I was at the table where we passed out copies of The Joy Luck Club, so I was fortunate enough to talk to a few people about the book.
I asked two teenage boys lots of questions because in my course we kept wondering how adolescent males would respond to the book. One boy I badgered had read the book and liked it. He said his sophomore English teacher “forced” him to read it, but once he got started he liked it. Of course I wanted to know what pulled him in. He said it was the conflict. We talked about how fathers and sons conflict just as moms and daughters sometimes do.
The young man was in the Filipino dance group, so he had to go perform. When he left, another gentleman came up. He said he’d never read The Joy Luck Club, but he was an avid reader. I asked him what was the last book he read, and he said Lord of the Flies.
We talked about the plot and stuff and then he left. I talked to teachers who read the book recently, too. I also talked to people who said they’d seen the movie but now plan to go read the book. All in all, I think I might have made some reading buddies.
