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The Kitchen God's Wife
Amy Tan Book Review

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Plot Summary of The Kitchen God's Wife
"This novel is about Pearl Louie and her mother, Winnie. The complexities and tensions between a mother and daughter are subtle, yet poignant at times. Tan describes the trials of being an immigrant in the United States through the character Winnie, and the problems of growing up torn between one's racial heritage, and one's national heritage (being born in the United States as a minority). The story is moved along by the discovery of a family "secret" that threatens to make every moment Pearl has lived, only a lie. "
Laura Fong, Resident Scholar

Review Analysis of The Kitchen God's Wife
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book? - thoughtful
Time/era of story - 1980's-1999
Inside culture (main char) - Chinese
Other aspects: - immigrant story
Culture clash? - family young v. old guard
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Outside culture (society) - American American
If story of urban/rural... - Big city life
Ethnic/regional/gender life Yes
Woman's story? Yes

Main Character
Gender - Female
Profession/status: - teacher
Age: - 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events? Yes
Ethnicity/Nationality - Chinese
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - Female
Age: - 60's-90's
Profession/status: - homemaker
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a lot
How sensitive is this character? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Setting
United States Yes

Style
Person - rotating 1st
Accounts of torture and death? - no torture/death
Unusual Style: - a lot of flashback and forwards - a lot of stream of consciousness - No single main character?
Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
Most similar books to The Kitchen God's Wife
The Drink and Dream Teahouse by Justin Hill
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
Shadow of the Dolls by Rae Lawrence
Gabriella's Book of Fire by Venero Armanno
The Barbarians are Coming by David Wong Louie


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Amy Tan Resident Scholar Profiles

TOP SCHOLAR:
  
Laura Fong  

SCHOLARS:
petter  the_querent  


Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).
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