7-Day Book Cover Challenge (Day 3): “The Joy Luck Club”

The third book is Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club. I’m especially excited that I get to write about this during Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, as well as a few weeks after Mother’s Day.

I was blown away when I first read The Joy Luck Club in high school. It was the first time that I could see someone similar to myself in a book written in English: Asian American women who struggle with the dichotomy of two cultures. Because during my childhood, even in Hawaii, the most iconic books were written by and for Caucasian children. It was especially bad with picture books: an Asian kid occasionally made an appearance as a classmate or friend of the white main character, sporting slanted eyes and unreadable expressions. Hawaii bookstores did feature local authors who wrote more diverse characters, but they were harder to come by. So in most stories I read growing up, I felt like a bit of an outsider.

What I love even more about The Joy Luck Club is its focus on immigrant mothers and their second-generation daughters, each with different back stories and personalities. The book really resonated with me because, like those daughters, I was also desperate to fit in the United States, and often narrow-mindedly cast away my mother’s–and my own–culture.

My mother was no “tiger mom,” but she certainly seemed stricter than other parents. She is tall, beautiful, smart, and confident, and growing up, I often felt that I didn’t live up to her expectations. But I also remember a few instances when I hurt her, especially because of the bicultural environment. Once, when I was in second or third grade in Hawaii, my classmates and I were hiking in the mountains, and she joined us as a chaperone. She spoke to me from behind in Japanese, warning that my backpack strap was slipping from my shoulders–and I turned around and said to her sharply, “I told you to talk in English in front of others!”. She apologized, looking surprised and embarrassed. I had wanted to fit in with my American classmates, and wanted to appear strong, as if I didn’t need my mom’s help. I’m now so ashamed that I treated her that way, especially when she’d joined the trip for my sake. In retrospect, I think this was the first time I realized that my seemingly almighty mother could be hurt by my thoughtless words. Now that I’ve matured, we’ve come to understand each other much more–and I’m so thankful for the stronger relationship we now have.

Amy Tan is such an icon and pioneer Asian American woman writer. I understand she has her critics about stereotyping, and to be honest, I don’t think I would be as receptive if she wrote stories based on Japanese history and culture. But I will never forget how much comfort The Joy Luck Club gave me when I first read it, and I believe she paved the way for generations of writers.

The 1993 movie, which I sometimes still talk about with my mother, was unforgettable. While it is shocking that a quarter century (!) had to pass before another major American movie with an all-Asian cast was created (Crazy Rich Asians), it is also amazing how progressive The Joy Luck Club was when no one else was willing to create a movie like that. Either way, I hope I can someday also create stories that bring together diverse characters and universal themes.

*****

3日目はエイミ・タンの『ジョイ・ラック・クラブ』。高校生の時に読んで、アメリカの本で初めて、自分と似た境遇の登場人物（二つの文化の間でアイデンティティを探すアジア系アメリカ人）に出会い、深く共感しました。話の根底にあるのは4組の母娘（中国からの移民である母親たちと、中国系アメリカ人の二世である娘たち）の関係で、一人っ子の私も母親と喧嘩することが多かったので、いろいろと考えさせられました。

エイミ・タンは、中国に関するステレオタイプが多いという批判も受けていますが、アジア系アメリカ人の作家(特に女性の)として先駆者の一人だと思います。私もいつか、マイノリティである登場人物と普遍的な感情の双方をお話に盛り込むことができれば、と思います。