tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6600022529355932646.post2769315054801304404..comments2024-01-29T10:10:55.378+00:00Comments on Bibliofreak.net - A Book Blog: Review: Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy ChuaMatthew Selwynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00723650905588749638noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6600022529355932646.post-18852427954705106492014-03-17T11:55:49.363+00:002014-03-17T11:55:49.363+00:00Hey Jasmine - thanks for stopping by and commentin...Hey Jasmine - thanks for stopping by and commenting. It certainly seems this book provokes some strong opinions!<br /><br />I'm not sure if your comment is more directed to previous commenters or the review itself. Hopefully, my review doesn't come off as judgmental about Chua's parenting techniques, because I tried to avoid that (mainly because it's covered elsewhere, and I didn't take the book as a serious parenting manual).<br /><br />As I say, I'm pretty removed from Chua's cultural background, so I can only comment from my own perspective: in no way an absolute judgement.Matthew Selwynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00723650905588749638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6600022529355932646.post-80208944960319103392014-03-09T09:35:30.290+00:002014-03-09T09:35:30.290+00:00This comment has been removed by the author.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17310108533780726502noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6600022529355932646.post-2090269716699567832012-05-13T22:09:14.035+01:002012-05-13T22:09:14.035+01:00No problem at all – I think this is one of those b...No problem at all – I think this is one of those books where it really helps to get other people's opinions; as you say, Chua's cultural background is pretty removed from my own, and so any insight I can glean from other reviewers can only help me understand where she is coming from.<br /><br />It sounds like to have quite a level-headed view of the book and I appreciate that. A lot of reviews I've read have become too focused on the reviewers personal views about child-rearing, and I think it's a mistake to approach a book review in that way. We all have different opinions, and it's a beautiful thing that we can share them – it's just not worth getting too hung up on the differences.<br /><br />Thanks for pointing out the violin / piano error – I'll check that out! Thanks.Matthew Selwynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00723650905588749638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6600022529355932646.post-76004509133048631422012-05-11T13:42:44.616+01:002012-05-11T13:42:44.616+01:00Thanks for coming over & reading my review of ...Thanks for coming over & reading my review of this book. i like your review - it is fair & professional & clearly states what is your viewpoint & acknowledges where others might differ from you.<br />Seeing as you have read my review already, i don't have to repeat here how i feel about the book.<br />i just wanted to say that i think you have to have similar cultural references to Chua to see her point of view & where she is coming from. The things she says in the book really have their roots in being Chinese more than being a mother so it does make it difficult for some to completely comprehend what she says.<br />And i really do believe that she is most definitely taking a laugh at herself with this book.<br />Is she out to make a quick buck? Maybe. Did she exaggerate the truth? Perhaps... but memory isn't at it's best 20/15 years after the events.<br />Thanks again for an interesting review & exchange of thoughts.<br />BTW, Lulu refused to play the piano at age 3 (she wasn't playing the violin till later) - just a little typo to update.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6600022529355932646.post-89679339811724416502012-04-30T11:55:17.101+01:002012-04-30T11:55:17.101+01:00I think you're right, when writing about your ...I think you're right, when writing about your own life you can only shine a light on certain elements. But for me, the elements which Chua drew out felt as though they were crafted for her purpose to me; all part of the overall marketing strategy. Still, that's completely my subjective and unfounded opinion :)<br /><br />I enjoyed your review, and thanks for returning the favour. I think perhaps I didn't appreciate or 'get' Chua's sense of humour. If the book was self-deprecating that past me by, bar her ambitions for the dogs.Matthew Selwynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00723650905588749638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6600022529355932646.post-21857442864268391032012-04-27T14:24:51.786+01:002012-04-27T14:24:51.786+01:00Interesting review, though I disagree with a lot o...Interesting review, though I disagree with a lot of it, in particular the complaints about economy with truth - as I mentioned in my own review (thanks for coming and reading it, by the way), it is rather impossible to not be economical with the truth in writing about one's own life, to whatever degree. You pick a particular aspect of it, and you can't go into every minute detail. Yes, this will mean a certain bias, but I think you have to take that as read with any memoir. (Not that I read many of those, so might be wrong.) <br /><br />I do agree that she has a somewhat condescending air, but I also see a lot of what might come across as condescending as actually being self-deprecating and laughing at her own attitude.Tasha Goddardhttp://www.wahm-bam.