by Amy Tan (Author)
#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER - A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK - "[An] absorbing tale of the mother-daughter bond" (People) from the renowned author of The Joy Luck Club and The Backyard Bird Chronicles
"No one writes about mothers and daughters with more empathy than Amy Tan."--The Philadelphia Inquirer
Ruth Young and her widowed mother have always had a difficult relationship. But when she discovers writings that vividly describe her mother's tumultuous life growing up in China, Ruth discovers a side of LuLing that she never knew existed. Transported to a backwoods village known as Immortal Heart, Ruth learns of secrets passed along by a mute nursemaid, Precious Auntie; of a cave where dragon bones are mined; of the crumbling ravine known as the End of the World; and of the curse that LuLing believes she released through betrayal. Within the calligraphied pages awaits the truth about a mother's heart, secrets she cannot tell her daughter, yet hopes she will never forget. . . . Conjuring the pain of broken dreams and the power of myths, The Bonesetter's Daughter is an excavation of the human spirit: the past, its deepest wounds, and its most profound hopes.Front Jacket
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
Author Biography
Amy Tan is the author of The Joy Luck Club, The Kitchen God's Wife, The Hundred Secret Senses, and two children's books, The Moon Lady and The Chinese Siamese Cat, which has been adapted as Sagwa, a PBS series for children. Tan was also the co-producer and co-screenwriter of the film version of The Joy Luck Club, and her essays and stories have appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies. Her work has been translated into more than twenty-five languages. Tan, who has a master's degree in linguistics from San Jose University, has worked as a language specialist to programs serving children with developmental disabilities. She lives with her husband in San Francisco and New York.
Number of Pages: 416
Dimensions: 1.13 x 7.14 x 4.44 IN
Publication Date: January 29, 2002
Accelerated Reader:
Quiz Name: Bonesetter's Daughter
Interest Level: Upper Grades, 9-12
Reading Level: 5.7
Point Value: 18
