The Kitchen God's Wife
12 journalers for this copy...
I read this about 10 years ago and don't remember it well enough to review or rate it, although I remember liking it quite a bit.
Review from 500 Great Books by Women: A Reader's Guide:
Winnie is a powerhouse who has fought, laughed at, and struggled with life; Pearl is the daughter who grew up in Winnie's shadow. Pearl has a secret she doesn't want her mother to know because Winnie will blame herself, worry, be mad she wasn't told right away. Winnie has secrets she doesn't want to tell Pearl: she's afraid she won't understand, that she'll be hurt. Auntie Helen knows their secrets and thinks it is time for each of them to tell. Winnie was born in China seventy years ago and experienced her mother's desertion, a cultural revolution, and a very bad marriage. How can she explain these things to her American-born daughter, the one who keeps to herself and wouldn't even allow herself to cry when her father died? But as Winnie lets Pearl in, Pearl learns more than just her mother's story. She learns about herself, about the costs she and her mother pay to keep their secrets, and she learns to share her own secrets. Mothers can both support our roots so we can stand on our own and remove the top soil that nurtures us - this is a story of mothers doing both.
Review from 500 Great Books by Women: A Reader's Guide:
Winnie is a powerhouse who has fought, laughed at, and struggled with life; Pearl is the daughter who grew up in Winnie's shadow. Pearl has a secret she doesn't want her mother to know because Winnie will blame herself, worry, be mad she wasn't told right away. Winnie has secrets she doesn't want to tell Pearl: she's afraid she won't understand, that she'll be hurt. Auntie Helen knows their secrets and thinks it is time for each of them to tell. Winnie was born in China seventy years ago and experienced her mother's desertion, a cultural revolution, and a very bad marriage. How can she explain these things to her American-born daughter, the one who keeps to herself and wouldn't even allow herself to cry when her father died? But as Winnie lets Pearl in, Pearl learns more than just her mother's story. She learns about herself, about the costs she and her mother pay to keep their secrets, and she learns to share her own secrets. Mothers can both support our roots so we can stand on our own and remove the top soil that nurtures us - this is a story of mothers doing both.
I've had a number of requests for this book, so I'm making it into a bookray. Please PM me if you're interested!
This bookray is still open. If you are interested in participating, please send me a PM so that I can update the list. I'm hoping to get this in the mail to the first reader soon - since this is a book about a mother and daughter, it seems appropriate that we kick of the bookray in time for Mother's Day.
The member names of the participants are posted here (subject to change). When you receive the book, please journal it so we know you got it. When you are ready to pass the book along, send a PM to the next person in line to find out her full name/address. If you do not hear from that person within 10-14 days, you may assume that she is no longer participating. Continue down the list until you hear from a BCer with her address information. When the book has finished its travels along the ray, the final reader is free to release it.
Happy reading!
EarthAngel (Newfoundland, Canada)
squirrel818 (Minnesota, USA)
karoda (Kentucky, USA)
Hawkette (Australia)
nikel27 (Germany)
terpsicore (Portugal)
Escalla (Portugal)
Xana (Georgia, USA)
andreweb (Brazil)
The member names of the participants are posted here (subject to change). When you receive the book, please journal it so we know you got it. When you are ready to pass the book along, send a PM to the next person in line to find out her full name/address. If you do not hear from that person within 10-14 days, you may assume that she is no longer participating. Continue down the list until you hear from a BCer with her address information. When the book has finished its travels along the ray, the final reader is free to release it.
Happy reading!
EarthAngel (Newfoundland, Canada)
squirrel818 (Minnesota, USA)
karoda (Kentucky, USA)
Hawkette (Australia)
nikel27 (Germany)
terpsicore (Portugal)
Escalla (Portugal)
Xana (Georgia, USA)
andreweb (Brazil)
The book is on its way! I mailed it out to EarthAngel today.
Just received today! I will get to it as soon as I can.I look forward to it!
I really enjoyed this book. The story captivates you and really brings to light the Chinese customs and the way of life many years ago.
Being sent to squirrel18 tomorrow!\
Enjoy
Being sent to squirrel18 tomorrow!\
Enjoy
received this as a bookray. I will read it asap and pass it on.
I've read a few books by amy tan and they all seem to have the same underlying theme. I wonder what her relationship is like with her mother? I did enjoy this book though and it's certainly worth reading. I'll be sending it on to the next person in the ray.
Journal Entry 9 by squirrel818 at Fellow BookCrosser in Louisville, Kentucky USA on Sunday, June 22, 2003
Released on Sunday, June 22, 2003 at Fellow BookCrosser in Louisville, Kentucky USA.
I received this yesterday. Bookray/ring karma is in abundance at my house. If I do not get close to starting this one in a few weeks, I will pass it on.
Journal Entry 11 by karoda at postal release to another BC'er in Brunswick East, Victoria Australia on Wednesday, September 24, 2003
Release planned for Friday, September 26, 2003 at postal release to another BC'er in Brunswick East, Victoria Australia.
