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492 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
2050 people are currently reading
21011 people want to read
About the author
Amy Tan
109?books10.9k?followersAmy Tan (Chinese: 譚恩美; pinyin: Tán ?nměi; born February 19, 1952) is an American writer whose novels include The Joy Luck Club, The Kitchen God’s Wife, The Hundred Secret Senses, The Bonesetter’s Daughter, Saving Fish From Drowing, and The Valley of Amazement. She is the author of two memoirs, The Opposite of Fate and Where the Past Begins. Her two children’s books are The Chinese Siamese Cat and The Moon Lady. She is also the co-screenwriter of the film adaptation of The Joy Luck, the librettist of the opera The Bonesetter’s Daughter, and the creative consultant to the PBS animated series Sagwa the Chinese Chinese Cat.
Tan is an instructor with MasterClass on writing, memory and imagination. She is featured in the American Masters documentary Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir. She was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters and recently received the National Humanities Medal. She serves on the board of American Bird Conservancy.
Her forthcoming book The Backyard Bird Chronicles began as a journal in 2016, when she turned to nature for calm. She also began taking drawing classes with John Muir Laws (The Laws Guide to Nature Journaling and Drawing, and The Laws Guide to Drawing Birds). During the pandemic shutdown, she drew birds only in her backyard, documenting behaviors she found puzzling. Over time she identified 64 species of birds that have visited her backyard in Marin County. By 2022, she had more than nine journals of sketches and notes, which her editor at Knopf suggested she publish. The book, which will be released in April 2024, has already received high praise:
“Much of great writing comes from great interest, and in The Backyard Bird Chronicles, Amy Tan shows us how the world fascinates her, especially the birds. The result is both unexpected and spectacular.”
—Ann Patchett, author of These Precious Days
“What an enchanting and illuminating book! How lucky for us that Amy Tan has turned her genius, her deep empathy and insight, her keen eye for what is telling, to birds. Every page of these chronicles radiates warm curiosity, wonder, and delight.”
—Jennifer Ackerman, The Genius of Birds
“This is one of the most infectious and convincing books about nature I’ve read. For the bird-watcher, the would-be bird-watcher, or for the bird-watching skeptic, this offers great delight and unexpected intrigue. Through Tan’s ecstatic eyes, what could be a dry treatise on ornithological happenings becomes something far more fun and much more profound. It’s really a book about seeing.”
—Dave Eggers, author of Ungrateful Mammals
“Anybody even mildly interested in birds, or thinking about getting interested in birds (which are, after all, the indicator genus for the health of the planet), will want this book perched on their shelf, if only for the gift of Amy Tan’s eye and the example she gives us of how to pay attention. What a treasure.”
—Robert Hass, Pulitzer Prize-Winning author of Summer Snow: New Poems
“Backyard Bird Chronicles is fun reading. It shows how we can become engaged emotionally, literally and artistically with the natural world—to joyfully learn about the most accessible and yet wild animals, the often rare and beautiful birds that choose to come and live near and sometimes with us.”
—Bernd Heinrich, author of Mind of the Raven
“With this book as your guide, embark into the bird world Amy Tan. This is an intimate view, a sort-of love affair with the birds and their behavior, that Amy has come to know over several years. Within the leafy universe of her own backyard, she has quietly beheld, patiently observed, and taken in-depth notations of an extensive array of bird species. In colorful detail, she describes various bird’s behavior, while capturing their beauty in exquisitely rendered illustrations. Species include fearsome predators and watchful prey, long distance migrants and hometown residents. Through her unique insight and gift as an author and
Tan is an instructor with MasterClass on writing, memory and imagination. She is featured in the American Masters documentary Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir. She was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters and recently received the National Humanities Medal. She serves on the board of American Bird Conservancy.
Her forthcoming book The Backyard Bird Chronicles began as a journal in 2016, when she turned to nature for calm. She also began taking drawing classes with John Muir Laws (The Laws Guide to Nature Journaling and Drawing, and The Laws Guide to Drawing Birds). During the pandemic shutdown, she drew birds only in her backyard, documenting behaviors she found puzzling. Over time she identified 64 species of birds that have visited her backyard in Marin County. By 2022, she had more than nine journals of sketches and notes, which her editor at Knopf suggested she publish. The book, which will be released in April 2024, has already received high praise:
“Much of great writing comes from great interest, and in The Backyard Bird Chronicles, Amy Tan shows us how the world fascinates her, especially the birds. The result is both unexpected and spectacular.”
—Ann Patchett, author of These Precious Days
“What an enchanting and illuminating book! How lucky for us that Amy Tan has turned her genius, her deep empathy and insight, her keen eye for what is telling, to birds. Every page of these chronicles radiates warm curiosity, wonder, and delight.”
—Jennifer Ackerman, The Genius of Birds
“This is one of the most infectious and convincing books about nature I’ve read. For the bird-watcher, the would-be bird-watcher, or for the bird-watching skeptic, this offers great delight and unexpected intrigue. Through Tan’s ecstatic eyes, what could be a dry treatise on ornithological happenings becomes something far more fun and much more profound. It’s really a book about seeing.”
—Dave Eggers, author of Ungrateful Mammals
“Anybody even mildly interested in birds, or thinking about getting interested in birds (which are, after all, the indicator genus for the health of the planet), will want this book perched on their shelf, if only for the gift of Amy Tan’s eye and the example she gives us of how to pay attention. What a treasure.”
—Robert Hass, Pulitzer Prize-Winning author of Summer Snow: New Poems
“Backyard Bird Chronicles is fun reading. It shows how we can become engaged emotionally, literally and artistically with the natural world—to joyfully learn about the most accessible and yet wild animals, the often rare and beautiful birds that choose to come and live near and sometimes with us.”
—Bernd Heinrich, author of Mind of the Raven
“With this book as your guide, embark into the bird world Amy Tan. This is an intimate view, a sort-of love affair with the birds and their behavior, that Amy has come to know over several years. Within the leafy universe of her own backyard, she has quietly beheld, patiently observed, and taken in-depth notations of an extensive array of bird species. In colorful detail, she describes various bird’s behavior, while capturing their beauty in exquisitely rendered illustrations. Species include fearsome predators and watchful prey, long distance migrants and hometown residents. Through her unique insight and gift as an author and
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,149 reviews
December 1, 2009
The Hundred Secret Senses is now one of my favorite Amy Tan novels, rivaled only by The Bonesetter's Daughter. Yes, I love The Joy Luck Club, The Kitchen God's Wife and Saving Fish From Drowning - I love any Tan story I come across - but The Hundred Secret Senses (along with TBD) really stand out.
Olivia, the narrator, is the American-born daughter of a Chinese man and an American woman. When her father is on his deathbed, he reveals to his wife that he left behind a daughter in China, and asks her to retrieve the daughter. Enter Kwan, Olivia's older half-sister who believes that she has "yin eyes" and can see and speak to ghosts.
Olivia struggles her whole life to ignore and dismiss Kwan's superstitions until her marriage is crumbling and she, her estranged husband and her sister find themselves on a trip to China together. The ending is extremely poignant without being cheesy or unrealistic. Tan plumbs the depths of issues like life and death, reincarnation, history, soul ties, relationships and culture in this story, and I ate it up.
