本書為美國華裔作家譚恩美(Amy Tan)成名作，已改編為電影【喜福會】。
　　這是難得一見以女性角度出發的影片，探討新舊時代交替中，女性在婚姻關係與母女互動中扮演的角色與地位。
　　劇中以四對母女作為發展主軸。故事從君在母親蘇過世後，替代母親坐上象徵爭取喜福會的麻將聚會開始，交疊回溯各人的命運。君自小被迫練琴，在肩負太多母親的期盼與壓力下，成為其長久的挫折來源。薇莉──天才棋手，因受不了母親林多到處炫耀而與林多產生衝突，進而長期與母親處於既愛又恨的矛盾情結中。而母親林多則回溯自己如何逃離童養媳的命運，開創自己新的人生。鶯鶯──第三對母女中的母親，因不堪丈夫的冷落與外遇，以淹死親生小孩為報復開場，終至協助女兒李娜了解婚姻之真諦。第四對母女中，母親安美則以其母親（即蘿絲的祖母）的故事──舊社會被強暴婦女如何在遭親人誤解唾棄的環境下苟延殘喘，來點醒女兒蘿絲夫妻間貴在互敬互愛，忍辱負重不見得能得到對方的垂憐。
　　In 1949 four Chinese women-drawn together by the shadow of their past-begin meeting in San Francisco to play mah jong, invest in stocks, eat dim sum, and ”say” stories. They call their gathering the Joy Luck Club. Nearly forty years later, one of the members has died, and her daughter has come to take her place, only to learn of her mother’s lifelong wish-and the tragic way in which it has come true. The revelation of this secret unleashes an urgent need among the women to reach back and remember... In this extraordinary first work of fiction, Amy Tan writes about what is lost-over the years, between generations, among friends-and what is saved.