Battle Hymn Of The Tiger Mother Book Review

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by American author Amy Chua is a work of nonfiction that had as its original intent exploring the differences between Western ways of parenting and the methods used by the Chinese. What emerged is a more of a work of self-examination about the author’s experiences raising her own two daughters. Chua talks of the rules that she followed in her child rearing practices such as requiring grades of “A” from her daughters, Sophia and Louisa, forbidding overnight visits with friends, and restricting them from participating in school productions. Chua accepts that her rules are strict, but at the same time they are common to Chinese mothers.

Sophia is the older of the two children. She is a quick learner and somewhat passive of personality. Chua, who has a Catholic religious background, and her Jewish husband Jed are raising their children in the Jewish faith. Sophia follows the rules well as she develops a questioning nature like her father and works well with her mother’s rote teaching methods. The younger girl, Louisa (called

Chua's voice is that of a jovial, erudite serial killer-think Hannibal Lecter-who's explaining how he's going to fillet his next victim, as though it's the most self-evidently normal behavior. That's the other gripping aspect of Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother: There's method to Chua's madness-enough method to stir up self-doubt in readers who subscribe to more nurturing parenting styles. Trust me, Battle Hymn is going to be a book club and parenting blog phenomenon; there will be fevered debate over Chua's tough love strategies, which include ironclad bans on such Western indulgences as sleepovers, play dates, and any extracurricular activities except practicing musical instruments ... which must be the violin or