Olivia, the narrator, is the American-born daughter of a Chinese man and an American woman. When her father is on his deathbed, he reveals to his wife that he left behind a daughter in China, and asks her to retrieve the daughter. Enter Kwan, Olivia's older half-sister who believes that she has "yin eyes" and can see and speak to ghosts.
Olivia struggles her whole life to ignore and dismiss Kwan's superstitions until her marriage is crumbling and she, her estranged husband and her sister find themselves on a trip to China together. The ending is extremely poignant without being cheesy or unrealistic. Tan plumbs the depths of issues like life and death, reincarnation, history, soul ties, relationships and culture in this story, and I ate it up.
March 27, 2019
??Me ha encantado!!! Y lo he devorado... ?NO podía parar de leer!
La historia sigue a Olivia y Kwan, dos medio hermanas. Olivia, nacida en Norteamerica pero de padre Chino conoce a Kwan cuando tiene 6 a?os y su hermana 18. ?sta ejerce en cierta manera de madre y ni?era, Kwan le habla de todos los fantasmas que ve gracias a sus ojos Yin, y le cuenta sus historias, así Olivia acaba aprendiendo chino y Kwan inglés, y al mismo tiempo establecen una relación extra?a y compleja que las acompa?ará toda su vida.
El estilo de Amy Tan me fascina, esa amalgama entre realidad y ficción, ese tono de realismo mágico cargado de leyendas y costumbres Chinas, la mezcla cultural Oriente/Occidente... En fin, este libro ya lo había leído pero hace tanto que no recordaba absolutamente nada, y lo he disfrutado enormemente.
Kwan es un personaje que creo que no voy a olvidar, se ha colado en mi corazón, me ha hecho reír y sonreír demasiadas veces, es tan entra?able, dulce y maravillosa... FAN.
Cierto es que Olivia a veces me sacaba de quicio, pero es comprensible por la situación que estaba pasando...
Lectura super recomendable que aunque me ha dejado muy melancólica, he disfrutado infinitamente.
La historia sigue a Olivia y Kwan, dos medio hermanas. Olivia, nacida en Norteamerica pero de padre Chino conoce a Kwan cuando tiene 6 a?os y su hermana 18. ?sta ejerce en cierta manera de madre y ni?era, Kwan le habla de todos los fantasmas que ve gracias a sus ojos Yin, y le cuenta sus historias, así Olivia acaba aprendiendo chino y Kwan inglés, y al mismo tiempo establecen una relación extra?a y compleja que las acompa?ará toda su vida.
El estilo de Amy Tan me fascina, esa amalgama entre realidad y ficción, ese tono de realismo mágico cargado de leyendas y costumbres Chinas, la mezcla cultural Oriente/Occidente... En fin, este libro ya lo había leído pero hace tanto que no recordaba absolutamente nada, y lo he disfrutado enormemente.
Kwan es un personaje que creo que no voy a olvidar, se ha colado en mi corazón, me ha hecho reír y sonreír demasiadas veces, es tan entra?able, dulce y maravillosa... FAN.
Cierto es que Olivia a veces me sacaba de quicio, pero es comprensible por la situación que estaba pasando...
Lectura super recomendable que aunque me ha dejado muy melancólica, he disfrutado infinitamente.
December 21, 2021
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May 26, 2015
Let me start off by saying that I LOVE Kwan! Her voice and self-assurance makes her cool, "Oh Libby-ah! I tell you secret. Promise not tell?" And then later in the book she becomes even cooler! A fifty year old lady crawling through caves. I can picture her saying, "We hakka strong! Don't worry me Libby-ah. I be right back!" :) I think a movie would be great! It has suspense, mystery, romance, death, ghosts! Not to mention the amazing visuals detailed in the story.
My only criticism is that Olivia's character annoyed me several times. Especially when she is in China. "They don't have electricity?!? They don't have a bathroom inside the house?!? I have to eat that?!? They don't have something normal prepared for me I can eat?!?" That kind of thing. It's like she's saying, "This stuff might be good enough for you Chinese people, but you guys are crazy!" I understand that she learns from her China trip, and she grows out of her shell, but I feel like she should have known anyway. After all, she's been hearing Kwan's stories of China almost all her life. You think she would have learned by now that they don't have much to American standards. Also, her way of thinking is always about her, her, her. I don't think she stops once to think outside herself, what it must have been like for Kwan when she lived there, or what it must be like for her family that still lived there.
But getting over that fact, the story really is quite marvelous. :)
My only criticism is that Olivia's character annoyed me several times. Especially when she is in China. "They don't have electricity?!? They don't have a bathroom inside the house?!? I have to eat that?!? They don't have something normal prepared for me I can eat?!?" That kind of thing. It's like she's saying, "This stuff might be good enough for you Chinese people, but you guys are crazy!" I understand that she learns from her China trip, and she grows out of her shell, but I feel like she should have known anyway. After all, she's been hearing Kwan's stories of China almost all her life. You think she would have learned by now that they don't have much to American standards. Also, her way of thinking is always about her, her, her. I don't think she stops once to think outside herself, what it must have been like for Kwan when she lived there, or what it must be like for her family that still lived there.
But getting over that fact, the story really is quite marvelous. :)
April 23, 2023
“… the senses that are related to primitive instincts , what humans had before their brains developed language and the higher functions--the ability to equivocate, make excuses, and lie. Spine chills and musky scents, goose bumps and blushing cheeks--those are the vocabulary of the secret senses. I think.”
You know a story is well crafted when you sit down to summarize it and it seems impossible.
It’s about Olivia, growing up in San Francisco, meeting her half-sister Kwan who comes from China to live with the family after Olivia’s father dies.
But it’s really about Kwan, who has yin eyes, meaning she sees ghosts, and tells endless stories to Olivia about her past lives and what people from those lives are saying to her now.
So it’s about sisters? No. Families? Not really. China? Yes, some. The spirit world? Sort of.
Connections. I’d say it’s about connections, of all kinds, reaching into a possibly limitless shared past.
Olivia is the narrator, and she has some issues. Her father died when she was very young, and her relationship with her mother is wanting. She holds grudges. She finds fault. She can be selfish and nervous and frankly, annoying.
Kwan, by comparison, is a dream--for the reader, but not for Olivia. While they’re growing up, she embarrasses Olivia all the time. But she only wants to be her big sister, to share her knowledge, to warn her about things. It’s Kwan’s voice that carries this novel, with the stories from the past she is constantly weaving into every conversation, and with the wisdom she has gained from the ghosts she sees with her yin eyes. And always with humor.
“…in Yin World, no need save time. Everything already too late!”
While I was reading this, during one of those little challenges life throws at us, I thought of my mother and my grandmother. Call me what you like, but I felt them around me, sort of bolstering me. Our past has the power to do that I think, in many ways.
I really enjoyed this story that explores how that can work, how the connections we make, the stories we live, stay around, supporting us, and helping us through.
You know a story is well crafted when you sit down to summarize it and it seems impossible.
It’s about Olivia, growing up in San Francisco, meeting her half-sister Kwan who comes from China to live with the family after Olivia’s father dies.
But it’s really about Kwan, who has yin eyes, meaning she sees ghosts, and tells endless stories to Olivia about her past lives and what people from those lives are saying to her now.
