Battle Hymn of The Tiger Mother

BOOK: Battle Hymn Of The Tiger Mother

AUTHOR: Amy Chua

GRADE: B

Battle Hymn of The Tiger Mother is part autobiography and part sociological case study. Amy Chau is a second generation Chinese immigrant; born here in the United States with parents off the boat from China with a life goal of raising stereotypical docile over-achieving Chinese children. Surprisingly, she married outside the race to a lovely (although seriously passive) Jewish man. However, his passivity allows her to raise (or abuse?) her children as she sees fit. Unfortunately for her two daughters, Sophia and LuLu, a little more involvement or intervention of their behalf from their father might have relieved some of the enormous pressure thrust upon them from Amy. In any event, no such intervention occurs and these two poor souls end up teaching their mother a lesson or two. In the end, Amy Chau is humbled by her 13 year old daughter LuLu and both are better off for it.

Battle Hymn of The Tiger Mother has come under a lot of fire from parents and members of the psychological community for its portrayal of Chau’s unorthodox child rearing methods. I must admit that many of her tactics struck a nerve with me, but she manages to write in a manner that allows us to sympathize with her even in her craziest moments. Deep down, her desires are simply for her children to grow up to be the best they can be – and, dammit, she won’t accept anything less. She makes haste to point out how much easier her own life could have been were she to sit back, eat bon bons and let her children run their own lives into the ground (this is, after all, what she thinks happens without her brand of parenting). While, I disagree with her tactics, I can see her love for her children throughout it all. And the reader simply can’t help but cheer for LuLu as she rebels against the pressure in all sorts incomprehensible (and incredibly inventive) ways.

In the end, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, gives us all something to think about in terms of how we were raised by our own parents and how we will turn around and raise our children. I know that I put down the book and sent my own mother a thank you note for allowing me to engage in all the generally accepted “western” rites of passage. While the writing isn’t fabulous; Amy Chua’s tale is an easy and intriguing read.