At the most simplistic level, The Joy Luck Club is about mothers and daughters. It takes the loss of one of the mothers for her daughter to realize that she didn't really know her. Each chapter gives one of the seven women a chance to tell the most defining moments in her life.

The contrast in the perspectives also show the divide among these mothers and daughters. The mothers's stories are split between their lives in China and their lives in America. Many of them focus on how American their daughters are and how they are losing their Chinese heritage. In contrast, the daughters can be dismissive of their mothers's teachings and philosophies.

I always love a book that is told from multiple points of view and it was beautifully done in The Joy Luck Club. I felt like I really got to know each of the characters as she narrated her own story, especially since the stories focused on significant moments in their lives. It was also interesting to see how the characters viewed each other.