So it’s about sisters? No. Families? Not really. China? Yes, some. The spirit world? Sort of.
Connections. I’d say it’s about connections, of all kinds, reaching into a possibly limitless shared past.
Olivia is the narrator, and she has some issues. Her father died when she was very young, and her relationship with her mother is wanting. She holds grudges. She finds fault. She can be selfish and nervous and frankly, annoying.
Kwan, by comparison, is a dream--for the reader, but not for Olivia. While they’re growing up, she embarrasses Olivia all the time. But she only wants to be her big sister, to share her knowledge, to warn her about things. It’s Kwan’s voice that carries this novel, with the stories from the past she is constantly weaving into every conversation, and with the wisdom she has gained from the ghosts she sees with her yin eyes. And always with humor.
“…in Yin World, no need save time. Everything already too late!”
While I was reading this, during one of those little challenges life throws at us, I thought of my mother and my grandmother. Call me what you like, but I felt them around me, sort of bolstering me. Our past has the power to do that I think, in many ways.
I really enjoyed this story that explores how that can work, how the connections we make, the stories we live, stay around, supporting us, and helping us through.
February 7, 2014
Pablo Picasso also had his periods: African, Blue, Cubism, Modern, Rose and Analytic cubism.
And so have I. Have periods: Russian, Jewish, American, Middle-East, African, you name it.
One of my favorites is Amy Tan. Amy Tan-Period. This one is lasting a few years now and most of her books have a central theme: mothers and daughters. Amy Tan did not have a good relationship with her mother, or grandmother, for that matter. It could have been different if she had children of her own to really understood how mothers' minds worked( and find some closure for herself). So with this opinion in mind, I indulge in her books. And I always find what I am expecting: rich, informative, compassionate tales on Chinese culture, the family relationships, the cultural modus operandi, and the endearing characters filling up the spaces in the stories. Of course, there are always subtle cat-scratching and kitty yowling like alley cats on garbage night, raging throughout her tale, ripping any notion of womanly bonding apart. The women seldom love or even like each other, but there is always something strong keeping them connected. It becomes the mainstay of all her books.
Five-year-old American-born, Olivia Lee suddenly meets her Chinese half sister, K wan Li, from the Chanmian village in the Thistle mountains, China. She brings her dreams, ghosts, myths and messages with her, bombarding Olivia in her sleep. A love-hate relationship develops over a period of thirty years, with K wan, who calls a spade a spade in any situation, including Olivia's separation from her husband, Simon. Kwan becomes larger than life, interfering in everything Olivia does. Love and bonding is mainly one-sided with Olivia always trying to keep a physical, as well as emotional distance between herself and K wan. She becomes used to K wan not minding her own business, keeping on top of practically every move Olivia makes.
However, K wan sees what Olivia doesn't and she's patient with her little sister. During a visit to China, K wan opens up about her personal feelings for the first time (feelings that Olivia never cared much about).
The story is told with subtle wit, humor, endearment, and compassion, particularly the relationship between the two bubbly, sprightly sisters and their shared history of thousands of years. Two family secret are included. The prose, always, and alone, inspires me to stick to Amy Tan's books. The stories are always both heart wrenching and gripping. Both lugubriousness and buoyant. I have never read a book of Amy Tan in which I did not feel like family in the end.
In this book, love is a central theme and presented in prose of pride.
Love, not romance, snakes through the narrative from beginning to end. "Too much happiness always overflows into tears of sorrow". But distant, emotionally-challenged Olivia will finally understand her own history, with a few unexpected surprises in the works, the role of her sister, and the real meaning of hope and love, when she gets to know the Chinese connection in her own life and her bond with some of the characters in K wan Li's dreams and visions.
My Amy Tan-period comes to an end with this book. It is almost as though a blueprint was used for all of them and ensured predictability in the pattern it followed. I did find this book a faster read, with lighter, and more humorous moments than the others.
Similarities:
The main character is the same than in the other books, with similar issues;
The mothers are as bad as all the rest of the mothers in her books, with antagonism ruling the relationship from the daughter's side;
There is always a broken relationship in America that needs to be patched up, etc.
So, it gets a bit déjà vue.
The suspense is created in the reincarnation and paranormal aspects of it. She never loses control over the characters. It is still an enjoyable, entertaining read and certainly worth the time to venture of into the mystical world of Chinese culture, folklore and village life. I just love that aspect of her books. This book did not disappoint. However, I had enough of ghosts and reincarnation for a while, though, and in any book for that matter. But yes, I enjoyed it.
And so have I. Have periods: Russian, Jewish, American, Middle-East, African, you name it.
One of my favorites is Amy Tan. Amy Tan-Period. This one is lasting a few years now and most of her books have a central theme: mothers and daughters. Amy Tan did not have a good relationship with her mother, or grandmother, for that matter. It could have been different if she had children of her own to really understood how mothers' minds worked( and find some closure for herself). So with this opinion in mind, I indulge in her books. And I always find what I am expecting: rich, informative, compassionate tales on Chinese culture, the family relationships, the cultural modus operandi, and the endearing characters filling up the spaces in the stories. Of course, there are always subtle cat-scratching and kitty yowling like alley cats on garbage night, raging throughout her tale, ripping any notion of womanly bonding apart. The women seldom love or even like each other, but there is always something strong keeping them connected. It becomes the mainstay of all her books.
Five-year-old American-born, Olivia Lee suddenly meets her Chinese half sister, K wan Li, from the Chanmian village in the Thistle mountains, China. She brings her dreams, ghosts, myths and messages with her, bombarding Olivia in her sleep. A love-hate relationship develops over a period of thirty years, with K wan, who calls a spade a spade in any situation, including Olivia's separation from her husband, Simon. Kwan becomes larger than life, interfering in everything Olivia does. Love and bonding is mainly one-sided with Olivia always trying to keep a physical, as well as emotional distance between herself and K wan. She becomes used to K wan not minding her own business, keeping on top of practically every move Olivia makes.
However, K wan sees what Olivia doesn't and she's patient with her little sister. During a visit to China, K wan opens up about her personal feelings for the first time (feelings that Olivia never cared much about).
The story is told with subtle wit, humor, endearment, and compassion, particularly the relationship between the two bubbly, sprightly sisters and their shared history of thousands of years. Two family secret are included. The prose, always, and alone, inspires me to stick to Amy Tan's books. The stories are always both heart wrenching and gripping. Both lugubriousness and buoyant. I have never read a book of Amy Tan in which I did not feel like family in the end.
In this book, love is a central theme and presented in prose of pride.
Love, not romance, snakes through the narrative from beginning to end. "Too much happiness always overflows into tears of sorrow". But distant, emotionally-challenged Olivia will finally understand her own history, with a few unexpected surprises in the works, the role of her sister, and the real meaning of hope and love, when she gets to know the Chinese connection in her own life and her bond with some of the characters in K wan Li's dreams and visions.
My Amy Tan-period comes to an end with this book. It is almost as though a blueprint was used for all of them and ensured predictability in the pattern it followed. I did find this book a faster read, with lighter, and more humorous moments than the others.
Similarities:
The main character is the same than in the other books, with similar issues;
The mothers are as bad as all the rest of the mothers in her books, with antagonism ruling the relationship from the daughter's side;
There is always a broken relationship in America that needs to be patched up, etc.
