The Bonesetter's Daughter

It's always nice to come back to Amy Tan and this type of novel.  Something absolutely fascinates me about it--I went through a quick stage where I read The Joy Luck Club (also by Tan), Lisa See's Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, and also her Peony In Love (which I didn't enjoy).  I ended with Across The Nightingale Floor by Lian Hearn, which is actually fantasy (and set in Japan), but still had some of the same elements I found in the other novels.

Firstly, I love Amy Tan's writing style.  She writes with such ease that I can immediately lose myself, no matter which character is coming forward to speak.  And second, I do have a bit of a fascination with Chinese art and culture.  Mind you, I don't know much, but whenever I read novels by Chinese-American authors, I just fall in love.  The concepts of family and luck are so prominent in the book that I felt like everything that happened to Ruth's mother, I was right there with her.  Her constant sorrow, both as a young woman and when she was older was absolutely heart wrenching.  Ruth's relationship issues were equally sad--so difficult and easy to relate to all at once. 

Memory plays such an important role to the story--LuLing's diagnosis of dementia and Ruth's remembrances of her childhood work together neatly in a way that brings her back to what enables her to do and be what she wants, instead of always bending over accommodate her clients, her mother, her lover, and his children.  I also really liked the beginning, with the bit about how Ruth loses her voice for a week every year in August, an event that is related to an injury in childhood.  Subconsciously, Ruth goes silent in order to make those around her value her more, when she should just speak up for herself.  This isn't something that's just Chinese, it's something women do on a constant basis, instead of pursuing their own happiness.  Even Wendy, Ruth's friend has her own way of happiness, though it's a bit strange (relationship issues, jealousy and possessiveness).

Another thing that really struck me with the book is how luck and curses are such an important part of Chinese literature.  This really touched home with me, because of some personal issues I've dealt with in the past surrounding my birthday.  I've gotten out of that funk, thankfully.  But, I really do think that if you believe bad luck is following you around, it will.  The family curse in The Bonesetter's Daughter follows LuLing around, but in all reality, a string of bad events and the troubles surrounding China with the Communist and Nationalist parties were all just matters of circumstance.  Instead of counting the things that were good--her life, her friends, her family--LuLing mourned over those things from her past that she never forgave herself.  When she developed dementia as an old woman, she had no choice but to forgive herself, because memories were all she had.

All in all, this is another hit for me.  I'd been meaning for a long time to get back to Amy Tan, and just never made it back, though I've had this particular novel for over a year.  Once I finish my paperback stack, I'll have to hit the library's stacks and see what they've got.  Free books make me happy.



Quote: A person should consider how things begin.  A particular beginning results in a particular end. -Amy Tan