The Joy Luck Club

The Joy Luck Club is a novel by author Amy Tan that was published in 1989. It tells the story of four immigrant Chinese families in America, focusing in particular upon the mother-daughter relationships. It deals with cross-generational difficulties as well as the cultural clashes that occur between immigrant mothers and their American-raised daughters. It was highly praised for its narrative style, and was adapted into a successful movie directed by Wayne Wang in 1993.

Fast Facts

1. Author: Amy Tan
2. Length: 288 pages
3. First published: 1989
4. Published by: G.P. Putnam's Sons
5. Available in hardcover and paperback
6. Often criticized as being anti-Chinese male
7. Author Frank Chin criticized the story for perpetuating Chinese racial sterotypes
8. Adapted into a successful movie, The Joy Luck Club in 1993
9. Re-opens Off-Broadway October 2007

Narrative Style

Although it also deals with the family relationships as a whole, The Joy Luck Club focuses on the mother-daughter relationships. The novel is separated into chapters, each one a vignette narrated by the distinct voice of one of the four mothers or daughters. The chapters alternate between characters, and over the course of the novel each family's history is slowly revealed. The vignettes are controlled by a single, story line involving Jing-mei Woo and her exploration of her recently-deceased mother's own secret history.

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