The Joy Luck Club An Introduction

Amy Tan Her Chinese name, An-mei, means “blessing from America. She was born in Oakland California, in 1952. She is the only daughter of John and daisy Tan. She has two brothers, Peter (1950) and John (1954).

Amy’s Family Her parents moved to America, from China, in the late 1940’s. Her parents moved the family nearly every year, while the kids were children. Her parents were quite anti-social, but the kids tried hard to fit-in with American culture. Amy’s parents objected. They wanted their kids to grow-up in America (with many opportunities) but keep their Chinese culture close and strong.

Amy’s Childhood She was unhappy with her Chinese appearance and heritage. She felt like it was impossible to fit-in, being the only Chinese girl in class from 3rd grade-graduation. She believed that if she ate more “American” foods, she would end up looking more American. She slept with a clothespin on her nose, hoping to decrease its Asian shape.

Growing Up Her parents decided that she would be a full-time neurosurgeon and a part-time concert pianist. Amy’s dream was to become a novelist. When Amy was 15, her father and brother (Peter) both died of brain tumors within the same year.

Growing Up…Continued Amy was very rebellious. She dated an older German man who had ties with drug dealers and organized crime. Her mother had this man arrested, and Amy severed all ties to him. Amy attended a few colleges, and earned her B.A. in English and an M.A. in linguistics.

Her Writing Career In the early 1980’s, Amy became a business writer. She was successful, but she did not find happiness in this freelance career (a 90-hour per week job). She truly dreamed of writing fiction. In 1985, she wrote a short story, “Endgame,” which told about an amazing, young chess player who had a strained relationship with an overbearing mother. She received a $50,000 advance for the collection that she expanded this work into. She dissolved her freelance business and endeavored to finish this collection. She named it The Joy Luck Club.

The Joy Luck Club In 1989, The Joy Luck Club made the New York Times’ best-seller list. It remained on this list for seven months! She won several awards. Paperback rights for this novel sold for more than $1.23 million. It has been translated into 17 languages.

Introduction to The Joy Luck Club It describes the lives of four Asian women who fled from China in the 1940s and their four Americanized daughters. The protagonist, Jing-mei Woo, takes her mother’s place at the meetings of the Joy Luck Club. The women in this group sit, eat, and tell stories about the past. They also discuss the barriers that exist between them and their daughters.