The Joy Luck ClubThe Joy Luck Club
Score Classic
What it's about
In 1949, four Chinese immigrant women in San Francisco meet weekly to play mahjong and tell stories of what they left behind, calling themselves the Joy Luck Club. Their American-born daughters think their mothers' advice is irrelevant, until their own lives begin to fall apart. Amy Tan tells the stories of four mothers and four daughters.
Why it's worth reading
It was a finalist for both the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award, and it's on PBS's Great American Read.
You'll love it if you liked
The Kitchen God's Wife
Everything I Never Told You
Shanghai GirlsGood to know
It's told in linked stories by eight narrators. It became a 1993 film.
By the numbers
- Readers19 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics47 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller45 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #144 of the 219 young adult books we rank
- #591 of the 762 classics we rank
- #2060 of the 2,816 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
Dark
More by Amy Tan
The Kitchen God's Wife
The Backyard Bird Chronicles
The Hundred Secret SensesIf you like this, read next
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
The Great Gatsby
Go Tell It on the Mountain
The Confessions of Nat Turner
My Name Is Asher Lev
The HelpExplore the best-of lists
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Quick answers
Is The Joy Luck Club worth reading?
Yes. It was a finalist for both the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award, and it's on PBS's Great American Read. It ranks #2,060 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 63.2 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is The Joy Luck Club about?
In 1949, four Chinese immigrant women in San Francisco meet weekly to play mahjong and tell stories of what they left behind, calling themselves the Joy Luck Club. Their American-born daughters think their mothers' advice is irrelevant, until their own lives begin to fall apart. Amy Tan tells the stories of four mothers and four daughters.
How long does it take to read The Joy Luck Club?
About 7 hours (289 pages), or about 2 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after The Joy Luck Club?
If you liked it, try The Kitchen God's Wife by Amy Tan, Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng or Shanghai Girls by Lisa See.