The Bonesetter's Daughter

by Amy Tan
4 Stars
Historical Fiction
Setting: China and USA
353 Pages
Published in 2001

Ellie's Review
I really enjoyed this novel by Amy Tan. I've read two other novels by her, and this is my favorite. The main story line of mothers and daughters was very interesting to me, and I really liked learning more about aspects of the Chinese culture such as superstitions and ghosts.

Book Summary
At the beginning of Amy Tan's fourth novel, two packets of papers written in Chinese calligraphy fall into the hands of Ruth Young. One bundle is titled Things I Know Are True and the other, Things I Must Not Forget. The author? That would be the protagonist's mother, LuLing, who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. In these documents the elderly matriarch, born in China in 1916, has set down a record of her birth and family history, determined to keep the facts from vanishing as her mind deteriorates.