Battle Hymn Of The Tiger Mom (2000) - Plot & Excerpts
The reviews are what prompted me to read it, her story & wit are what drew me in and kept me. I felt as if I was strangely both reliving my own childhood alongside glimpses of my own journey as a mother; constantly saying "Yep, my mom did that...oh, wait! I do that too!" I can see why so many people could be offended and shocked by her ways, but being raised by a 'chinese mother' myself, I totally related to and understood the madness. The end was a pleasant surprise. It gave me hope and better appreciation for what my mother, grandmother and possibly the women before them sacrificed for me and their own children. This book is ridiculous. 13 chapters in I decided that the book would have been more aptly titled, "101 Justifications for Robbing Your Children of their Own Lives". I am glad that this book was a gift and that I contributed no money to the author's well-being.The introduction states that this book was supposed to be, "A story about how Chinese parents are better at raising kids than Western ones" but in reality reads more like it is a chronological list of extreme stresses a mother puts on her family (the whole family, not just the children) to get the results the MOTHER desires for her children. Amy's defense is that an activity doesn't become fun until you are skilled at it, therefore a parents job is to ruthlessly force their children to practice tasks and activities that the children are not interested in so that OTHER people will eventually praise them (and, more importantly to the Chinese, the parents)enough to make up for it as though being successful in the eyes of others is enough to buy happiness.Amy claims that her husband was the selfish one for being concerned with his own dreams but in reality Amy is a control-freak and intent on forcing people in her life to fit the molds she imagines for them, even going as far as to tell lies to inspire fear in her children of activities that she didn't wish for them to do (such terrible things as: swimming in a lake?). The author's problems aren't with Western Parenting; They are with concepts like happiness, love, and enjoyment.
What do You think about Battle Hymn Of The Tiger Mom (2000)?
This book is enlightening humorous and nostalgic for some parts.
—Ayumu
4.5/5*This book deserves not less than 4 stars.
—Amy
Really interesting and a great story!
—Natedog22523
