Amy Tan is an American writer, born in California (USA) to immigrant Chinese parents. In her novels she explores mother-daugther relationships and the experience of being a Chinese American.
Exercise
Tap all the highlighted words in the article below ⇩ to see their definitions.Amy Tan began writing late but with great success. The Joy Luck Club, her first book, was published in 1989 when she was 37 years old. It was an immediate success and has been translated into many languages, including Chinese. The book was also adapted into a play in 1993, and director Wayne Want turned into a film that same year.
The Joy Luck Club tells the story of four Chinese American families. It is written as a series of interconnected vignettes that relate the lives of four Chinese mothers and their American-born daughters. The structure of the book is based on form of the Chinese game mahjong: the four matriarchs who are lifelong friends in the Joy Luck Club plus their daughters, and each individual story is told through four chapters.
The Joy Luck Club is a portrait of four fictional families set against the backdrop of China and America. However, the discoveries of family history and legacy and individual identity, of clashes and reconciliation, are universal issues that are important to everyone regardless of their place of origin. This is one of the reasons behind the huge appeal of The Joy Luck Club.
Now, watch the video and complete the exercise.
This TED-Ed video explores why this book still captivates readers around the world.
Exercise
Fill in the blanks with the vocabulary from the video. ⇩
Seens an interesting book.
It sure is 🙂
I saw the movie but I don’t remember it. I will read the book, it sounds very interesting! Thanks Sunny!
I’ve never heard about this book. Looks quite interesting. Thank you for the lesson.
Nice lesson. I can understand when someone in the video speak. 👍
Interesting, I don’t Know this book