Each of the sections of the novel opens with a story of a Chinese woman with an American-born daughter in a different stage of life. Like the woman in these stories, the mothers fail to communicate with their daughters. Because the daughters speak little Chinese and the mothers speak limited English, they must “translate” what they hear, which fails to include the subtleties and inner meanings inherent to language. Miscommunication and misunderstandings result and often cause hurt feelings.

The mothers and daughters are separated by difference of culture, meaning customs, traditions, social constructs, and ways of thinking. The mothers grew up in a much more socially stratified country with strong emphasis on familial ties. The daughters grew up in a more socially mobile country with emphasis on individuality. This sets them up for clashes in what is desirable behavior with inevitable anger and resentment on both sides.

This is a classic immigrant dilemma: The mothers want their daughters to have greater opportunities in America and to be free to make their own life choices, but when faced with the reality of how this looks, they become distressed. They want daughters who have “American opportunities, but Chinese values.” While their daughters are young, this seems impossible.