The Bonesetter's Daughter vs The Kitchen God's Wife: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Chinese American families, Chinese, Mothers and daughters, Domestic fiction, Fiction
The Bonesetter's Daughter
“These are the things I know are true: My name is LuLing Liu Young.”
LuLing Young is in her eighties, and finally beginning to feel the effects of old age. Trying to hold on to the evaporating past, she begins to write down all that she can remember of her life as a girl in China.…
vs
The Kitchen God's Wife
Winnie and Helen have kept each other's worst secrets for more than fifty years. Now, because she believes she is dying, Helen wants to expose everything. And Winnie angrily determines that she must be the one to tell…
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- The Bonesetter's Daughter is the quickest read — about 5 hours vs 8 for The Kitchen God's Wife.
- The Bonesetter's Daughter has the widest readership — 134329 ratings behind its score.
- The Kitchen God's Wife runs the darker storyline; The Bonesetter's Daughter stays the lighter read.
How to choose
Scores by source
| The Bonesetter's Daughter | The Kitchen God's Wife | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 4.0 (134329) | 4.0 (89951) |
| Hardcover | 3.7 (62) | 3.8 (48) |
| Google Books | 4.0 (9) | — |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (336) | 4.5 (316) |
Reception
| The Bonesetter's Daughter | The Kitchen God's Wife | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 134329 | 89951 |
| Editions | 47 | 56 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 61675 | 49219 |
| Reading it now | 2201 | 2468 |
| Written reviews | 4472 | 3199 |
| Wikipedia attention | 807 | 1023 |
| Pages | 316 | 479 |