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| Plot Summary of The Bonesetter's Daughter |
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"A Chinese American ghostwriter discovers that her mother has Alzheimers and in the course of caring for her finds out the events in her mother's past which have led to a difficult relationship between the two. The book is set in the US and in China and covers an approximately seventy year span. "
Linda Sourpuss, Resident Scholar
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"In the Bonesetter's Daughter, Amy Tan's latest novel, there is the familiar theme of a stormy mother/daughter relationship,intensified because of the clash of backgrounds. The daughter, Ruth, is brought up in San Francisco of the 50's, while the mother, Liu-Ling. endured the tumultuous convulsions that took place in China before,during and after World War II. The two women reconcile their differences in their joint search for the identity of the mysterious character, "Precious Auntie"."
Betty-Jeanne Korson, Resident Scholar
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"This is a story of China in the days before and after the revolution, and an age-old story of the tension between mothers and daughters that is so difficult to define and so easy to identify with. Ruth Young and her mother, LuLing, have a tortured but magnetic relationship, a bond that involves superstitions, ghosts and criticisms that come close to destroying Ruth both as a child and as an adult.
Her mother's daily fear of the ghost of her mother, who influences her entire life with barely hidden guilt, permeates Ruth's life too. As a child, Ruth learned to survive her mother's vicious attacks by communicating with Precious Auntie, her mother's mother, by writing on a sand table for her mother. It is only when LuLing is old that Ruth learns the truth about her mother's life, what tragedies she endured, what courage she had, and how very much she loves Ruth.
Besides being a story about mothers and daughters, The Bonesetter's Daughter tells about the relationships between different cultures and the richness that comes from sharing those lives. "
petter, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of The Bonesetter's Daughter |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book?
- very sensitive (sigh)
Time/era of story
- 1930's-1950's
Inside culture (main char)
- Chinese
Other aspects:
- immigrant story
Family, struggle with
Yes
Struggle with:
- Mother (or standin)
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Ethnic/regional/gender life
Yes
Woman's story?
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- writer
Age:
- 40's-50's
Eccentric/Mental
Yes
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Ethnicity/Nationality
- Chinese
How sensitive is this character?
- soggy whimpering jelly muffin
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Main Adversary
Eccentric/Smart/Dumb:
Yes
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 2 (a little)
United States
Yes
The US:
- California
Europe
Yes
European country:
- France
Asia/Pacific
Yes
Asian country:
- China
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Sex in book?
Yes
Unusual Style:
- a lot of flashback and forwards
Amount of dialog
- significantly more dialog than descript
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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