Finally reading ‘The Kitchen God’s Wife’

This Week’s Winner

Alma Clarice Santiago, 26, graduated from De La Salle University with degrees in Literature and Psychology and is currently managing their family food business. She writes essays and poems, and loves watching movies, traveling and exploring new places and cultures.

For many years, it lurked in my room.
Always misplaced, but never gone or forgotten. The Kitchen God’s Wife was given to me as a gift when I was in my early teenage years along with many other books, but it was the only one that I just never considered reading. For some reason, it just did not seem to interest me and so there it was – kept without a purpose.

After many years though, I suddenly had the urge to find it. Perhaps deep within I had some looming curiosities that needed an answer. Finally, after a decade, I held it once again. I started reading with a great sense of curiosity, at first not so much about the story, but more about author Amy Tan’s style. As the story progressed, I found myself immersed in Chinese culture, absorbed in the characters, and excited about how the story would turn out in the end. When I finished, the style that I thought I was looking for didn’t matter. I simply knew that I was deeply moved by the story and that it was written with such fine detail and elegance.

The book taught me a lot about Chinese culture and traditions, at the same time made me further realize the richness of the Asian heritage. On the side, it was like learning about history without knowing it because of its subtle integration in the event that happened in the lives of the characters.

The crux of the story is revealed when the mother of Pearl (who is the main protagonist) begins unveiling her past and all its secrets. That past is recounted with significant events in history like the onset of communism in China and the Second World War.

The Kitchen God’s Wife is shaped by the story of Pearl’s mother Weili, who shares her sad childhood experiences and her bitter and tragic life with her first husband, Wen Fu. Her narration explains the relationships of the people within her family, as well as the reason why she has become a protective and strong person. Weili’s story reveals some deep secrets she kept hidden from Pearl as an effort to spare her daughter from knowing that her father is not the man she fondly calls her dad. But that her real father is the man who caused her mother sorrow and the person that her mother hated so much – Wen Fu.

It is through Weili’s revelations that each character is explained and their lives defined. In the end, the story somehow makes us realize that the past and its ghosts cannot be kept hidden because one way or another they would scream to be recognized, and secrets cannot really be hidden because our lives are intertwined with our roots and they affect our future. Another essential point The Kitchen God’s Wife opens is the depth of a woman’s love and the ultimate sacrifices she could make, as well as the distance she would go to survive and protect her child.

The characters are so alive that I see them in my midst. The strong character of Weili and her being a good mother, as well as her being a martyr of sorts, reminds me of the mothers who defy everything to protect their children and give them the best life they could. Sometimes I could never fathom the depth of their love and how much more they are willing to give. These women are so strong that they seem to be able to bear any challenge or adversity, but at the same time, it’s a wonder how – in spite of being tough – they allow themselves to become martyrs.

The vileness of Wen Fu is evident in real life, in men who take no interest in anything other than themselves, men who care only for their own survival. There are Weilis and Wen Fus around us, and sometimes they live within us. We could easily relate to the voices in the novel, maybe because we are Asians and we see how our lives are similar to theirs in some ways.

After reading the book, I figured why it took a long time for me to take interest in it. It was as if it had waited for me to learn about life itself, so I could truly appreciate it and understand it better.