Part 1, Jing-Mei Woo, "The Joy Luck Club" Summary

After Jing-Mei Woo's mother June dies, her father asks her to be the fourth player at her mother's mah jong club. June Woo starts the San Francisco "Joy Luck Club" in 1949, two years before Jing-Mei is born. Her parents leave China for America in 1949, arriving in San Francisco. Since women from the First Chinese Baptist Church help them, the Woos join that church. There they meet the Hsus, Jongs, and St. Clairs, immigrants from different parts of China. June Woo senses the families' unspeakable past tragedies and forms her women's mah jong club.

June starts her first "Joy Luck Club" in Kweilin, China, during her first marriage, before the Japanese invade. Her husband leaves her and their two babies in the city of Kweilin, where he thinks they will...