The Bonesetter's Daughter

By: Amy Tan

Narrated by: Amy Tan, Joan Chen

Length: 11 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

Set in contemporary San Francisco and in a Chinese village where Peking Man is being unearthed, The Bonesetter's Daughter is an excavation of the human spirit: the past, its deepest wounds, its most profound hopes.

The story conjures the pain of broken dreams, the power of myths, and the strength of love that enables us to recover in memory what we have lost in grief. Over the course of one fog-shrouded year, between one season of falling stars and the next, mother and daughter find what they share in their bones through heredity, history, and inexpressible qualities of love.

©2001 Amy Tan (P)2005 Phoenix Audio. All Rights Reserved.

Critic reviews

"In the end, it's the novel's depth of feeling that resonates and lingers. Tan writes with real soul." (Washington Post Book World)
"Storytelling in its oldest and truest form." (AudioFile)

Uplifting and Entertaining

Defintiely worth the time. It was easy to identify with the main characters and the narrative style was well done.

Mediocre

I have read many Asian inspired novels, and this one hardly measures up to the standard I'm accustomed to receiving. Since Joy Luck Club, I have not been attracted to Amy Tan's writings because they seem to end up the same way...old world meets new world. I thought this one might be different based on the story line, and although I liked a few of the characters, it ended up the same as the others - present day back to the past and back to the present again. The bone collecting portions of the narration are a little confusing at times, and I didn't have the patience with the writer who appears to assume the audience is constantly up to speed on this kind of tradition. Needless to say, the listen didn't keep me captivated enough to want to go back and review some of the puzzling rituals for clarity. There are much better books available for the money.

Terrific

I loved the story and really enjoyed the narration. Amy Tan is. True treasure for literature

Beautiful blend of historical fiction and storytelling

Tan has the ability to create worlds so vibrant and moving. She expertly weaves the past with the present in the lives of the women whom we meet. Though separated by time, culture, and continents, their differences and sameness are revealed through the past.

Does it ever end

Is there anything you would change about this book?

This book is very long winded. I am a big fan of Amy Tan but this one was a disappointment. I felt no connection to the characters or plot line.

Great book!

I loved the narrative being read by the author, it gives so much more depth to the story. I learned much about cultural issues and history from another point of view.

Enjoyed mother-daughter story

Not the sort of novel I'd normally pick up, but I enjoyed it. Tan's portrait of a challenging relationship between a daughter and a stubborn mother in the early stages of dementia is authentic and touchingly written. My willful Irish-American grandmother had Alzheimer's, and these scenes struck familiar chords. The story becomes even more involving when it travels back into the colorful past, through the mother's writings, to her life as a girl and young woman in China, where she struggles with her own real and surrogate families and endures tragedy and war. Through these memoirs, the daughter learns that her mother had kept back a few important secrets, and struggles to bring them forth from her as her mind erases itself.

The overall setup is a little contrived, though, and, outside the central relationship of the novel, the parts of the story set in modern San Francisco are formulaic. The ending is a little too neat, as well. Yet, I found the mother-daughter story and the China story absorbing.

Loved it!

What a great book! It took a bit of time to really get into it - there is some confusion as to why the main character is so unhappy, but it all comes together. The best part of the book is the part told by her mother - it is truly fascinating!

A new favorite

One of the few books I have started listening too again just after I finished it the first time. A fascinating story, well told and interesting. Well worth the listen.

Can't wait to get into my car

every morning to hear the next chapter of this wonderful book. I have enjoyed all of Amy Tan's books but this one is her best. I have learned so much about the Chinese culture new and old and I have a better appreciation of it. Thank you Amy Tan for another wonderful book.