Still in the tradition of matrilineal literature, Amy Tan's second novel, The Kitchen God's Wife (1991), relinquishes the multiple micronarrative approach that helped make The Joy Luck Club into such a success. Not quite a blockbuster, but definitely a best seller, The Kitchen God's Wife represents just one mother-daughter relationship between Winnie Louie and Pearl Louie Brandt. Narrowing the focus even more (at Daisy Tan's request), the Chinese mother dominates the novel with a lengthy monologue about her Chinese past. The remaining chapters, of which there are only three, are left to the American-born daughter, who is preoccupied with the present and family events/duties. Pearl does not discuss her childhood in an

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Published 08 November 2002

Citation: Adams, Bella. "The Kitchen God's Wife". The Literary Encyclopedia. 8 November 2002.
[http://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=440, accessed 20 November 2009.]