Will place in the mail on Friday.
Will place in the mail on Friday.
It has arrived. Unfortunately it joins my ever-growing bookray TBR pile, but I am certainly reading at every given chance! Shouldn't be too long! Thanks!
Journal Entry 13 by Hawkette from Sydney CBD, New South Wales Australia on Sunday, February 22, 2004
This story, as Winnie reveals her past secrets to her daughter, draws you in, with such emotion and pain. The horrors that she went through!
I also loved reading about the Chinese culture, and the way they look at situations, and even their wording of things and events - so interesting!
One passage I want to keep...
'Chance is the first step you take, luck is what comes afterward. Your kind of chance makes no sense, it is only an excuse not to blame yourself. If you don't take a chance, someone will give you his luck. And if you get bad luck, then you need to take another chance to turn things from bad to good. Of course everything is connected.' (p.149-150)
I also loved reading about the Chinese culture, and the way they look at situations, and even their wording of things and events - so interesting!
One passage I want to keep...
'Chance is the first step you take, luck is what comes afterward. Your kind of chance makes no sense, it is only an excuse not to blame yourself. If you don't take a chance, someone will give you his luck. And if you get bad luck, then you need to take another chance to turn things from bad to good. Of course everything is connected.' (p.149-150)
Journal Entry 14 by nikel27 from -- Irgendwo / Somewhere --, Hessen Germany on Thursday, March 4, 2004
arrived at my mailbox, sorry first go to my very big TBR-Pile off BookRay's and Ring's
thanks so much for letting me join this book ray, I really loved the story.
Ask for the next members address and off the book goes to Portugal.
thanks so much for letting me join this book ray, I really loved the story.
Ask for the next members address and off the book goes to Portugal.
Journal Entry 15 by nikel27 at Post Office in BookRay, Ginsheim -- Controlled Releases on Wednesday, April 21, 2004
Released on Wednesday, April 21, 2004 at Post Office in BookRay, Ginsheim Controlled Releases.EnJoy the book, and please sent it after you to Xana.
Arrived today in my mailbox.Still have 2 bookrings to finish but I will try not to linger.
I had been told this book was depressing but I enjoyed it very much.True,the poor woman suffers a lot but she grows from it.And I love Amy Tan's writing.It really felt as if someone was in front of me telling me a story.Plus the way Weiwei talks reminded me of a friend of mine I haven't seen in a long time.
Will be passed today to Escalla
Journal Entry 19 by Escalla from Lisboa - Parque das Nações, Lisboa (cidade) Portugal on Tuesday, June 29, 2004
The thing that drew out my attention more to this book was the relationship between the 2 main female characters. They remind me a lot of the relationship between me and my own mother lol, i tought that a bit scary i admit, and that was the main reason why i clicked with the book, will try to read another of her books one day. :)
Thank you for the loan, this is definetely one of those books i would not have read had it not been for BC.
Thank you for the loan, this is definetely one of those books i would not have read had it not been for BC.
It arrived safely on this side of the world...
I'm so glad this book came to me at this moment! For some months now I've been worried that no books really *touched me*, even those that were bestsellers and everybody was crazy about, like The Lovely Bones or Middlesex.
They were enjoyable, but never more than that. I was beginning to worry: had I read so much that I became immune? Were my expectations with every new book so high that they ended up as disappointments?
But I'm very glad to say that this one broke the spell! It made me stay up till 5am to finish it, which is the best thing I can say about any book.
Thanks nina-ivanovna for sharing!
Journal Entry 22 by Xana at Restaurante Rui dos Leitões in Coimbra (cidade), Coimbra Portugal on Friday, January 7, 2005
Released on Saturday, January 08, 2005 at about 7:00:00 PM BX time (GMT-06:00) Central Time (US & Canada) at Restaurante Rui dos Leitões in Coimbra, Coimbra Portugal.
RELEASE NOTES:
To be released at the BC meeting in Coimbra.
RELEASE NOTES:
To be released at the BC meeting in Coimbra.
This is a great book from an author I'm becoming addicted. The story is a bit depressing, I confess that I cried during some passages of the book, and that's rare im me. But it's a wonderful story and I recommend it highly.
Next stop: Mady!
Next stop: Mady!
With me now... I'll write another JE when I finish reading it.
This was my fourth Amy Tan's and a very good one (not that I found any *bad*...). The more I read from her, the more I have the feeling that I'm actually reading about her own life, her own mother, her own family...
Since I was told this is a very sad book I delayed reading it, but in the end I didn't find it as sad as I feared. And I'm glad about it.
Thanks nina-ivanovna for releasing this book in the first place and thanks fflloorr for having passed this to me. I will now make sure it'll continue its journey!
Since I was told this is a very sad book I delayed reading it, but in the end I didn't find it as sad as I feared. And I'm glad about it.
Thanks nina-ivanovna for releasing this book in the first place and thanks fflloorr for having passed this to me. I will now make sure it'll continue its journey!
Woohoo! Thank you Mady for sending it to me :-)
