The Joy Luck Club

The Joy Luck Club follows the story of two or possibly three generations of Chinese-Americans. The older generation arrived in America after the war and set up home in California. They brought up their kids trying to instill in them the best of Chinese ways and the best of American ways, although this slowly builds up a distance between the generations because of the conflicts within the two ways of life. The older generation set up the Joy Luck Club, a group of 4 women who meet to play mahjong and converse. The story follows on after the death of the founding member. Her daughter is invited to take her place at the table and is told that her deceased mother's two daughters who she had had to abandon in China during the war, have been found. The book jumps around from character to character in each chapter and jumps around in terms of timings too. As a result you can begin to understand the clash of cultures and customs a little more. The superstitions of the older generations do not fit well with the younger generation who want nothing more than to blend in with their American peers. The older generation want their children to prosper and have given up a lot in order to make a life in the States, yet want their children to respect and adhere to customs that seem out of place in a modern American world. 

It is an interesting read and can be eye opening in terms of gaining an understanding of what it is like to be a third culture kid and forging that third way, amalgamating your parent's customs and those of the native peers to make your own culture.