The Nature of Things

Relationships between mothers and daughters are often fraught with constant stress and worry on the mother's part and rebelliousness and defiance on the daughter's part as she struggles to assert herself and grow independent of the mother's restraints. Having been both a daughter and a mother of daughters, I see the conflict from both sides.  No mother/daughter relationship could be more fraught, however, than that of Chinese mothers and daughters. At least that is the message that I take from Amy Tan's much acclaimed and truly wonderful book. This book tells the stories of a group of Chinese women, immigrants to this country living in San Francisco, and their daughters, all born in America and all American in the fullest sense. The elder women emigrated to escape the tragedy and poverty of their native country, but, in their new country, they did their best to establish and preserve the culture which they knew and revered. They waged their battle to protect and keep th...