The Kitchen God's Wife (Flamingo) Reviews

**May contain spoilers**

I really liked this book, especially how the mother's story was enclosed by two sections from the daughter's point of view. It was a good fictional account of China during the 1920-40s which I enjoyed thoughroughly even though my knowledge of the actual events is still sparse.

The introductory chapters reveal the "present" as it is to Pearl, but the main story of the book is the story of her mother's secret history: her hard childhood; her life with her abusive husband, Wen Fu, a pilot for the Chinese army; her friendship with Helen; and her eventual escape to America. The narrative takes the form of a story being spoken out loud to the daughter and soon we learn the truths which have been hidden from her.

It is a good book and easy to get into as the story develops. A book about both mother-daughter bonds and a tragic past that is well written and not too heavy on the historical details for the casual reader.