Introduction -- Chronology -- Background on Amy Tan -- life of Amy Tan/ Tan turns autobiography into powerful fiction / Joy Luck Club is not strictly autobiographical / Joy Luck Club and women's issues -- Tan's young women must rediscover their Chinese identity / June's symbolic journey to discover her ethnic identity / Damaged by their mothers' high expectations / Storytelling reconciles mothers and daughters / maternal line of descent dominates The Joy Luck Club / Mother/daughter relationships in the post women's liberation era / Female empowerment in The Joy Luck Club

Tan's beginning rejects stereotypes about immigrant women / Empowerment through woman-to-woman bonding / Asian American gender stereotypes in The Joy Luck Club / Tan portrays strong Asian women / Contemporary perspectives on women's issues -- Mothers are society's scapegoats / Asian American women must overcome limiting cultural stereotypes / Bioculturalism leads to one woman's acceptance of bisexuality / Asian women are still not completely accepted in the United States / More women are working, but job equality remains elusive / Feminism is not dead, just evolving / For further discussion -- For further reading -- Bibliography -- Index.