And you thought your family was complicated!! (The Bonesetter's Daughter - Amy Tan)

Member Name: Katz1

Product:	The Bonesetter's Daughter - Amy Tan
Date:	29/08/01 (493 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fascinating insight into Chinese tradition

Disadvantages: I read it too quickly

“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 them.”

In part, this is what “The Bonesetter’s Daughter” is about. It is a story of family bonds, a story of love, hate, destiny, war, and most importantly of secrets, truth, and the importance of heritage. It is a journey of discovery, about finding out who you really are and where you came from; a fascinating mixture of tragedy, joy, innocence, prejudice, superstition, and is, all in all, a thoroughly enjoyable read.

I bought this book based purely on the fact that I had read and loved “The Hundred Secret Senses” by the same author and wanted to see if this one matched up to it. I was delighted to discover that this is just as well written, if not better. It is a beautiful tale, set partly in modern day America and partly in China in the earlier half of the twentieth century. It is the story of Ruth, a first generation American, and of Liu Ling, her mother, a Chinese immigrant, who came to America in the 1950’s. It is partly about their relationship with each other, and their relationships with others but it also covers so much more: themes such as modern western values versus traditional Chinese ones, the difficulties Chinese immigrants have adapting to western culture, the issues step parents have to face when helping to bring up a family, and th
e awkward decisions you have to make regarding ageing parents.

The book is divided into three sections, the first and last being set in modern-day America and told from the point of view of Ruth (although not in the first person), a ghost writer for self-help books. In the first section we are introduced to her life with her partner Art and his two teenage daughters and are also given a run-down of her life as a child and teenager with Liu Ling, how she had to translate for her mother and put up with her constant picking at her, her complaining and threats of suicide, how her mother embarrassed her at school and how naive she was as a young teenager. Our attention is also drawn to the fact that, nowadays, her mother has started acting a little stranger than usual, and is becoming more confused and unpredictable.

The second section is written in the first person, from the point of view of Liu Ling. It is documentation of her life in China, from her childhood as the apparent eldest sister of the family, her closeness to her badly mutilated nursemaid, “Precious Auntie”, who did everything for her; her relationship with her sister, Gaoling; to her first marriage and life in Peking (near to where the remnants of ‘Peking Man’ had been found) and up to her leaving China for America.
This part of the story provides the reader with an insight into life in a small Chinese village, how superstition and ghosts influenced everybody’s lives, how people always turned to traditional herbal remedies from people known as “Bonesetters” (who would find ancient “dragon” bones and crush them up or write on them to help heal people). It is an interesting portrayal of the Chinese culture as it had been for centuries up to that point – how small-minded people were, the role of women in the family, the everyday trials and tribulations of a small rural community.

In the third section, we return to Ame
rica and Ruth, who has decided to return to live in her mother’s house in order to look after her. By this point she has read her mother’s story and knows a great deal more her heritage, but not quite everything

I think one of the reasons this book is such a pleasure to read is Amy Tan’s compassion and sensitivity towards her main characters. You really feel you know them and care about what happens to them. One of her talents is in writing entirely believable dialogue. Her mother’s broken English is so well written that you can almost hear her calling her littly “Lutie” (Ruth) and complaining about the food being too salty. It is not, fortunately, written in an overly sentimental fashion and Ms. Tan writes about both the good and bad sides of family relationships, how that despite the fact they may drive you mad, they are still family and of course you care for them.

Amy Tan is perhaps most famous for her novel “The Joy Luck Club” that was made into a film (and which she helped write the screenplay for). She has also written "The Kitchen God's Wife" and “The Hundred Secret Senses”.Unfortunately I haven’t yet read either “The Joy Luck Club”, or "The Kitchen God's Wife" but I can’t wait to read them and imagine they will both be as good as this one.

I don’t want to sound sexist but I imagine that a female audience will appreciate this book more than a male one. Although there are many twists and turns within the plot, merely the fact that the majority of the main characters are female, will be enough, I should think, to put men off. It shouldn't let you though - I'm sure people of all ages and sexes could enjoy this book. Why not give it a go?

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