This is a great story, but it's the writing that makes it one of my top picks. Wonderful :-)

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Product Description

A stunning reissue of the international bestseller, from the much-loved author of The Joy Luck Club and The Bonesetter's Daughter. Pearl Louie Brandt has a terrible secret which she tries desperately to keep from her mother, Winne Louie. And Winnie has long kept her own secrets -- about her past and the confusing circumstances of Pearl's birth. Fate intervenes in the form of Helen Kwong, Winnie's so-called sister-in-law, who believes she is dying and must unburden herself of all falsehoods before she flies off to heaven. But, unfortunately, the truth comes in many guises, depending on who is telling the tale...Thus begins a story that takes us back to Shanghai in the 1920s, through World War II, and the harrowing events that led to Winnie's arrival in America in 1949. The story is one of innocence and its loss, tragedy and survival and, most of all, the enduring qualities of hope, love and friendship.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #102005 in Books
• Published on: 2004-07-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 432 pages

Review
'In this remarkable book Tan manages to illuminate the nobility of friendship and the necessity of humour. Give yourself over to the world she creates.' New York Times'Once again this wonderful novel has extended experience. There is something dizzyingly elemental about Tan's storytelling; it melds the rich simplicities of fairytales with a delicate lyrical style.' Sunday Times'Tan is a prodigal with her talent. She weaves a dazzling web of unfamiliar colours, smells, tastes and landscapes.' Sunday Telegraph'Amy Tan writes with passion and humour, makin East and West mutually more comprehensible.' Daily Mail

About the Author
amy tan is the author of four critically acclaimed, internationally bestselling novels. Her first novel, The Joy Luck Club, was nominated for the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award and was a recipient of the Commonwealth Gold Award. The Joy Luck Club was also adapted into a feature film in 1994. Her subsequent novels are The Kitchen God's Wife, The Hundred Secret Senses, and The Bonesetter's Daughter. She lives in San Francisco and New York.

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Customer Reviews

A Tragic Story of hope
This is another wonderful book by Amy Tan. The depth of stories told layer upon layer drawn perhaps from the combined experinces of many people create an atmosphere of a remote region of Southern China in the midst of war. It is a harsh story but beautifully told with warmth and humour. The Asian style of life where people rarely say quite what they mean for the good of the whole is so typically and naturally portrayed. It is a story of hope and liberation and of the many trials and hardships that eventually lead to her goal. Perhaps, finally, as the story and the secrets are unravelled the daughter begins to understand t he importance of the beliefs and customs of her Chinese- born mother.

An excellent story well told.
Having recently read Wild Swans it whet my appetite for more books with a chinese theme. Reading The Kitchen God's Wife certainly did not disappoint. Amy Tan tells the story of family and its different generations, one born and reared in China and one in the US. Members of both generations have their own secrets which are eventually unwoven throughout the book. Told with such heart-rending humour - you will certainly be moved to laughter or tears, or both!

Relation
This is one of the best books I have read. Told in detail, but not too much to the point it bores you, and it really helps give an understanding of what life was like for Chinese women. But I have to say, if I were her I would have killed Wen Fu! Beautiful story, and I can relate to the mother-daughter distance idea. I totally recommend.