English I. Throughout the course of Lit & Comp 10, my teacher had already shown bits and pieces of the story. The book is about the mother & daughter relationship in four immigrant families with each character telling a story from her own perspective. The way the story is told reminds me of Seed Folks in ways; there are many short chapters in the book, and they all seem independent but relevant to the overall plot. The mothers describe their often arduous experiences, and those experiences usually result in the way they raise their daughters. It surprises me how the mothers' good intentions are usually carried out the wrong way and therefore caused fights and bickers with their daughters. The daughters, being raised the American way, have trouble to understand the good intentions, the Chinese humility, and why their mothers are the way they are. In the very end, though, all the daughters realize the importance of their mothers' words and their unspeakable influence on them. The Joy Luck Club is a book about clashes of cultural differences, acceptance of one's heritage, as well as the understanding of the profound and essential bond that exists between every mother and daughter. It's worth a read.