[1] The Kitchen God's Wife's story mirrors Tan's own: the tale of Pearl, the California-born daughter of Winnie, a Chinese immigrant who fled to America to escape an abusive traditional marriage and the turmoil of war.

The second part of the novel takes place in the lead-up to and during World War II, focusing on the lives of Chinese women under the Japanese occupation of China and the brutality inflicted on them by the occupying forces.

[4] The novel opens with the narrative voice of Pearl Louie Brandt, the American-born daughter of a Chinese mother and a Chinese-American father, living in San Jose, California.

Pearl's mother, Winnie Louie, has called her to request that she and her family come to San Francisco, to attend the engagement party of Bao-Bao, her cousin.

Later, Pearl receives another call from her mother telling her that her elderly Auntie Du has died, with her funeral being arranged for the day following Bao-Bao's party.

Nevertheless, when the time came, Winnie's aunts arranged a traditional marriage for her, and her father provided a large dowry, since he was an educated and well-established man.

The marriage to Wen Fu, who first courted Peanut but transferred his attentions to Winnie when he learned of her father's wealth, turned out to be a disaster.

Throughout her marriage, Winnie does many things behind the scenes that her husband takes credit for, and she likens her situation to a Chinese fable about a man who was horrible to his wife no matter how much she did for him, and yet still became known as "the Kitchen God".

Winnie names it "Lady Sorrowfree" the wife of the Kitchen God, who has endured all, received no credit for the work she has done, and is still strong.

The title is a reference to the forgotten wife of Zao Jun, or the Kitchen God, a figure whose story is similar to that of the novel's co-protagonist, Winnie.

[7] Tan explores the additional strains placed on the relationship between an immigrant mother and an American-born daughter, and the consequences this has on how their lives develop.

The novel was well accepted internationally, reaching The New York Times Best Seller list in the first month of its publication, remaining there for a total of thirty eight weeks.