Books read near the end of the world: Amy Tan’s “Joy Luck Club”

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This was a beautiful novel. Some parts were painful to read, but– like life– still valuable to go through and survive.
I began reading the book during the coronavirus pandemic when I assigned one of its short stories, “Rules of the Game,” to my students. It made me consider the relationships between the women in my own family, and how all of the other relationships in my life are tied to them. As an adult who is staying with her parents and sisters– most of whom had already read this book– I feel that this was a good experience for me.
Amy Tan’s novel is an invitation to interrogate one’s ideas of community, hope, grief, resilience, and affection. In our time, these are vital considerations to hold onto.



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