Joy Luck Club

Author: Amy Tan
IBSN: 0804106304

This is the first Amy Tan novel I ever read. After seeing the movie version, adapted quite skillfully from her novel by Amy Tan herself, I decided I needed to read this book. I'm glad I did.

It's a phenomenal first novel -- interesting, moving and resonant. I kept hearing the music from the movie as I read the book, something that Amy Tan says she does when she's writing her novels. She feels listening to soundtracks, specifically the same soundtrack, when she's writing, gives her anthemic themes to write to. It allows her to get immediately back into the story as she left it when she picks it back up again.

I recommended this book to my Mom, who just finished it. She's glad she saw the movie first, because it helped her keep the characters straight. She had to keep putting it down towards the end because she kept crying, too. Like Mom, like son.