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6600022529355932646.post-75888231563446142002012-04-16T11:12:47.584+01:002012-04-16T11:12:47.584+01:00@ Andre M. Smith
You've certainly made a lot ...@ Andre M. Smith<br /><br />You've certainly made a lot of interesting points. I can't say I disagree with all of them, although some are beyond the realms of my knowledge to comment on.<br /><br />Clearly you've put a lot of thought into the problems, as you see them, with Chua's parenting style and her memoir. I wonder what it is about her that inspired you to such a detailed critique?<br /><br />Overall, some perceptive points. I'd be interested to hear other readers' responses to your views.Matthew Selwynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00723650905588749638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6600022529355932646.post-87472306243143289322012-04-16T11:06:28.411+01:002012-04-16T11:06:28.411+01:00@ Sam (Tiny Library)
Well this is certainly an ap...@ Sam (Tiny Library)<br /><br />Well this is certainly an approach that you probably don't come across too often, so it's an interesting insight from that point of view.<br /><br />No, it's an odd thing. Up until about half way through the book she just refers to her husband as 'Jed' and then all of a sudden it's Jed Rubenfield, acclaimed author. Really bizarre!Matthew Selwynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00723650905588749638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6600022529355932646.post-27903021427898066732012-04-13T19:04:12.691+01:002012-04-13T19:04:12.691+01:00Why is the art of music required to endure the ill...Why is the art of music required to endure the ill-informed antics of such inartistic imbeciles as Amy Chua? Her lust for fame as an old-fashioned stage mother of either a famous violinist (yet another mechanical Sarah Chang?) or a famous pianist (yet another mechanical Lang Lang?) shines through what she perceives as devotion to the cultivation of the cultural sensitivities of her two unfortunate daughters.<br /><br />Daughter Lulu at age 7 is unable to play compound rhythms from Jacques Ibert with both hands coordinated? Leonard Bernstein couldn’t conduct this at age 50! And he isn’t the only musician of achievement with this-or-that shortcoming. We all have our closets with doors that are not always fully opened.<br /><br />And why all this Chinese obsession unthinkingly dumped on violin and piano? What do the parents with such insistence know of violin and piano repertoire? Further, what do they know of the great body of literature for flute? For French horn? For organ? For trumpet? Usually, nothing!<br /><br />For pressure-driven (not professionally-driven!) parents like Amy Chua their children, with few exceptions, will remain little more than mechanical sidebars to the core of classical music as it’s practiced by musicians with a humanistic foundation.<br /><br />Professor Chua better be socking away a hefty psychoreserve fund in preparation for the care and feeding of her two little lambs once it becomes clear to them both just how empty and ill-defined with pseudo-thorough grounding their emphasis has been on so-called achievement.<br /><br />Read more about this widespread, continuing problem in Forbidden Childhood (N.Y., 1957) by Ruth Slenczynska.<br />________________________<br /><br />André M. Smith, Bach Mus, Mas Sci (Juilliard)<br />Diploma (Lenox Hill Hospital School of Respiratory Therapy)<br />Postgraduate studies in Human and Comparative Anatomy (Columbia University)<br />Formerly Bass Trombonist<br />The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra of New York,<br />Leopold Stokowski’s American Symphony Orchestra (Carnegie Hall),<br />The Juilliard Orchestra, Aspen Festival Orchestra, etc.Andre M. Smithnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6600022529355932646.post-53188496808059075552012-04-13T12:05:33.135+01:002012-04-13T12:05:33.135+01:00This does sound interesting even if only for spark...This does sound interesting even if only for sparking a debate. I'm not a parent myself but I'm a teacher who teaches quite young children and so I'm interested in parenting styles as I see a big range!<br /><br />I didn't know she was married to Jed Rubenfield...Sam (Tiny Library)https://www.blogger.com/profile/16375434438465319913noreply@blogger.com