Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages
Publisher: Ballantine Books; 1 Ballanti edition (January 29, 2002)
ISBN: 0804114986

A Total Immersion into Chinese Culture of 50 Years Ago

Rated FIVE Stars *****

This is the first of Amy Tan's books that I have read, and I REALLY loved it. The book is a study of the relationships between a woman, her mother (a Chinese immigrant to America), and her grandmother. The Bonesetter's daughter is the Grandmother. The story is told from the Granddaughter's perspective, as she is dealing with her mother's impending Alzheimer's, and as she is going though some relationship problems with her long-term American partner. I really enjoyed the total immersion into Chinese culture that comes through the mother's and grandmother's stories. Amy Tan combines an intriguing story of Chinese and American-Chinese cultures with issues that many American women in their 30's and 40's are facing. An extraordinary book.

All of Amy Tan's books bridge the culture gap between the children of Chinese immigrants in the United States, and the conflicts they experience from their parents, who were raised in the old-country Chinese culture.

Reviewed by

Mary Mimouna

Marrakesh, Morocco

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