The Bonesetter's Daughter: A Novel

by Amy Tan

“The Bonesetter’s Daughter dramatically chronicles the tortured, devoted relationship between LuLing Young and her daughter Ruth. . . . A strong novel, filled with idiosyncratic, sympathetic characters, haunting images, historical complexity, significant contemporary themes, and suspenseful mystery.”
–Los Angeles Times

“TAN AT HER BEST . . . Rich and hauntingly forlorn . . . The writing is so exacting and unique in its detail.”
–San Francisco Chronicle

“For Tan, the true keeper of memory is language, and so the novel is layered with stories that have been written down–by mothers for their daughters, passing along secrets that cannot be said out loud but must not be forgotten.”
–The New York Times Book Review

“AMY TAN [HAS] DONE IT AGAIN. . . . The Bonesetter’s Daughter tells a compelling tale of family relationships; it layers and stirs themes of secrets, ambiguous meanings, cultural complexity and self-identity; and it resonates with metaphor and symbol.”
–The Denver Post

• ISBN10: 0804114986
• ISBN13: 9780804114981
• Publish Date: 29 January 2002 (first published 13 January 2001)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Random House USA Inc
• Imprint: Random House Inc
• Format: Paperback (US Mass Market)
• Pages: 416
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780804114981

Reviews

[mitabird]

3.5 stars

[wyvernfriend]

Ruth's mother is apparenly losing her mind. Her memories are slipping away from her. Ruth finds a document that tells the story of her youth and escape from China to America.

Ruth's mother LuLing was the daughter of a woman who was once beautiful until a terrible accident happened. Her family did both calligraphy and ink-making in China, until the death of LuLing's mother, their most gifted calligrapher.

Interesting and compelling, this is a story of hard choices and twists of fate.

[Eve1972]

Loved It!!