A joy to read

Ok...now originally I was suposed to read this book for my english class. Believe me I wasn't too thrilled! So I went to the store and picked up a copy and sat down to read it. It was a great book! I loved it!

This book is about the lives of four chinese woman and their daughters. The stories all tell about the mother first and then of their daughter. It was kind of hard to follow because of the way that their names all sounded alike or close. And you had to keep looking at the top of the page or look back to see who you were reading about. But when it told the stories of the people you really got into them and you felt as if you were back in China in the 40's.

One of my favorite stories was the one called An-Mei-Hsu: Scar. It was about a little chinese girl (all of the memory stories take place in the early 40's) who lived with her aunt and her grandma. Her mother had run away and her father was dead. So it was just her, her brother and the other two realitives. The little girl almost dies when a large cooking pan full of scalding water falls down and pours all over the girls neck and upper body. Back then they didn't have good medication or doctors so it looks as if the girl will die. Then the way that it is discribed it shows you how the girls and woman are treated in that country. (I don't want to tell you what happens next cause it will ruin part of the story for you!)

Amy Tan is an exceptional author! You should read this book. You don't even have to buy it. Just go to your local library and pick up a copy. Then if you like it you can watch the movie. I haven't yet seen the movie but I have heard that it is far different from the book. Some like it more than the book and others still just prefer the book. I think that you should check it out for yourself!