What was the impact of The Joy Luck Club?

I think that the greatest impact of Tan's work was to
increase voice in the literary lexicon.  Tan's work increased awareness to what it meant
to be Chinese, Chinese- American, and helped to spawn the part of the literary
experience that spoke to Asian- Americans and the cultures from which their identity is
formed.  The work did much to increase voice in this
domain:

readability="10">

Reviewers have referred to the common sense with
which Tan writes about Chinese culture. Tan explores areas of Chinese life that most
other writers have not attempted. Many critics note that this novel, as well as others
Tan has written, stimulates cross-culture appreciation. Readers of all cultures are able
to be objective about their own predicaments while at the same time making connections
between themselves and Tan's Chinese
characters.

The bringing out
of Chinese culture, the issues of identity attached to it, and also to explore the
hyphenated American experience at the time was one of the most profound elements to
Tan's work.  It helped to impact society in a demonstrative way in that the increase of
voice was a result of the novel.