Nancy S. (raney) reviewed on + 16 more book reviews
Tan does it again with the Bonesetter's Daughter. She takes us through the lives of 3 generations of women, the oldest entirely in China, the youngest in the USA and the middle bridging both.
The story opens in the United States. The protagonist, Ruth, is a ghost writer unable to commit to her divorced-with-children boyfriend. She and her aged mother, LuLing, aren't as close as either might wish, but when Ruth's mother gives her a manuscript (written in Chinese) detailing LuLing's personal history, Ruth comes to a clearer understanding of just what makes mom tick.
The history of Ruth's mother and grandmother is revealed in the setting of 1920s China in the rural area where the bones of the Peking Man were discovered. As with The Joy Luck Club, the stories told are not all pleasant. There is a gritty realism to the histories that demands we respect and honor the trials gone through by the Chinese peasant women in their quests for love and a better life. American-born Ruth comes to see her mother in a new light even as Alzheimer disease dims LuLing's memories.
Another great read from Tan with fascinating characters in both eras.
The story opens in the United States. The protagonist, Ruth, is a ghost writer unable to commit to her divorced-with-children boyfriend. She and her aged mother, LuLing, aren't as close as either might wish, but when Ruth's mother gives her a manuscript (written in Chinese) detailing LuLing's personal history, Ruth comes to a clearer understanding of just what makes mom tick.
The history of Ruth's mother and grandmother is revealed in the setting of 1920s China in the rural area where the bones of the Peking Man were discovered. As with The Joy Luck Club, the stories told are not all pleasant. There is a gritty realism to the histories that demands we respect and honor the trials gone through by the Chinese peasant women in their quests for love and a better life. American-born Ruth comes to see her mother in a new light even as Alzheimer disease dims LuLing's memories.
Another great read from Tan with fascinating characters in both eras.
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