What others said about "The Kitchen God's Wife":

"She is a wonderful writer with a rare power to touch the heart ... The Kitchen God's Wife is an absorbing narrative of Winnie Louie's life, which she tells -- or offers -- as a gift to her daughter Pearl. Much happens in the tellings: long-held secrets are revealed, and a family's myths are transferred ceremoniously to the next generation ... Tan returns to the richly textured world she began to explore in the earlier book, the world of California's immigrant Chinese ... with its brilliant tapestry of characters and conflicts here and overseas ... Tan is one of the prime storytellers writing fiction today." -- Newsweek

"A harrowing compelling and at times bitterly humourous tale in which an entire world unfolds in a Tolstoyan tide of event and detail ... Give yourself over to the world Ms. Tan creates for you." -- The New York Times Book Review

"A big, rich book that tackles family relations, the unreliability of memory, the nature of secrets, Chinese history, customs and society, and the difficulties of assimilating into a new culture ... It's the work of a born teller of tales." -- San Francisco Examiner

I enjoy reading mother/daughter stories -- heart warms, heartbreakers, or otherwise -- and The Kitchen God’s Wife is just that. It’s the story of a mother and daughter whose secrets keep them at arms reach, never quite comfortable with each other, until they are forced to sit down and reveal all.

Winnie, the mother, has led an interesting but sad life, and has spent the majority of her days suffering and trying to forget how much she’s been through. By not sharing her past with her daughter, Pearl, she thought she was protecting her. Instead, from the misunderstandings, a wall grew between the two. Winnie explains what life was like for a Chinese woman living in Shanghai in the 1930s and 1940s, the abuse (physical and mental) heaped upon her by her husband and his family, and the tragically short lives her previous children lived.

Pearl’s secret, though serious, is overshadowed by her mother’s secret, and sheds less light on their mother/daughter relationship. I suppose this is why the majority of the book is told by Winnie, explaining her life story. It might have been better, however, had Amy Tan started the story from Winnie’s perspective to begin with, making it clear from the start that she, not Pearl, is the main character and will be doing most of the storytelling. Overall, I enjoyed The Kitchen God’s Wife, and I look forward to reading The Joy Luck Club, which I understand is similar in subject.

This book will be accompanying me to this month's BookCrossing Meetup in Arlington, Va. We'll see if we can find it a new home!

Hmm... Meetup was a bust. Will have to find another way to release this book. Meanwhile, it's still available.

Surfenkitten had this on her wishlist, so I'm RABACKing it to her. Consider it a house warming gift! ;o) Hope ya like it!

Delivery Confirm No: 0303 1910 0000 6622 0601

thanks wyldanthem for the RABCK! what a lovely book. the style is just so unique! unlike anything i've ever read! the "cadence" of winnie's story has an almost poetic rhythm...that shows up a bit in the joy luck club but it has much more character here, as a complete story. i loved it.

have been a bit disappointed in my wild releases lately, so i think i'm going to make sure this one gets to someone who really wants to read it.....

Just received it today- and what a surprise! I'd forgotten all about this trade and it was a neat surprise to find in my mailbox! Thanks, surfenkitten for the trade of this book with A Child Called It. Funny how we make trades and then it could be MONTHS before they finalize- but as long as we're all eventually getting everything read, it's all good, right? ;-)

I may be passing this along to my mom to read too- she's read Joy Luck Club and loved it, and I've read The Bonesetter's Daughter and loved it too. I'm sure this one will be just as good. :-)