[ Karen Wensel ] The novel “The Joy Luck Club”, written by Amy Tan, published in 1989, deals with the stories of four Chinese women who immigrated to San Francisco, USA in the 1940’s as well as with the stories of their four American- born daughters. At a deeper level, Amy Tan’s novel is about the different mother- daughter relationships between the main characters and about relationships between friends, lovers and even enemies.

The novel is divided into four sections, in which the mothers and daughters are telling about their lives. The reader gets to know about the mothers’ tragic past in pre- 1949 China, and how they had to build up a new existence in California, USA. After having met each other they decide to set up the “Joy Luck Club”. Therefore, the mothers meet each other weekly to play a Chinese game named mahjong, sharing their individual experiences in life and hoping to overcome their past. But as the novel continues, it becomes obvious that the four daughters don’t have easier lives than their mothers had. Living in the USA as an American- Chinese young women, the get confronted with their conflicting ethnical and cultural background every day as well as they have to fight for emancipation in life. They are trying to live like modern, self-confident women, without paying any attention to their cultural background. But after years of bold dreams of wealth and high-paid jobs, everyday quarrels with their mothers, American lovers and husbands, and times of fear and insecurity, the four daughters seem to realise their unique chance of being attached to two different cultures in a very personal way. Therefore, the novel is also about the process of finding one’s own identity.

In general, this novel is a good source for a deeper research on China and Chinese culture. Every short story of this novel deals includes aspects of Chinese traditional habits, the traditional role of Chinese women and China’s history. Moreover, the novel is about the problems of Chinese immigrants in the USA (especially the problems of young Chinese women).
The language of the novel is quite easy to understand. Therefore it would be also suitable for students of a lower grade to read (in class as well as in their leisure time). Finally, it is to day that the novel “The Joy Luck Club” is a well written book with a fascinating and touching plot, which is absolutely worth reading.