In the memoir, we follow Loung through her teenage years. She talks about how when she was younger she liked to go to the movies with her brother Meng, but "at 14, I've decided that I don't want to be seen by my embarrassing brother in public anymore". Maybe you've had similar feeling about your own parents? I can relate to what Loung is feeling, but from the parent side. I have two teeanage sons who would not want to be seen with me at a movie theater.
But the early teenage years go quickly, and most of us re-examine the bonds within our own families. In one of the final chapters Loung writes, "that living life to the fullest involves living it with family." (p.237)
We are given several glimpses of the way that Meng teaches Loung the values that he feels are paramount: the importance of pride, gratitude, and loyalty to family, community and cultural rituals. Would you share some experiences from your own life where your family taught you something important? Or are there particular examples in the book of the way that Meng teaches Loung these values that resonated with you? Click on the Comments link below.
Jackie Kremer, Reference Librarian, jkremer@mail.fairfield.edu
The Joy Luck Club is a great movie, but the book is much better. For those of you who have read and have really enjoyed Lucky Child, I highly recommend the Joy Luck Club as well. As mentioned in this post, it has very similar themes to Lucky Child, such as learning the value of family and adjusting to an extremely different cultural setting.
Posted by: Meghan Hamel | August 28, 2007 at 11:31 PM