Amy Tan- "Half and Half"

I have read many of Amy Tan's writings, and I must say she is a very important spokesperson for the dynamics of the Chinese-American family that has immigrated to the U.S.. The children acclimate to their new environment much easier than the elders of the family This puts a huge strain on all the family members involved. This is a recurrent theme in her writings. 
The story we read this week by Amy Tan was titled Half and Half. On the surface this story is about a young woman who is going through a divorce, and her hesitancy to share with her mother for fear of reprisal. If you look deeper though, you see a story about faith, fate, and the stressed relationship between a mother and a daughter who might as well be worlds apart. Through the story within the story about the tragic death of the main characters younger brother while on an outing to the seaside we are able to clearly define the moment the mother loses her faith. She tries everything she can think of to try and bring her boy back from the ocean. She tries christian prayer, oriental mysticism, and it isn't until the inner tube she has thrown into the water is pulverized by the rocks and waves that she finally gives up and goes home. From then on, her little bible can be seen under the too short table leg which to an outsider is seen as sacrilegious and strange, but even now after all the years she still makes sure the bible is clean and free of dust. Perhaps this is a symbol of the last vestiges of hope the mother has. I think deep down somewhere the mother still has some modicum of faith, however small, that keeps her going, and this little, white bible reminds her of this fact.