The Joy Luck Club

Author Amy Tan
Look inside
Hardcover
$30.00 US
6.28"W x 9.29"H x 1.04"D  
On sale Mar 22, 1989 | 288 Pages | 9780399134203
Grades 9-12 + AP/IB
Master storyteller Amy Tan examines the sometimes painful, often tender, and always deep connection between mothers and daughters in this New York Times bestseller.

The Joy Luck Club is one of my favorite books. From the moment I first started reading it, I knew it was going to be incredible. For me, it was one of those once-in-a-lifetime reading experiences that you cherish forever. It inspired me as a writer and still remains hugely inspirational.”—Kevin Kwan, author of Crazy Rich Asians


In 1949 four Chinese women-drawn together by the shadow of their past-begin meeting in San Francisco to play mah jong, invest in stocks, eat dim sum, and "say" stories. They call their gathering the Joy Luck Club.

Nearly forty years later, one of the members has died, and her daughter has come to take her place, only to learn of her mother's lifelong wish—and the tragic way in which it has come true. The revelation of this secret unleashes an urgent need among the women to reach back and remember...
© Enmei Tan
AMY TAN is the author of several novels, including The Joy Luck Club and The Bonesetter's Daughter. She is a co-producer and co-screenwriter of the film version of The Joy Luck Club and is on the board of American Bird Conservancy. She lives in Sausalito, California. View titles by Amy Tan
Praise for The Joy Luck Club

“Powerful as myth.”—The Washington Post Book World

“Beautifully written...a jewel of a book.”—The New York Times Book Review

“Powerful...full of magic...you won't be doing anything of importance until you have finished this book.”—Los Angeles Times

“Wonderful...a significant lesson in what storytelling has to do with memory and inheritance.”—San Francisco Chronicle

“Reading it really changed the way I thought about Asian-American history. Our heritage has a lot of difficult stuff in it—a lot of misogyny, a lot of fear and rage and death. It showed me a past that reached beyond borders and languages and cultures to bring together these disparate elements of who we are. I hadn’t seen our history like that before. At that time, we hadn’t seen a lot of Asian-American representations anywhere, so it was a big deal that it even existed. It made me feel validated and seen. That’s what’s so important about books like that. You feel like, Oh my god, I exist here. I exist in this landscape of literature and memoir. I’m here, and I have a story to tell, and it’s among the canon of Asian-American stories that are feminist and that are true to our being. It’s a book that has stayed with me and lived in me.”Margaret Cho

About

Master storyteller Amy Tan examines the sometimes painful, often tender, and always deep connection between mothers and daughters in this New York Times bestseller.

The Joy Luck Club is one of my favorite books. From the moment I first started reading it, I knew it was going to be incredible. For me, it was one of those once-in-a-lifetime reading experiences that you cherish forever. It inspired me as a writer and still remains hugely inspirational.”—Kevin Kwan, author of Crazy Rich Asians


In 1949 four Chinese women-drawn together by the shadow of their past-begin meeting in San Francisco to play mah jong, invest in stocks, eat dim sum, and "say" stories. They call their gathering the Joy Luck Club.

Nearly forty years later, one of the members has died, and her daughter has come to take her place, only to learn of her mother's lifelong wish—and the tragic way in which it has come true. The revelation of this secret unleashes an urgent need among the women to reach back and remember...

Author

© Enmei Tan
AMY TAN is the author of several novels, including The Joy Luck Club and The Bonesetter's Daughter. She is a co-producer and co-screenwriter of the film version of The Joy Luck Club and is on the board of American Bird Conservancy. She lives in Sausalito, California. View titles by Amy Tan

Praise

Praise for The Joy Luck Club

“Powerful as myth.”—The Washington Post Book World

“Beautifully written...a jewel of a book.”—The New York Times Book Review

“Powerful...full of magic...you won't be doing anything of importance until you have finished this book.”—Los Angeles Times

“Wonderful...a significant lesson in what storytelling has to do with memory and inheritance.”—San Francisco Chronicle

“Reading it really changed the way I thought about Asian-American history. Our heritage has a lot of difficult stuff in it—a lot of misogyny, a lot of fear and rage and death. It showed me a past that reached beyond borders and languages and cultures to bring together these disparate elements of who we are. I hadn’t seen our history like that before. At that time, we hadn’t seen a lot of Asian-American representations anywhere, so it was a big deal that it even existed. It made me feel validated and seen. That’s what’s so important about books like that. You feel like, Oh my god, I exist here. I exist in this landscape of literature and memoir. I’m here, and I have a story to tell, and it’s among the canon of Asian-American stories that are feminist and that are true to our being. It’s a book that has stayed with me and lived in me.”Margaret Cho

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