The Kitchen God’s Wife

photo by John Foley

The Kitchen God's Wife
by Amy Tan
544 Pages
Fiction
Stellar Five Chicken Award Book

For over fifty years two women, Winnie and Helen have guarded some of the worst possible secrets. When Helen confronts Winnie telling her she just can't keep the secrets anymore, Winnie must come clean. Interestingly the person Winnie most wanted to shield from the truth was her daughter Pearl, but Pearl has secrets of her own to disclose as well. After years of holding in the truth Winne is forced to endure the painfulness of remembering so that for the first time mother and daughter can understand each other as a whole, not just the pretty parts. The true question is, are their bonds strong enough to endure the truth, after having been taught generation after generation to hide the truth and put up a fake front?

I had never read Amy Tan before, I have seen people love her and I can't believe I was so slow to jump on the wagon. I grabbed up this read because it was just sitting there staring at me in the library, and it was an audio book. I love listening to international fiction audio books because I enjoy the accents and voices. Plus, yes, I have always liked being read to just as much as reading a book myself. After reading (listening to) The Kitchen God's Wife, I have a new author to stalk, yes a new favourite. I have a couple of her other books sitting on my shelf calling me right now. She is one of my new favourite authors.

In The Kitchen God's Wife  Amy brings up women's issues in old China,  she dispels some myths, she tells an amazing story and that she told flawlessly. The book is pretty dark at places, and the characters suffer much at the hands of those who claim to love them. It is hard to read at times, but even though it is intense I could not stop reading it. This read rocked my boat and could not have been better-the only thing was that I had wished it would have gone on for a little longer after the secrets were out, but the book was already 544 pages...so that probably wasn't an option. Maybe The Kitchen God's Wife part 2? ha!

Here I go again, giving out my most precious award. However Amy Tan takes it by a landslide. The Stellar Five Chicken Book Award is well deserved, very well deserved.

Have you read other books by Amy Tan? Which gets your highest recommendation? Why do you enjoy Amy Tan?