I’ve had this book in my to-be-read pile for months. I finally got around to reading it a few weeks ago and I really enjoyed it. Tan is a wonderful writer. The Bonesetter’s Daughter isn’t as fabulous as The Joy Luck Club, but it is really a wonderful story. Here is my book review The Bonesetter’s Daughter by Amy Tan.

I recently reviewed a book called What We Carry that explored a mother daughter relationship as the mother spirals into the Alzehiemers abyss. Without even realizing it when I purchased this book, The Bonesetter’s Daughter has a similar theme.

The story unfolds as Ruth Young as an adult women continues to deal with a difficult relationship she has always had with her widowed mother LuLing. Her mother gives her some writings about her life in China that she wants Ruth to read. But the writings are in Chinese and she doesn’t get around to interpreting them for several years.

But Ruth begins to realize that her mother’s health is precarious, and that she has memory problems and possible dementia. While Ruth also deals with a difficult personal relationship with her partner, she begins to unravel stories about her mother’s past in China that she never knew. The writings open up an entire world of life in the village of Immortal Heart, a life of hardship, betrayal and a curse.

Through these writings Ruth discovers a women in her mother that she never knew existed. She learns about the true paternity of her mother, and also about the Chinese myths her mother uses to explain everything in daily life. LuLing is The Bonesetter’s Daughter and her heartbreaking story and the story of the human spirit must be told. And it is, in The Bonesetter’s Daughter.

****Four Stars for The Bonesetter’s Daughter by Amy Tan

I hope you enjoyed my Book Review The Bonesetter’s Daughter by Amy Tan

Read last week’s review of The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

My current read Damnation Springs

We love it when you pin and share our blog posts.