The Bonesetter's Daughter - Amy Tan

Across the Cultural Divide. Ruth Young has a problem that seems insurmountable. The daughter of an American father (deceased) and a Chinese mother, whose health is failing and a long-term but unstable relationship with her boyfriend, Art and his two growing girls, she has little time to herself. In her late forties she no longer expects marriage or her own children, but she seems to be running around after everyone and getting little back in return. This might seem a familiar modern-day problem, but it's compounded by Ruth's mother, the strong-minded but increasingly forgetful LuLing Liu Young. Because of her Chinese background her English is not as ...

“The heart of this story belongs to my grandmother, it’s voice to my mother. I give them credit for anything good and have already promised I will try harder next time” This forms part of Amy Tan’s introduction to “The Bonesetter’s Daughter”. It is, perhaps, a good indication that the story that follows, is by and large, based on the true story of her own family and, for me, is something that makes the story all the more poignant. She also writes in her dedication: “On the last day that my mother spent on earth, I learned her real name, as well as that of my grandmother. This book is dedicated to ...

This is the second novel that I’ve read by Amy Tan and I’m beginning to realise that a pattern is forming. I have previously read ‘The Kitchen God’s wife’ and now in ‘The Bonesetter’s Daughter’, Tan’s narrative again tells the story from both the perspective of an American woman and her Chinese mother. This format, I have discovered, is prevalent throughout most her novels. Don’t be put off however, with Tan’s repetition of narrative and plots that encompass all her novels. ‘The Bonesetter’s Daughter’ is wholly unique from both her other novel that I’ve read and ...