Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Book Review: The Kitchen God's Wife

Title: The Kitchen God's Wife
Author: Amy Tan
Published By: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1991

This is the second book written by Amy Tan that I've read, the other being "The Hundred Secret Senses".
I read both this week and chose to review this one simply because I enjoyed it more. Some may know her from her first piece of work, "The Joy Luck Club".

This book starts now, in the present, and we're introduced to the main characters from the point of view of the daughter to the heroine, then learn more about her mothers life. Her mother and aunt have known each other since "the war" (WW2), and have kept each other secrets for most of their lives, from when they first met in China at the start of the war. We explore Winnie's (the mother) life, her relationships, hardships, and the story of her life during the war, marriage, jail, and finally happiness in America. I really don't know how to review this book without giving too much away. I'm curious how much regarding China and Chinese culture is true, and yet I lack the motivation to go and find out, probably because I want to live with the fiction.

In short, I thought it was a great book, I really like Amy Tan's writing style, and again I hated having to put the book down (to the point where I'd be reading during my lunch break and lose track of time).

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