The Joy Luck Club (Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Amy Tan
- First Published: 1989
- Type of Work: Novel
- Genres: Long fiction, Psychological fiction, Social realism, Domestic realism, Family literature
- Subjects: North America or North Americans, Self-discovery, United States or Americans, Mothers, Parents and children, Twentieth century, Authors or writers, Marriage, California, West, U.S., Asia or Asians, Immigration or emigration, Multiculturalism, Women, Divorce, Lifestyles, Bilingualism, Asian Americans, China or Chinese people, Chinese Americans, Career women, Luck or misfortune
- Locales: San Francisco, CA, China
The Joy Luck Club takes its title from a gathering begun in wartime China by Suyuan Woo, who met with three women in a weekly attempt to maintain their sanity and luck. They prepared special foods and played mah-jongg, even though the city was filled with horror. In 1949, in San Francisco, Suyuan resumed the tradition with three new friends.
One critic has suggested that the book is structured like the four corners of the mah-jongg table at which the women sit, with four stories in each of the book's four sections, and four mother-daughter pairs. In mah-jongg, one critic...
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Navigate
- The Joy Luck Club (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
- The Joy Luck Club (Magill’s Choice: American Ethnic Writers)
- The Joy Luck Club (Magill’s Literary Annual 1991-2005)
- The Joy Luck Club (Masterplots, Revised Second Edition)
- The Joy Luck Club (Masterplots II: Women’s Literature Series)
- The Joy Luck Club (Cyclopedia of Literary Places)
- The Joy Luck Club (Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition)
See Also:
Amy Tan (Short Fiction)Amy Tan (Long Fiction)Amy Tan (Cyclopedia of World Authors)Amy Tan (Identities and Issues)
See Also:
- - For teachers, the The Joy Luck Club Lesson Plan.
- - The Joy Luck Club summary and study guide in the eNotes.
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