So, it gets a bit déjà vue.
The suspense is created in the reincarnation and paranormal aspects of it. She never loses control over the characters. It is still an enjoyable, entertaining read and certainly worth the time to venture of into the mystical world of Chinese culture, folklore and village life. I just love that aspect of her books. This book did not disappoint. However, I had enough of ghosts and reincarnation for a while, though, and in any book for that matter. But yes, I enjoyed it.
October 15, 2023
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March 12, 2024
Amy Tan takes a hard right in The Hundred Secret Senses, departing her examination of the mother/daughter dynamic to explore the slip-stream of sisterhood.
Olivia is six years old when we meet, a resident of Northern California and the only daughter of a bi-racial couple from whom she yearns for more attention. In what certainly qualifies as her youthful worst-case scenario, her immigrant father is discovered to have sired another, older daughter the family agrees to transport from China and raise. Kwan is an eccentric being, filled with unaccountable love, and claims to possess "yin eyes" - soon understood as the ability to see and converse with the spirits of the dead. Olivia's resentment of this usurper turns swiftly to disdain and, eventually, juvenile cruelty - committing, upon one unfortunate occasion, a serious lapse in judgment that sends Kwan into a facility where she receives enough electroshock therapy to alter the composition of her hair.
Decades pass, and while Olivia ages, matriculates, marries, for some unknown reason she never quite matures - leaving me, as the reader she is narrating to, completely uninterested in most of what she thinks or has to say. Tan, as she is accustomed to do, finds the means to return to China and Kwan's (now reincarnational) past, seeking the same sort of historical resolution to the conflict of her characters' present day.
I liked Kwan very much. When Olivia allowed it. Which was annoying.
Olivia is six years old when we meet, a resident of Northern California and the only daughter of a bi-racial couple from whom she yearns for more attention. In what certainly qualifies as her youthful worst-case scenario, her immigrant father is discovered to have sired another, older daughter the family agrees to transport from China and raise. Kwan is an eccentric being, filled with unaccountable love, and claims to possess "yin eyes" - soon understood as the ability to see and converse with the spirits of the dead. Olivia's resentment of this usurper turns swiftly to disdain and, eventually, juvenile cruelty - committing, upon one unfortunate occasion, a serious lapse in judgment that sends Kwan into a facility where she receives enough electroshock therapy to alter the composition of her hair.
Decades pass, and while Olivia ages, matriculates, marries, for some unknown reason she never quite matures - leaving me, as the reader she is narrating to, completely uninterested in most of what she thinks or has to say. Tan, as she is accustomed to do, finds the means to return to China and Kwan's (now reincarnational) past, seeking the same sort of historical resolution to the conflict of her characters' present day.
I liked Kwan very much. When Olivia allowed it. Which was annoying.
September 29, 2018
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February 3, 2016
I would have given this five stars but for a few things that annoyed me. Simon's sterility didn't ring true and Kwan's constant good humor was a bit grating.
Otherwise very, very entertaining!
Otherwise very, very entertaining!
April 18, 2012
It's the same basic Amy Tan plot. The details have changed, but the essence of the story is exactly the same as every other Tan book I've read. In this case, though, not only does the narrator have mommy issues, she also has older-sister-from-China issues.
Basically, I got bored. I've read most of Tan's novels and have realized that she has a template. She found a formula that worked in The Joy Luck Club and hasn't really changed it since then.
1. Female main character.
2. She's caught between two worlds (China and America) and two or more generations. As a result, she doesn't communicate well with others. She's aloof, she comes across as cold, and she's constricted by guilt.
3. This inability to communicate affects all of her relationships. Various aspects of her life fall apart around her (e.g., loses her job, gets divorced, becomes alienated from her family).
4. She finds some level of understanding and compassion.
5. Hug. We're done.
This method of novel-writing is lazy and unfulfilling. Tan found what worked for her readers and hasn't grown as a writer or storyteller.
Basically, I got bored. I've read most of Tan's novels and have realized that she has a template. She found a formula that worked in The Joy Luck Club and hasn't really changed it since then.
1. Female main character.
2. She's caught between two worlds (China and America) and two or more generations. As a result, she doesn't communicate well with others. She's aloof, she comes across as cold, and she's constricted by guilt.
3. This inability to communicate affects all of her relationships. Various aspects of her life fall apart around her (e.g., loses her job, gets divorced, becomes alienated from her family).
4. She finds some level of understanding and compassion.
5. Hug. We're done.
This method of novel-writing is lazy and unfulfilling. Tan found what worked for her readers and hasn't grown as a writer or storyteller.
February 9, 2017
I read The Joy Luck Club years ago (after watching the movie), and now I’m kicking myself that I’ve let years and years pass before picking up her other novels. I could’ve been treasuring these books all along, but maybe this is a blessing in disguise, because Amy Tan’s novels require a certain type of womanly maturity to fully appreciate her stories that can only come with age and experience. In fact, I think I should re-read TJLC because there are probably lots of subtle things that went right over my head. Ahh, the joys of being a na?ve teenager.
Anyhoo, The Hundred Secret Senses is told from the POV of a half-Chinese American woman named Olivia, who lives in CA, is estranged from her husband, has very little appreciation for her older half sister from China, and goes on a trip with the two of them back to her sister’s hometown of Changmian.
I overly simplified the book, but basically it’s a story about a woman at a crossroads in her life who is teeming on the edge of bitterness and ingratitude, but is also in self denial about this. She’s actively pretending that she has no problem with divorcing her husband after 17 years of marriage, and is choosing not to open up to her loving and nurturing sister Kwan, despite the fact that Kwan has been more like a warm and affectionate mother to her than her own biological mother has ever been.
I gave Amy Tan an extra star just for writing the character Kwan the way she did. Kwan’s warmth and positivity, her never ending love and forgiveness toward her family, coupled with her firm belief in herself and humble confidence is awe inspiring. My heart ached as I stayed up late last night, flipping through page after page of Kwan’s story, past life and present. I would give almost anything to have a sister like her, or just a relative like her. She’s the symbol of what has been missing in my life since I was born, so it was a little difficult to overlook Olivia’s ingratitude and immaturity.
Speaking of immaturity, it was interesting to me that Olivia reminded me more of a woman who would have been a teenager/college student in the 80’s, rather than during the Vietnam era. I honestly have no idea why, maybe she just comes across as a younger soul for some reason, or maybe it’s because she’s 12 years younger than Kwan, so the years apart put a spotlight on Olivia’s tendency to act like a stereotypical bratty sibling.
That’s not to say I didn’t like Olivia. In fact, a lot of the choked back tears I held came from reading about her deep insecurity and fears of losing her husband to a woman she can’t even compete with. That’s so unfair, but it’s the way the cookie crumbles sometimes. It’s just sad that almost two decades passed before Olivia was able to begin dealing with her feelings, and the ending summed that up in a realistic way, rather than giving it the typical Hollywood ending that cheapens otherwise good stories.
And that’s one of the reasons I know how much Amy Tan loves the stories she creates, because she gives not only her characters respect, but her readers as well. She gives her characters the space they need to sort through grief, sadness, love, etc., rather than just wrapping everything up in a neat little bow and handing it to readers/viewers like so many other books and movies do.
