OnlineBookClub.org

I liked A Thousand Secret Senses. The Joy Luck Club was good too, but not as good. I haven't read her other books yet.

I have read The Joy Luck Club but I haven't read other books of Amy Tan. I think Joy Luck Club is good but not great.

I have only read The Joy Luck Club and really like it. I was amazed by how she develop the unique stories and tie them all together as one piece of work. I have heard that A Thousand Secret Senses is also good, and I'm going to read it as soon as I finish the Twilight series.

theQ wrote:I liked A Thousand Secret Senses. The Joy Luck Club was good too, but not as good. I haven't read her other books yet.

I loved A Thousand Secret Senses as well. She's great at adding humor to her work and creating memorable characters as well. I read this book some odd years ago, but it does remain an Amy Tan favorite of mine. I loved The Joy Luck Club as well. Actually, I probably like it more than A Thousand Secret Senses. The stories about relationships between the mothers and daughters were awesome. And it was great getting the perspective from both sides of the stories--I don't think we often see the other side of the coin, like some of the sacrifices parents make for the wellbeing of their children. I started reading The Bonesetter's Daughter a few years ago, but I found it depressing and just couldn't quite get into it. I may try picking it up again soon, and see what I really think. Has anyone read The Bonesetter's Daughter?

theQ wrote:I liked A Thousand Secret Senses. The Joy Luck Club was good too, but not as good. I haven't read her other books yet.

Me too!

I like both books but I think they'll get sold at our next yardsale. They're good but I just don't see myself reading them again.

The only book I read from Amy Tan was " The Kitchen God's wife" it's mostly how people overcome hardships in china. The point of view comes from a women, sorry I forgot her name I read it a long time ago. She has a difficult life with her husband, mostly its the conflict between them two. Don't want to tell you the story but I thought it was good not a great book. It's similar to The Joy Club, you could find it boring at the beginning but towars the end actions take place which makes the story interesting.

I liked all of Amy Tan's books. The Joy Luck Club was probably my least favorite of them all. My favorites were The Hundred Secret Senses and The Bonesetter's Daughter. I really enjoyed The Kitchen God's Wife too. I read Saving Fish From Drowning a year or two ago and remember it being really different from the rest of her books. I'd probably start with The Kitchen God's Wife or The Hundred Secret Senses, but definitely read The Bonesetter's Daughter.

Oh also, if you are looking to read Asian fiction, maybe try:

One Thousand Chestnut Trees by Mira Stout (novel about Korean American who visits Korea)

Street of a Thousand Blossoms by Gail Tsukiyama (novel about Japanese family)

Empress Orchid by Anchee Min (novel about the Last Empress of China)

I enjoyed all of these quite a bit!

theQ wrote:I liked A Thousand Secret Senses. The Joy Luck Club was good too, but not as good. I haven't read her other books yet.

A Thousand Secret Senses is her best book in my opinion. I completely agree the Joy Luck Club doesn't come close to it.

I loved all of them except her new one it is called Saving Fish from Drowning. It was bad, really bad.

Pearl S. Buck wrote The Good Earth. She has about 30 or so other books and short stories all about China, Japan, Korea and other parts of Asia. She really focuses on the struggle of women in China in the past and how these women still share the same struggles as modern Western women do.
Memoirs of a Gesha (sp?) is really good too.

Mary~

Bowlie wrote:I liked all of Amy Tan's books. The Joy Luck Club was probably my least favorite of them all. My favorites were The Hundred Secret Senses and The Bonesetter's Daughter. I really enjoyed The Kitchen God's Wife too. I read Saving Fish From Drowning a year or two ago and remember it being really different from the rest of her books. I'd probably start with The Kitchen God's Wife or The Hundred Secret Senses, but definitely read The Bonesetter's Daughter.

Oh also, if you are looking to read Asian fiction, maybe try:

One Thousand Chestnut Trees by Mira Stout (novel about Korean American who visits Korea)

Street of a Thousand Blossoms by Gail Tsukiyama (novel about Japanese family)

Empress Orchid by Anchee Min (novel about the Last Empress of China)

I enjoyed all of these quite a bit!

I'm going to look for these Bowlie. I love Memoirs, I'm reading Amy Tan, Lisa See, and looking for anything within the genre.

Thank you for the recommendations by the author. I have a hard time starting with another author so it's always nice to see what other books they have written.

Saving Fish from Drowning and The Valley of Amazement are my two favorite Amy Tan novels. Although others may not agree, I felt these two were emotional and character driven as well as moody, some of my favorite aspects of any book!