The Bonesetters Daughter
by Amy Tan
Rating: 4/5
Pages: 339
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Publication Date: 2004
ISBN: 9780006550433
Summary (via Goodreads)
Ruth Young and her widowed mother, LuLing, have always had a tumultuous relationship. Now, before she succumbs to forgetfulness, LuLing gives Ruth some of her writings, which reveal a side of LuLing that Ruth has never known. . . .
In a remote mountain village where ghosts and tradition rule, LuLing grows up in the care of her mute Precious Auntie as the family endures a curse laid upon a relative known as the bonesetter. When headstrong LuLing rejects the marriage proposal of the coffinmaker, a shocking series of events are set in motion-all of which lead back to Ruth and LuLing in modern San Francisco. The truth that Ruth learns from her mother's past will forever change her perception of family, love, and forgiveness.
In a remote mountain village where ghosts and tradition rule, LuLing grows up in the care of her mute Precious Auntie as the family endures a curse laid upon a relative known as the bonesetter. When headstrong LuLing rejects the marriage proposal of the coffinmaker, a shocking series of events are set in motion-all of which lead back to Ruth and LuLing in modern San Francisco. The truth that Ruth learns from her mother's past will forever change her perception of family, love, and forgiveness.
Review
How much do we listen to our parents? How much do we value their input in our lives, their advice? And, more importantly, how would we feel if that presence was taken from us, forever?
I have read similar values like this in the previous book I have reviewed, The Joy Luck Club, but I found the way in which this story evolves and absorbs the reader in much more satisfying.
The story follows Ruth, a successful modern woman who is forever having to deal with her eccentric and overbearing mother, LuLing, a burden she has resented since childhood. However, gradually she notices her mother is acting oddly, and then when the worst is confirmed, she starts to notice her mother more and more and begins to wonder if there is in fact method to the madness after all.
How much do we listen to our parents? How much do we value their input in our lives, their advice? And, more importantly, how would we feel if that presence was taken from us, forever?
I have read similar values like this in the previous book I have reviewed, The Joy Luck Club, but I found the way in which this story evolves and absorbs the reader in much more satisfying.
The story follows Ruth, a successful modern woman who is forever having to deal with her eccentric and overbearing mother, LuLing, a burden she has resented since childhood. However, gradually she notices her mother is acting oddly, and then when the worst is confirmed, she starts to notice her mother more and more and begins to wonder if there is in fact method to the madness after all.
Overall, this book shows a charming a addictive story about two generations of women from several families who have each in turn their own story to tell. At times I found myself sympathising with them, noticing similarities between certain moments and myself, but even in the characters I felt I could not relate to I still enjoyed the way in which Tan allows the story to unfold.
A must read book!
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