It always gives me a crazy case of the angries when they do that.
Speaking of wrapping up, I think I’ll do just that with a toast to Amy Tan, one of my new favorite authors.
Cheers!
Here's my blog:
Anyhoo, The Hundred Secret Senses is told from the POV of a half-Chinese American woman named Olivia, who lives in CA, is estranged from her husband, has very little appreciation for her older half sister from China, and goes on a trip with the two of them back to her sister’s hometown of Changmian.
I overly simplified the book, but basically it’s a story about a woman at a crossroads in her life who is teeming on the edge of bitterness and ingratitude, but is also in self denial about this. She’s actively pretending that she has no problem with divorcing her husband after 17 years of marriage, and is choosing not to open up to her loving and nurturing sister Kwan, despite the fact that Kwan has been more like a warm and affectionate mother to her than her own biological mother has ever been.
I gave Amy Tan an extra star just for writing the character Kwan the way she did. Kwan’s warmth and positivity, her never ending love and forgiveness toward her family, coupled with her firm belief in herself and humble confidence is awe inspiring. My heart ached as I stayed up late last night, flipping through page after page of Kwan’s story, past life and present. I would give almost anything to have a sister like her, or just a relative like her. She’s the symbol of what has been missing in my life since I was born, so it was a little difficult to overlook Olivia’s ingratitude and immaturity.
Speaking of immaturity, it was interesting to me that Olivia reminded me more of a woman who would have been a teenager/college student in the 80’s, rather than during the Vietnam era. I honestly have no idea why, maybe she just comes across as a younger soul for some reason, or maybe it’s because she’s 12 years younger than Kwan, so the years apart put a spotlight on Olivia’s tendency to act like a stereotypical bratty sibling.
That’s not to say I didn’t like Olivia. In fact, a lot of the choked back tears I held came from reading about her deep insecurity and fears of losing her husband to a woman she can’t even compete with. That’s so unfair, but it’s the way the cookie crumbles sometimes. It’s just sad that almost two decades passed before Olivia was able to begin dealing with her feelings, and the ending summed that up in a realistic way, rather than giving it the typical Hollywood ending that cheapens otherwise good stories.
And that’s one of the reasons I know how much Amy Tan loves the stories she creates, because she gives not only her characters respect, but her readers as well. She gives her characters the space they need to sort through grief, sadness, love, etc., rather than just wrapping everything up in a neat little bow and handing it to readers/viewers like so many other books and movies do.
It always gives me a crazy case of the angries when they do that.
Speaking of wrapping up, I think I’ll do just that with a toast to Amy Tan, one of my new favorite authors.
Cheers!
Here's my blog:
October 14, 2013
It's become a tradition for me to read Amy Tan's books when flying. My recent trip to Las Vegas was no exception, since at the last minute, I pulled down Amy Tan's The Hundred Secret Senses - the Kindle version - and dived into it as soon as I could turn my electronic devices back on.
The book starts, "My sister Kwan believes she has yin eyes. She sees those who have died and now dwell in the World of Yin, ghosts who leave the mists just to visit her kitchen on Balboa Street in San Francisco."
There are ghosts a-plenty in this book. Two or three in particular are fundamental to the story line, and the stories of their lives, deaths, and in some cases reincarnations are woven seamlessly into the narrative, as Kwan shifts from her accented English into Chinese to tell her sister Olivia the stories. Kwan spends time in a mental institution for her troubles.
To Kwan, the ghosts are real. Olivia, born and raised in America, and not part of the culture Kwan is speaking from, is skeptical. And yet, against her will, over decades of listening to her sister, Olivia has learned the stories, internalized them, and become haunted by some of them herself, as well as taking on a few new ones.
The ghosts are the reason Kwan is so desperate to patch Olivia's failed marriage back together. The ghosts and their story are the reason Olivia, Simon (Olivia's ex-husband) and Kwan go to China. But a ghost can't change anything about its life. Ghosts are dead. It's for the living, the dying, and the newly born who ultimately bring the story to resolution.
Tan evokes both these women - Olivia and Kwan - so thoroughly you feel as though you know them, that you have known them since you were a child. Through the longstanding argument and story telling between them, she evokes the ghosts as well, and their stories, and their passions, their very lives that were, to the point that they too are characters in the present story.
If it sounds disjoint - like I'm still wrapping my head around this book, digesting it, trying to figure out how Tan did what she did, and why - that's because I am. There's a lot of story there. Tan's books are thick, dense with plot and rich with characters, and The Hundred Secret Senses is no exception. Totally immersive, and I found myself wishing my flight had lasted longer than the two hours or so it actually did, so I could get through more of it. As it was, I was up until 2:00am reading it in the middle of my vacation. It's that good. Read it. Enjoy it.
The book starts, "My sister Kwan believes she has yin eyes. She sees those who have died and now dwell in the World of Yin, ghosts who leave the mists just to visit her kitchen on Balboa Street in San Francisco."
There are ghosts a-plenty in this book. Two or three in particular are fundamental to the story line, and the stories of their lives, deaths, and in some cases reincarnations are woven seamlessly into the narrative, as Kwan shifts from her accented English into Chinese to tell her sister Olivia the stories. Kwan spends time in a mental institution for her troubles.
To Kwan, the ghosts are real. Olivia, born and raised in America, and not part of the culture Kwan is speaking from, is skeptical. And yet, against her will, over decades of listening to her sister, Olivia has learned the stories, internalized them, and become haunted by some of them herself, as well as taking on a few new ones.
The ghosts are the reason Kwan is so desperate to patch Olivia's failed marriage back together. The ghosts and their story are the reason Olivia, Simon (Olivia's ex-husband) and Kwan go to China. But a ghost can't change anything about its life. Ghosts are dead. It's for the living, the dying, and the newly born who ultimately bring the story to resolution.
Tan evokes both these women - Olivia and Kwan - so thoroughly you feel as though you know them, that you have known them since you were a child. Through the longstanding argument and story telling between them, she evokes the ghosts as well, and their stories, and their passions, their very lives that were, to the point that they too are characters in the present story.
If it sounds disjoint - like I'm still wrapping my head around this book, digesting it, trying to figure out how Tan did what she did, and why - that's because I am. There's a lot of story there. Tan's books are thick, dense with plot and rich with characters, and The Hundred Secret Senses is no exception. Totally immersive, and I found myself wishing my flight had lasted longer than the two hours or so it actually did, so I could get through more of it. As it was, I was up until 2:00am reading it in the middle of my vacation. It's that good. Read it. Enjoy it.
January 25, 2024
We all hear of Amy Tan with great respect but I was unsure “The Joy Luck Club” was for me. A fan of mystique, “The Hundred Secret Senses” was a title that drew me. I expected 础尘测’蝉 work to be very good ~ she plays keyboard in a band with other big league authors like Stephen King, for Pete’s sake. The journey I discovered is so epic and multifaceted, I doubt a blockbuster film could do it justice but I would love to see it. The numerous storylines are dynamic and unforgettable.
