The book was very well written and I enjoyed the characters. Tan's writing style -- long chapters, long paragraphs -- requires the reader to slow down and at 600 pages for the hardcover edition, the book is long so it takes a while. Better to savor it? I don't know. I think that this is definitely one of Tan's better books but perhaps not my favorite.

Like many of her other books, it explores the relationships between mother and daughters and between the American and Chinese cultures.