The first time I came cross with Joy Luck Club was back in 1998. The first year that I was in US. My friends rent this video from a local video store and we all watched it together in the lounge of our dorm. The reason for us to rent the video was purely because it was related to China. I guess we were either curious about how American sees us or we just had the need to connect with our culture.
One thing that i remembered after watching the movie was those actresses are ugly! That was how I see them as a 18 years old Chinese girl who has the same point of beauty if not the only point as the rest of the Chinese in China. We do not appreciated our narrow eyes, flat nose and round face. Now, After 16 years of living in US, I understand beauty isn't just one kind. And, I do see those actresses' beauty and they are all beautiful.
Another thing that I remembered from the movie was the beautiful and interesting story line. That was one of the reasons that made strong impression on me which led me to read the novel.
The novel is always better than movie.
I loved the novel. It's very Chinese and very beautiful. It talks about the details of the life of the mothers and daughters, how they are so similar and different at same time, how they love and hate each other at same time and how they all struggled as a woman in different country and era.
It made me think about my relationship with my mom while reading the novel. How much I love her and sometimes hate her too, how much we are different but same at some points too, how I became who I am because of her, and also because of her absence. It made me question that was it a good thing that she was psychically and emotionally absent in my life for 16 years? Would it make me a different person if she was there for me?
Living without my parents definitely made me a person who I wanted to be 'cause i had the freedom to do so. But interestingly, I become a person that my parents always wanted me to be. Maybe the 16 years of absent didn't make much difference for me, maybe the first 18 years of life with them already made me who I am. All I need to do is to rediscover myself.
This novel is on my top lists of must-read if you'd like to know the two different life of two generation of womanhood. It's funny, it's sad, it's mystically and it's happy.
One thing that i remembered after watching the movie was those actresses are ugly! That was how I see them as a 18 years old Chinese girl who has the same point of beauty if not the only point as the rest of the Chinese in China. We do not appreciated our narrow eyes, flat nose and round face. Now, After 16 years of living in US, I understand beauty isn't just one kind. And, I do see those actresses' beauty and they are all beautiful.
Another thing that I remembered from the movie was the beautiful and interesting story line. That was one of the reasons that made strong impression on me which led me to read the novel.
The novel is always better than movie.
I loved the novel. It's very Chinese and very beautiful. It talks about the details of the life of the mothers and daughters, how they are so similar and different at same time, how they love and hate each other at same time and how they all struggled as a woman in different country and era.
It made me think about my relationship with my mom while reading the novel. How much I love her and sometimes hate her too, how much we are different but same at some points too, how I became who I am because of her, and also because of her absence. It made me question that was it a good thing that she was psychically and emotionally absent in my life for 16 years? Would it make me a different person if she was there for me?
Living without my parents definitely made me a person who I wanted to be 'cause i had the freedom to do so. But interestingly, I become a person that my parents always wanted me to be. Maybe the 16 years of absent didn't make much difference for me, maybe the first 18 years of life with them already made me who I am. All I need to do is to rediscover myself.
This novel is on my top lists of must-read if you'd like to know the two different life of two generation of womanhood. It's funny, it's sad, it's mystically and it's happy.