Olivia’s Dad has a Daughter. They sponsor the 18 year-old into the United States. Gregarious, not shy, she is thrilled to have a sister in particular, upon whom she lavishes love. Olivia finds this awkward from a stranger, whose shaky English embarrasses her around friends. There are two young brothers, mentioned less than their Mom. Olivia’s treatment of Kwan is poor. I understand being bombarded with a nearly-grown sibling in the family but many people have relatives who are outright jerks. Kwan was affectionate and loyal to all, even in the face of rudeness; thus that rejection bothered me.
One story centers on Olivia’s ex-husband, Simon; bizarre circumstances about a past university girlfriend. The fierce memory affected his & Olivia’s marriage. Kwan convinces them to accompany her to China, her first return in three decades. Events there reach a whole other magnitude. The novel had not been metaphysical until that point. There, I was thrilled to explore ghosts, body-switching, and convincing instances of reincarnation. Growing up, Olivia shared her room with Kwan. Kwan chatted nightly about sharply remembered past lives and Olivia inadvertently found herself learning Mandarin. On the trip back to Kwan’s hometown, those story snippets come together with a surreal impact that is impossible to doubt!
Olivia’s Dad has a Daughter. They sponsor the 18 year-old into the United States. Gregarious, not shy, she is thrilled to have a sister in particular, upon whom she lavishes love. Olivia finds this awkward from a stranger, whose shaky English embarrasses her around friends. There are two young brothers, mentioned less than their Mom. Olivia’s treatment of Kwan is poor. I understand being bombarded with a nearly-grown sibling in the family but many people have relatives who are outright jerks. Kwan was affectionate and loyal to all, even in the face of rudeness; thus that rejection bothered me.
One story centers on Olivia’s ex-husband, Simon; bizarre circumstances about a past university girlfriend. The fierce memory affected his & Olivia’s marriage. Kwan convinces them to accompany her to China, her first return in three decades. Events there reach a whole other magnitude. The novel had not been metaphysical until that point. There, I was thrilled to explore ghosts, body-switching, and convincing instances of reincarnation. Growing up, Olivia shared her room with Kwan. Kwan chatted nightly about sharply remembered past lives and Olivia inadvertently found herself learning Mandarin. On the trip back to Kwan’s hometown, those story snippets come together with a surreal impact that is impossible to doubt!
June 27, 2013
I'm a huge fan of Amy Tan and I have read all, but her most recent novel. Tan's third novel, The Hundred Secret Senses, follows two sisters as they try to overcome culture gaps to form a bond.
The narrator is Olivia, a photographer who sets up the story through flashbacks to her childhood. On Olivia's father's death bed, he tells his family that he has fathered a child who is living in a remote village in China and he wishes for his daughter to be brought to America. When Olivia is six, her adult half-sister, Kwan, is brought to live with her family in San Francisco.
Kwan is a bit quirky. She claims to be able to see and communicate with the dead. She is eager to please her new American family, especially Olivia, who finds her customs and invasive nature to be off putting. Most of Kwan's visions of the dead are dismissed as crazy, until Kwan's stories begin to captivate Olivia. Kwan, a very capable storyteller, draws Olivia into her world and she begins to give into the tales of ghosts and past lives.
?The Hundred Secret Senses failed to grab my attention. It's a messy story. Half of the novel is comprised of Kwan's ghost stories and the other half is Olivia's rocky relationship with her husband Simon. The story is muddled and between the two story lines, it takes a painfully long time to play out and intersect. Approximately 95% of the novel is leading up to a reveal that just doesn't merit the time invested in the build.
What's strange is that the story feels more like it should have been broken down into a series of short stories. The tone doesn't match between the various sections and it's jarring. I really didn't care about Kwan's ghost stories. They bogged down the pacing and it took me weeks to finish the book due to a lack of interest.?
The section involving the trip to China began to renew my interest in the novel. I enjoyed Olivia and Simon's adventure in a foreign culture. However, it wasn't too long before Kwan's stories came back into play and I struggled through the last twenty pages. Kwan is an interesting character, but only when she is rooted in the real world and not in her fantasy life.?
I love Tan's writing style and her stories are usually captivating, but this isn't the best example of her talents. ?
Please visit my blog for more reviews and musings.
The narrator is Olivia, a photographer who sets up the story through flashbacks to her childhood. On Olivia's father's death bed, he tells his family that he has fathered a child who is living in a remote village in China and he wishes for his daughter to be brought to America. When Olivia is six, her adult half-sister, Kwan, is brought to live with her family in San Francisco.
Kwan is a bit quirky. She claims to be able to see and communicate with the dead. She is eager to please her new American family, especially Olivia, who finds her customs and invasive nature to be off putting. Most of Kwan's visions of the dead are dismissed as crazy, until Kwan's stories begin to captivate Olivia. Kwan, a very capable storyteller, draws Olivia into her world and she begins to give into the tales of ghosts and past lives.
?The Hundred Secret Senses failed to grab my attention. It's a messy story. Half of the novel is comprised of Kwan's ghost stories and the other half is Olivia's rocky relationship with her husband Simon. The story is muddled and between the two story lines, it takes a painfully long time to play out and intersect. Approximately 95% of the novel is leading up to a reveal that just doesn't merit the time invested in the build.
What's strange is that the story feels more like it should have been broken down into a series of short stories. The tone doesn't match between the various sections and it's jarring. I really didn't care about Kwan's ghost stories. They bogged down the pacing and it took me weeks to finish the book due to a lack of interest.?
The section involving the trip to China began to renew my interest in the novel. I enjoyed Olivia and Simon's adventure in a foreign culture. However, it wasn't too long before Kwan's stories came back into play and I struggled through the last twenty pages. Kwan is an interesting character, but only when she is rooted in the real world and not in her fantasy life.?
I love Tan's writing style and her stories are usually captivating, but this isn't the best example of her talents. ?
Please visit my blog for more reviews and musings.
December 26, 2010
Lovely story :) Not as mindblowing as The Bonesetter's Daughter, but good enough for me to stay up into the wee hours just to finish devouring this book.
The story started out slow and took longer than I liked to reach the climax and there are still a few unanswered questions that I would have preferred answered, like what was Olivia's father's real name. But I guess in the big scheme of things, these little questions are inconsequential and would have distracted from the main plot.
What won me over was Olivia finally accepting her sister and her loyalty and Kwan never coming back, was tragic for me. This book has enough heartwarming tragedies to truly touch the reader.
And of course what was magical for me especially, was Amy Tan's unique ability to weave together many loose threads of plot by the end of the book to create a seamless fabric, an infallible truth.
The story started out slow and took longer than I liked to reach the climax and there are still a few unanswered questions that I would have preferred answered, like what was Olivia's father's real name. But I guess in the big scheme of things, these little questions are inconsequential and would have distracted from the main plot.
What won me over was Olivia finally accepting her sister and her loyalty and Kwan never coming back, was tragic for me. This book has enough heartwarming tragedies to truly touch the reader.
And of course what was magical for me especially, was Amy Tan's unique ability to weave together many loose threads of plot by the end of the book to create a seamless fabric, an infallible truth.
January 11, 2014
I am sad to say that I did not enjoy this book. I had great difficulty following Kwan's ghost stories, they felt like the babbling of an insane person. This is the sixth Amy Tan novel that I've read but the only one that I didn't love. I kept waiting for Olivia to have Kwan committed to a mental hospital!
