The Bonesetter's Daughter by Amy Tan

[dissention]

Has anyone read this book? I picked it up on vacation and it's magnificent. Completely enthralling, definitely the best book I've read in a long time. Never read much of her before (only The Kitchen God's Wife) but I look forward to reading her next one.

[hayley]

Originally Posted by dissention

Has anyone read this book? I picked it up on vacation and it's magnificent. Completely enthralling, definitely the best book I've read in a long time. Never read much of her before (only The Kitchen God's Wife) but I look forward to reading her next one.

I haven't yet, but I love her. Thanks for the rec, it'll be next on my list for behind the counter reading material at the bookstore I work at part-time! I just have to finish Sellevision by Augusten Burroughs.

[GypsySorcerer]

I've seen it, but never picked it up. Of Tan's work, I've only read the "Joy Luck Club."

[GardenStateGirlie]

Originally Posted by GypsySorcerer

I've seen it, but never picked it up. Of Tan's work, I've only read the "Joy Luck Club."

Am I the only one who didn't get into Joy Luck Club?? Perhaps i'll give her a second chance and check this one out.

[dissention]

Originally Posted by GardenStateGirlie

Am I the only one who didn't get into Joy Luck Club?? Perhaps i'll give her a second chance and check this one out.

You should try it, it's great. It's about a woman whose relationship with her mother is awful and the two barely speak because her mother's English is terrible and the daughter thinks she's a bother because she's always threatening to kill herself and she's suffering from Alztheimer's. She finds a manuscript that her mother wrote about her life in China and when she first came to the States, but she has to have it transcribed because it's in Chinese. The book starts out with the first part of the manuscript, then to the daughter and her mother, then to the manuscript and so forth. She learns about who her mother is for the first time while reading the manuscript and pieces together why their relationship is so awful. It's very haunting and much more complex than I can describe here, but trust me, you won't be able to put it down.

[amber]

Originally Posted by GardenStateGirlie

Am I the only one who didn't get into Joy Luck Club?? Perhaps i'll give her a second chance and check this one out.

No, you're not the only one. But then, I don't always like books about heartfelt relationships and problems, and all that. This one sounds better, but I probably still won't read it.