Drooping green leaf beside a single upright rust-colored thorn on woven cloth

Original artwork, not a still

The Kitchen God's Wife · 1991

Amy Tan

Whenever I’m with my mother, I feel as though I have to spend the whole time avoiding land mines.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

The speaker describes time with their mother as a constant exercise in caution, like stepping through a minefield. Any word or move might set off something painful, so vigilance never lets up. The comparison mixes dark humour with real strain in the relationship.

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