Patricia S. (patsto) reviewed on + 33 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
The Kitchen God's Wife is a triumph, a solid indication of a mature talent for magically
involving storytelling, beguiling use of language and deeply textured and nuanced character
development. And while this second novel is again a story that a Chinese mother tells her
daughter, it surpasses its predecessor as a fully integrated and developed narrative,
immensely readable, perceptive, humorous, poignant and wise. Pearl Louie Brandt deplores her
mother Winnie's captious criticism and cranky bossiness, her myriad superstitious rituals to
ward off bad luck, and her fearful, negative outlook, which has created an emotional abyss
between them. Dreading her mother's reaction, Pearl has kept secret the fact that she is
suffering from MS. But as she learns during the course of the narrative, Winnie herself has
concealed some astonishing facts about her early life in China, abetted by her friend and
fellow emigree Helen Kwong. The story Winnie unfolds to Pearl is a series of secrets, each
in turn giving way to yet another surprising revelation. Winnie's understated
account--during which she goes from a young woman "full of innocence and hope and dreams"
through marriage to a sadistic bully, the loss of three babies, and the horror and
privations of the Japanese war on China--is compelling and heartrending. As Winnie gains
insights into the motivations for other peoples' actions, she herself grows strong enough to
conceal her past while building a new life in America, never admitting her deadly hidden
fears. Integrated into this mesmerizing story is a view of prewar and wartime China--both
the living conditions and the mind-set. Tan draws a vivid picture of the male-dominated
culture, the chasm between different classes of society, and the profusion of rules for
maintaining respect and dignity. But the novel's immediacy resides in its depiction of human
nature, exposing foibles and frailties, dreams and hopes, universal to us all.
involving storytelling, beguiling use of language and deeply textured and nuanced character
development. And while this second novel is again a story that a Chinese mother tells her
daughter, it surpasses its predecessor as a fully integrated and developed narrative,
immensely readable, perceptive, humorous, poignant and wise. Pearl Louie Brandt deplores her
mother Winnie's captious criticism and cranky bossiness, her myriad superstitious rituals to
ward off bad luck, and her fearful, negative outlook, which has created an emotional abyss
between them. Dreading her mother's reaction, Pearl has kept secret the fact that she is
suffering from MS. But as she learns during the course of the narrative, Winnie herself has
concealed some astonishing facts about her early life in China, abetted by her friend and
fellow emigree Helen Kwong. The story Winnie unfolds to Pearl is a series of secrets, each
in turn giving way to yet another surprising revelation. Winnie's understated
account--during which she goes from a young woman "full of innocence and hope and dreams"
through marriage to a sadistic bully, the loss of three babies, and the horror and
privations of the Japanese war on China--is compelling and heartrending. As Winnie gains
insights into the motivations for other peoples' actions, she herself grows strong enough to
conceal her past while building a new life in America, never admitting her deadly hidden
fears. Integrated into this mesmerizing story is a view of prewar and wartime China--both
the living conditions and the mind-set. Tan draws a vivid picture of the male-dominated
culture, the chasm between different classes of society, and the profusion of rules for
maintaining respect and dignity. But the novel's immediacy resides in its depiction of human
nature, exposing foibles and frailties, dreams and hopes, universal to us all.
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