February 17, 2017
In high school I had a friend with exquisite indie musical taste who was a closeted Cheryl Crow fan. Another friend confronted him and he had to come clean. Amy Tan is kind of my Cheryl Crow. Her accessibility might blind some highbrow readers to the great wit and wisdom in her writing. And I love how she moves narratively between the physical and spiritual worlds as if the line between the two is irrelevant.
January 3, 2019
The book constantly went from the present to the past. Because of a complicated plot, it was difficult for me to keep track of the characters.
November 13, 2011
When I bought this at a used book sale, there was a note inserted, "Her best book." That said, I'm still surprised to see the general rating for this book is higher than The Joy Luck Club and Bonesetter's Daughter, the 2 other Amy Tan books I have read. I didn't like this one quite as much, but still gave it a 4 for it's ability to keep me interested. The main character, Olivia, has an older half sister, Kwan, come live with the family after spending her formative years in China. It takes Olivia some getting used to having this very talkative (to put it mildly) foreigner move into her American home. Kwan keeps Olivia up at night relating stories of ghosts and China. (Spoiler here:) All the stories that Kwan relates to Olivia turn out to be revelations of one of Kwan's past lives, and not dreams as you might first assume. Do you believe in ghosts? In reincarnation? Not something I really think about, but what I never would have imagined is someone having such total recall of a former life, such as Kwan did. It really bored me with details at first, but then Tan upped the pace considerably once the 2 of them go to China together along with Olivia's estranged husband. Kwan is truly a sweetie and loveable, whereas Olivia often acts like a spoiled brat when dealing with her husband and within the sister relationship. Then she is made to question who Kwan really is, why she has shown up in her life, will she ever get back with her husband, as well as what is real and what isn't. Great ending.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 4, 2014
So I like this book. What I like about it is how sweet Kwan is, but in just about All the Books there is a straight as in serious character who refuses to believe in ghosty things.
Which is a bit irritating when you have proof such things exist.
Best thing about this book is the concept that these people cared for each other so much they kept being born again just to be with these folks. it's a nice way to look at death, really. Friendly. You loved this guy in this life so he's going to be reborn just to be with you all over again.
It was nice how Olivia learned to be more open minded. It was frustrating having the story be in mostly her perspective because I wanted to shake her and tell her to stop being so insecure, dang it. And that love isn't perfect or without problems. Just because you're not happy all the time with the person you love, doesn't mean it's not love.
Also, reading this book again made me get a bit teary in places. It really is a sweet book.
Which is a bit irritating when you have proof such things exist.
Best thing about this book is the concept that these people cared for each other so much they kept being born again just to be with these folks. it's a nice way to look at death, really. Friendly. You loved this guy in this life so he's going to be reborn just to be with you all over again.
It was nice how Olivia learned to be more open minded. It was frustrating having the story be in mostly her perspective because I wanted to shake her and tell her to stop being so insecure, dang it. And that love isn't perfect or without problems. Just because you're not happy all the time with the person you love, doesn't mean it's not love.
Also, reading this book again made me get a bit teary in places. It really is a sweet book.
January 15, 2020
20 years later, I finally re-read this gem. I honestly remembered nothing, but I found the story deep and enchanting. The characters, Olivia and Kwan, are interested and flawed and wonderful. This is not plot driven by any means, but it is beautifully done.
August 2, 2024
There is so much going on in Amy Tan’s third novel that I thought two things:
1. She was always a bit crazy in her fiction and perhaps only became more so as the years went by.
2. She is an insanely talented storyteller and writer.
Since I have only read her first three novels by now, I cannot yet say which is true. I suspect both are. I vaguely remember when her fifth novel, Saving Fish From Drowning, came out in 2005 it got some pretty bad reviews, though it still had fierce fans.
In The Hundred Secret Senses, Olivia is the daughter of a Chinese father and an American mother, living in America with a Chinese half-sister and a husband she has fallen out of love with. Quan, the half-sister, daughter of their Chinese father came into her life shortly after their father’s death. She has “yin eyes” that can see and communicate with the dead.
Olivia is the kind of female who cannot get enough love to fill her. She is also so annoying. But as the story went on, I grew close to every character, no matter how flawed. When Olivia, her husband and Quan go to Manchu, China, Quan’s life story and ancestors come into full play and the tale becomes darker, more treacherous, and I must say less realistic.
But the end of the story did away with any doubts about realism because it is so wondrous. Did I mention that bubbles of humor float up at just the right places. Both #1 and #2 above are true!
1. She was always a bit crazy in her fiction and perhaps only became more so as the years went by.
2. She is an insanely talented storyteller and writer.
Since I have only read her first three novels by now, I cannot yet say which is true. I suspect both are. I vaguely remember when her fifth novel, Saving Fish From Drowning, came out in 2005 it got some pretty bad reviews, though it still had fierce fans.
In The Hundred Secret Senses, Olivia is the daughter of a Chinese father and an American mother, living in America with a Chinese half-sister and a husband she has fallen out of love with. Quan, the half-sister, daughter of their Chinese father came into her life shortly after their father’s death. She has “yin eyes” that can see and communicate with the dead.
Olivia is the kind of female who cannot get enough love to fill her. She is also so annoying. But as the story went on, I grew close to every character, no matter how flawed. When Olivia, her husband and Quan go to Manchu, China, Quan’s life story and ancestors come into full play and the tale becomes darker, more treacherous, and I must say less realistic.
But the end of the story did away with any doubts about realism because it is so wondrous. Did I mention that bubbles of humor float up at just the right places. Both #1 and #2 above are true!
March 26, 2023
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August 5, 2017
Amy Tan's novels are really special in many ways. For me reading "Joy luck club" was a comfortable means of sinking in Chinese culture, bound with familiar American environment, something to hold to, like bungee jumping, you sunk into unknown depth but still know that the rope will return you back in proper time.
"The Hundred Secret Senses" seemed to me less americanized than the first Tan's novel. Every single step of characters here seems to be linked to Chinese legends, beliefs and traditions. If the "Club" tells about two separate national words, comparing them, in this novel one cannot exist without the other.
Olive , one of the two protagonists, notwithstanding her origins, is totally American, both by looks and in her heart. She is organized, practical, prudent and always knowing what she wants.
For Kwan , the other main character, the world is not such a simple system. She has "Ying eyes" which allow her to see spirits but apart from this she sees relations between the things and people which are much more complicated than Olive could ever imagine.
For Olive her elder sister us a grotesque character , mumbling some nonsense about ghosts and secret senses, telling some strange unbelievable stories and always ready to intrude into her life when she less wants it.The idiolect granted by the author to Kwan (the absence of endings, frequent usage of Chinese words and wrong pronunciation of English ones) also add to the comic effect.
As a child Olive feels awkward from Kwan's presence and ashamed of her, later this transforms into a mixed feeling of pity and boredom, one you would feel towards an insane relative whom you have to take care for.
The stories narrated by Kwan really seem mad at first but then as you read on you begin to understand the inner sense of them and what is more important, the connection to the main characters of the novel.
The world of Kwan is dark, often violent and scary, but still fascinating , you like it even more because it's absolutely different from your own understandable reality. So if you break through the fantasmagonic narration of Kwan in the beginning you will totally enjoy the novel by the end.
