"Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother' by Amy Chua

To me, this was a very fascinating read. The subtitle is: This is a story about a mother, two daughters, and two dogs. This was supposed to be a story of how Chinese parents are better at raising kids than Western ones. But instead, it's about a bitter clash of cultures, a fleeting taste of glory, and how I was humbled by a thirteen-year-old.


Amy Chua decided to raise her daughters "Chinese style". Meaning, they would always be indebted to their parents, they would never have any free time, never watch tv, have a sleepover, or settle for second anything. Not surprisingly, both daughters became masterful musicians and got straight A's One daughter even played piano in Carnegie Hall at age 15. The author talks about how Western parents raise their children and how she consciously made choices that were the stark opposite of what a Western parent would do. This book has some self-deprecating humour in it, and parts of it felt very tongue-in-cheek, self-mocking almost. Ultimately, Chua knows that she was pushing her kids beyond what Western society would deem acceptable, but she didn't care, did it anyway, and is proud of what her & her daughters accomplished.