The Big Read - Let's Talk About It

Earlier this summer we received a collection of audio CDs from the National Endowment of the Art’s 2007 The Big Read Program. The series discusses selected literary classics in order to promote community “reads” and discussions. I will listen to a different CD each week and share a few of my thought on the CD and book.

My first selection is title I read and enjoyed several years ago, The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan. The story focuses on the difficulties four Asian women experienced when the decided to move to America and the stories they left behind. The mothers/daughter relationship is especially poignant throughout this book. On the CD, Tan explains her relationship with her own mother and how it changed over the years. Samples of Chinese music and fables help the listener experience the Chinese culture.

The women discussed how their lives changed when they moved to America, focusing on the belief that their daughters could become anything in America. Tan also explores the the topic "What does it mean to be an American?" Freedom is the word that comes to my mind first. Thanks to our founding fathers, as an Americans we are free to express our different interests, talents and beliefs. Keeping with discussion facet of The Big Read, what does being an American mean to you?