I like it because Tan isn't afraid to show China as it is, not a picture from travel magazine, not stories adapted for western readers but just like she sees it, with poverty, superstitious beliefs and dark past. It could scary you off but instead it arises the feeling of uttermost affection towards this country with thousand years of tradition and it's people who live in what sometimes seems entirely another planet.
The problems Amy Tan touches upon are nevertheless not nationally coloured, they are universal and eternal: she describes all the sides of family relations - daughters who not always understand their eccentric mother keen on affairs with foreigners; the distance between sisters who have twelve years of age between them and elder performing the role of the mother to the younger one; wife and husband whose relations cooled with time; and of course returning to your roots and getting to know the culture and ways of your ancestors.
All in all novel will be fascinating to those who would like to sink into the world of China and will remind you that family ties are the strongest and most important of all.
"The Hundred Secret Senses" seemed to me less americanized than the first Tan's novel. Every single step of characters here seems to be linked to Chinese legends, beliefs and traditions. If the "Club" tells about two separate national words, comparing them, in this novel one cannot exist without the other.
Olive , one of the two protagonists, notwithstanding her origins, is totally American, both by looks and in her heart. She is organized, practical, prudent and always knowing what she wants.
For Kwan , the other main character, the world is not such a simple system. She has "Ying eyes" which allow her to see spirits but apart from this she sees relations between the things and people which are much more complicated than Olive could ever imagine.
For Olive her elder sister us a grotesque character , mumbling some nonsense about ghosts and secret senses, telling some strange unbelievable stories and always ready to intrude into her life when she less wants it.The idiolect granted by the author to Kwan (the absence of endings, frequent usage of Chinese words and wrong pronunciation of English ones) also add to the comic effect.
As a child Olive feels awkward from Kwan's presence and ashamed of her, later this transforms into a mixed feeling of pity and boredom, one you would feel towards an insane relative whom you have to take care for.
The stories narrated by Kwan really seem mad at first but then as you read on you begin to understand the inner sense of them and what is more important, the connection to the main characters of the novel.
The world of Kwan is dark, often violent and scary, but still fascinating , you like it even more because it's absolutely different from your own understandable reality. So if you break through the fantasmagonic narration of Kwan in the beginning you will totally enjoy the novel by the end.
I like it because Tan isn't afraid to show China as it is, not a picture from travel magazine, not stories adapted for western readers but just like she sees it, with poverty, superstitious beliefs and dark past. It could scary you off but instead it arises the feeling of uttermost affection towards this country with thousand years of tradition and it's people who live in what sometimes seems entirely another planet.
The problems Amy Tan touches upon are nevertheless not nationally coloured, they are universal and eternal: she describes all the sides of family relations - daughters who not always understand their eccentric mother keen on affairs with foreigners; the distance between sisters who have twelve years of age between them and elder performing the role of the mother to the younger one; wife and husband whose relations cooled with time; and of course returning to your roots and getting to know the culture and ways of your ancestors.
All in all novel will be fascinating to those who would like to sink into the world of China and will remind you that family ties are the strongest and most important of all.
January 4, 2011
How shall I say this? The main protagonist/narrator of this book is a jerk. A giant one. I don't understand for a moment why it takes almost losing her husband and actually losing her sister for her to stop being a jerk for more than 10 minutes, but it does. This is probably also why I don't generally like romantic comedies. I expect everyone to have figured out how to be compassionate or at least somewhat emotionally intelligent by the time they've reached their mid-30s...which doesn't seem like too much to ask, does it?
The secondary protagonist, the main character's sister, was delightful. Overbearing, sometimes, yes. It's a simple narrative trick of the author, but very illustrative that when she switches from narrating in somewhat broken english to chinese, her language becomes deeper, richer, occasionally even rather poetic. Actually, I wish the entire novel had been about her and her life (lives?) in China.
With the exception of the (horribly cliche) ending, Amy Tan manages to keep this book interesting throughout, and to circumvent predictability with little twists and turns that kept me reading late into the night and early into the morning.
The secondary protagonist, the main character's sister, was delightful. Overbearing, sometimes, yes. It's a simple narrative trick of the author, but very illustrative that when she switches from narrating in somewhat broken english to chinese, her language becomes deeper, richer, occasionally even rather poetic. Actually, I wish the entire novel had been about her and her life (lives?) in China.
With the exception of the (horribly cliche) ending, Amy Tan manages to keep this book interesting throughout, and to circumvent predictability with little twists and turns that kept me reading late into the night and early into the morning.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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November 14, 2019
Why, Amy Tan? I’ve loved the other stories you’ve written. ? This one was just confusing. And long. And boring. And the main character, Olivia, was not likable. At all. The reason this book gets two stars instead of one is Kwan...the lovable, funny, thoughtful, look-on-the-bright-side, half-sister of Olivia. She made me want to keep trudging through the story and hoping it would get better. It didn’t. Trite ending. Wish I hadn’t given it so many of my hours. :/
June 18, 2018
Takie 3,5
Ksi??ka ma momenty przepi?kne, autorka wspaniale opisuje podró? do Chin, w sposób tak plastyczny, ?e mam ochot? w tym momencie spakowa? si? i jecha?. Jej postaci ?yj?, s? bardzo prawdziwe.
Niestety nie polubi?am g?ównej bohaterki, co utrudnia?o czytanie mocno. Drugi zarzut to historia opowiadana przez Kwan, w któr? totalnie nie potrafi?am si? wczu? i z westchnieniem wita?am ka?dy akapit, w którym nast?powa? powrót do opowiadanej historii. Nie wiem, po przeczytaniu ca?o?? podoba mi si? bardzo, ale czytanie nie by?o ?atwe i dopiero po dobrej po?owie ksi??ki tak naprawd? si? wci?gn??am.
Wdaje mi si? te?, ?e polskie t?umaczenie mocno niestety kuleje, bo czasem oczy bola?y ;-)
Ksi??ka ma momenty przepi?kne, autorka wspaniale opisuje podró? do Chin, w sposób tak plastyczny, ?e mam ochot? w tym momencie spakowa? si? i jecha?. Jej postaci ?yj?, s? bardzo prawdziwe.
Niestety nie polubi?am g?ównej bohaterki, co utrudnia?o czytanie mocno. Drugi zarzut to historia opowiadana przez Kwan, w któr? totalnie nie potrafi?am si? wczu? i z westchnieniem wita?am ka?dy akapit, w którym nast?powa? powrót do opowiadanej historii. Nie wiem, po przeczytaniu ca?o?? podoba mi si? bardzo, ale czytanie nie by?o ?atwe i dopiero po dobrej po?owie ksi??ki tak naprawd? si? wci?gn??am.
Wdaje mi si? te?, ?e polskie t?umaczenie mocno niestety kuleje, bo czasem oczy bola?y ;-)
January 21, 2018
of course i remember reading it long time ago in my late twenties. Refreshing plot and interesting way of depicting cross culture of China and the new generation. The sister with Yin eyes is very convincingly written.
Amy's style in all of her books i strongly believed has injected inspirations to many when writing about anything with Chinese in mind. Those dos and don;ts...worth reading!!!
Amy's style in all of her books i strongly believed has injected inspirations to many when writing about anything with Chinese in mind. Those dos and don;ts...worth reading!!!
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