The Kitchen God's Wife is the powerful story of the personal hardships and struggles of a Chinese woman during the Chinese war with Japan. During the narrative, the reader gets a peek into this part of Chinese history as well as the culture and societal prejudices.
This story probes into the role of the Chinese culture of the time and how the secrets of families effect their members in unforeseen manners. Winnie's forced by her "sister" to reveal all of her secrets to her daughter. Her life story is filled with misfortune and hope. At times depressing and at others inspiring, this entrancing, vibrant, elegant, and unforgettable tale of womanhood, fortitude, and love, is intertwined with light comedy and the curative power of truth.
This overwhelming story tells of the degradation of an abusive husband and the triumph of the human spirit.. Winnie's tale shows the inhumanity of arranged marriages and horrific treatment of women. As Winnie relates the events of her life before her emigration to a new life in the USA, the steadfast devotion and loyalty of her female friends support Winnie and aid her flight to freedom. In the end, their continued assistance bring her closer to her daughter at time when they both need each other.
This was a very difficult book to read because of the horror that is conveyed in this tale. If nothing else it makes you appreciate the freedom of our society and blessings of our lives. ( )

This is a powerful story. I started reading it on a Friday night and finished te next day. Amy Tan is an amazing writer. ( )

The Kitchen God's Wife is a story of a woman living in China through the war with Japan, her personal trials and struggles. I very much liked the voice Tan used for this, the way of speaking. This book isn't just an insight into a page of China's history but also took the time to wittily and intuitivley explain chinese culture and thought.

While I very much enjoyed the middle section of the book, the ending and begining sections, told from the point of view of the main narators daughter, felt tagged on and overly emotional, I think the book could have stood without them. there were themes in these of the alienation second gen imigrants feel from their parents culture and, thus, from their parents, but these weren't carried through the body of the book so felt a little strained. ( )

Another solid offering from Amy Tan. That woman knows how to write an engaging story. No one does the theme of emotionally distant mother-daughter relationships quite like her. She's also the master of neat, emotionally satisfying endings. Oh, and she's very good at making me cry. This was a lot like The Joy Luck Club, but overall more coherent.

What more is there to say at this point? Tan's writing is gold. I'll be looking forward to the next one! ( )

his was written later than The Joy Luck Club, and I think that definitely shows in the quality of the writing and the structure of the novel. The sometimes cloying sentimentality of that book is not as much in evidence here, and the way the storyline falls into place is much more easy to follow.

The pacing of the book is very, very slow, however. It's 400+ pages in a large format paperback, but feels much longer. In some respects, I liked this; it allowed us to see more of the world of China in the 1920s through to the 40s, which is really unimaginably foreign to me. I like how Tan shows us how the Chinese way of thinking informs their culture and vice versa, because that's certainly one of the aspects that most people from western cultures have a hard time comprehending and getting their head around. In many more ways, though, it irked me; the beginning was much too slow and ponderous, and large sections of Winnie's story could have been filleted out without making any substantial difference to the storyline.

I never particularly found myself caring for the characters, either. Winnie/Wei-lei was certainly a strong and independent female character, of the kind I normally feel very strongly towards. However, I found myself almost skimming over one of the climactic scenes of the novel involving Wen Fu's final attack on her, and really not caring one way or the other what happened to her. That's not what the emotional outcome for the reader should be after investing the time to read nearly four hundred pages.

Tan's prose is still clear and elegant and a pleasure to read; I can't see myself picking up another one of her books, though. ( )