Amy Tan’s writing is rich with beautiful imagery, taking the reader and placing them right in the heart of China. With everything from the words she uses to the way she strings them together, she creates a tale so overflowing with atmosphere, you feel as though you’ve left America and traveled the world in your mind, immersing yourself in a culture rich with tradition and heritage, which may be different from your own but yet welcomes you as a visitor and guest.
In “The Kitchen God’s Wife,” we meet mother and daughter, Winnie and Pearl. Pearl is in her forties and married to a wonderful American man, and has just been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. She doesn’t want her mother to worry about her, and so she has not yet told her about the illness. Winnie is still very deeply connected to the old ways, although she has lived in America for years, and Pearl is afraid her mother will see the disease as a punishment of some kind, rather than a twist of fate.
Winnie, in the meantime, is holding on to a host of secrets herself, and as the narrative shifts to her point of view, we see her apprehension about being truthful with her daughter. It’s only when Helen, a relative, pushes both Winnie and Pearl into confiding in each other that they actually do, and Pearl learns much more about her mother than she ever imagined possible.
Winnie was raised in China just before the start of World War II, when the Japanese were wreaking havoc and making lives miserable for the people of China. She lost her mother tragically and was sent to live with an aunt and uncle, who cared for her in an absent sort of way. They arranged a marriage for her to a young man who had actually been courting her cousin, until he learned that Winnie had more money. For years afterward, he treated Winnie badly, his abuse only growing worse after a head injury following a car accident. Through her own courage, Winnie was able to leave the marriage and find true love with the man who would be Pearl’s father, but it was only after years of deep heartache that she was able to leave.
After hearing her mother’s story, Pearl realizes she too must be honest, and so she tells her mother of the disease. Winnie reacts pretty much the way Pearl anticipated, but she realizes she doesn’t mind as much as she thought she would. She has gained enough understanding of her mother’s perspective to gain appreciation for everything that is her mother.
This book is beautifully written and poignant. I do offer the caution that it’s not an easy read. Women in China were treated horrifically as a matter of course in that era of history, and there are some segments that are painful to read, although they are there for the instruction of the reader, not for sensationalism. If you’re concerned, I would suggest that you skip chapter eight and also the last two-thirds of chapter nine.
Overall, I appreciated the author’s desire to acquaint me, as her reader, with her culture and people. I have always been fascinated with China, from the paintings to the silk to the old legends, music, beautiful buildings and landscaping, and, I’ll confess, I’m pretty fond of Chinese food as well. I consider China one of the most intriguing countries on earth and I loved taking this peek into her history.
(This book was published in 1991 by Random House.)
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