Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library Reader Advisory Blog: joy luck club

A Booklist "starred review," The Valley of Amazement is a story about Lulu, an America who is running a first-class courtesan house in Shanghai in 1905, her daughter, Violet and granddaughter, Flora. The book explores the complicated and complex relationships between mothers and daughters, as well as tradition and new beginnings.

"Spanning fifty years and two continents, The Valley of Amazement is a deeply moving narrative of family secrets, the legacy of trauma, and the profound connections between mothers and daughters, that returns readers to the compelling territory Amy Tan so expertly mapped in The Joy Luck Club. With her characteristic wisdom, grace, and humor, she conjures a story of the inheritance of love, its mysteries and senses, its illusions and truths." - Booklist Reviews

If you enjoy stories about the close bonds between female friends, you might want to try the newly released book Then Came You by Jennifer Weiner, in which the lives of four women intertwine around issues of fertility. In a more lighthearted take on the theme of four female friends, Shelf Awareness recommends Waiting to Exhale by Terry McMillan, in which thirty-something African-American women experience sexual adventures on the path to finding Mr. Right. Amy Tan's classic Joy Luck Club talks about eight Chinese-American women, four mothers and four daughters who, despite age and cultural differences, have more in common than they think. And let's not forget about Louisa May Alcott's classic Little Women, in which four sisters make sacrifices to preserve their family during Civil War-era New England. Commencement, the 2009 debut novel by the author of the current bestseller Maine, also delves into the four female friends theme: over a period of six years Celia, Bree, Sally, and April, who met as college freshmen, experience both happiness and disappointment as they to find fulfilling love relationships, deal with changes within their families, and pursue successful careers.

Got any other suggestions for books on this topic? We welcome your comments!

Being Mortal by Atul Gawande

Genre: Adult Non-Fiction
Rating: 5 out of 5

"Being Mortal is about the limitations of what modern medicine can provide for people as their lives draw to a close. Gawande argues that the objective of medicine should not merely be treatment and survival; medical care should also ensure dignity in death and having control over one's final moments. He argues that instead of aggressively fighting the inescapable realities of aging, we should ask the hard questions of ourselves and our loved ones -- What makes life worth living? When should we try to extend our lives, and when should we choose a better quality of our remaining days over extending their quantity?

This book is difficult to read. Not because of the way Gawande writes -- his style is highly engaging, and he never lapses into excessively scientific jargon or overly simplistic explanations -- but because of the tough subject matter. Gawande draws on his own experiences as a doctor and peppers his book with honest and humane stories of his patients, friends, and family; the stories he tells make the book more accessible, and also more heartbreaking. (And that's not a bad thing.)

No one likes to think about their loved ones', or their own, impending mortality. But it's important to have these hard conversations, because as Gawande says, "endings matter." - Amanda

A New Novel from the Bestselling Author of The Joy Luck Club

Four Female Friends