After the success Tan enjoyed from her first novel, the challenge of releasing a second novel was daunting. The much-anticipated publication of The Kitchen God's Wife, captured the attention of readers and critics alike. Response was overwhelmingly positive as readers found themselves swept up in the drama and detailed storytelling that had made The Joy Luck Club so impressive.

While critics can be harsh on authors whose second books are noticeably weaker than their first, reviewers declared The Kitchen God's Wife at least as good as The Joy Luck Club. In fact, Wendy Law- Yone of Washington Post Book World declared The Kitchen God's Wife "bigger, bolder, and, I have to say, better" than Tan's first novel. Similarly, Pico Iyer of Time commented that "Tan has transcended herself again." In Women's Review of Books, critic Helen Yglesias expressed her certainty that "readers who loved the first...