Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

The first book at the top of my lengthy summer reading list was the notorious Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua.

And oh boy, let me tell you -- reading that book was like reliving my childhood all over again. In the sort of way where you look back and laugh nostalgically, "Oh ho ho ho, those were the days."

The part where Jed confronts Sophia about the teeth marks on the piano keys? Reminded my family of the time I got in trouble for carving "Sophelia Rules!" on the piano lid with an angry face etched next to my declaration.

The part where Lulu is pissed as hell at the Austrian violin teacher? Definitely recalled some high tension incidences with my second piano teacher, Mr. C, where we would both get so mad at each other that I would end up crying after class.

The part with the excerpt from Sophia's essay, "Conquering Juliet"? I played that Prokofiev piece just a few years ago and still remember the hours I spent trying to polish Juliet's voice in that piece.

While I think the book possessed a entertaining and quite readable narrative arc (I can't even imagine how I would write such a funny book about my childhood... or maybe it's only funny to me because I basically lived through it), I wasn't quite sold with the way the book wrapped up. News sources have already hurrahed how the eldest daughter Sophia (who I could relate to fairly well) is headed for Harvard this fall. I suspect Lulu might not reach the same level of success as Sophia, but time will tell.

In the end, I believe I turned out fine. Though I do think that the Chinese style is not for everyone, it worked for me.