The Joy Luck Club Book Notes Summary

The Joy Luck Club: The mah jong club that Suyuan started in China and then continued in California. The club began as a way for the Chinese women to have fun, eat and gamble during the worst years of the war. The hope of being lucky, as Suyuan says, was their only joy at that time. She continued the club in California, expanding it to include playing the stock market and involving the women's husbands.

First Chinese Baptist Church: The church that Ying-ying, Suyuan, Lindo and An-mei and their husbands all attend. This church helps them adjust to life in America, giving their children Christmas presents and providing English classes.

Kweilin: The city that Suyuan moved to when her first husband had to leave her to fight in the war. She had heard it was a beautiful and safe place to be, but soon learned that whatever beauty used to be there was now destroyed by the crowds, filth, and fear. This is where Suyuan loses much of her hope and happiness. It is the city where she had to abandon her twin baby daughters.

An-mei's bible: An-mei keeps her bible under the leg of her kitchen table. She used to read it often, but now she no longer believes, because despite her faith, her son died by accident. She wrote Bing Hsu's name in the 'deaths' section of the bible, but she used an erasable pencil.