The Joy Luck Club is structured like a mahjong game with 16 chapters divided among the stories of 3 immigrant Chinese mothers and their American-born daughters. It explores the complex relationship between the generations as the mothers try to understand their daughters raised in a different culture, and the daughters struggle to connect with their mothers' experiences. Key events include Suyuan Woo founding the Joy Luck Club after being widowed during war, and her daughter Jing-Mei taking her place in the club after her death.