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Summary: Worth losing sleep for.....
Review: Amy Tan's book grabbed my attention from the moment I opened thecover. The story is so intricatly woven with numerous voices tellingpieces of an overall story. We only understand this larger story after having compiled its pieces in our minds. The reader's affection for the characters is well developed and as an american reader i felt myself identifying with Olivia as she struggled with her relationship with her sister. I read this book in a matter of days, moments smuggled between school and work and sleep.
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Summary: Tan is awesome in writing The Hundred Secret Senses!!!
Review: Okay. I though The Joy Luck Club was good. Then I thought The Kitchen God's wife was spectacular. But now, The Hundred Secret Senses is the Bomb!!! Tan's writings and ideas are most awesome, in my opinion. She only makes you wish the book would never end, or that she could write as fast as a book a week. I don't think that any kind of words can describe how powerful The Hundred Secret Senses was. I was soooooooo touched throughout the whole novel--so WOWED!!! Tan is just too awesome.
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Summary: Boundaries, magic, unconditional love, opening your heart
Review: This book is about the boundaries and limits we set for ourselves in giving and accepting love--how we deny the wonder that exists in the everyday relationships we take for granted that we have with siblings, parents, spouse, and children. It is also a rip-roaring story of the past and present intermingled, including ghosts, missionaries, and soldiers in mid-1860's China, with a modern mixed-race Chinese family searching for its own identity. This book will open your eyes to the magic of unconditional love in your own life, if you let it
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Summary: Amy Tan follows a rich cultural tradition of spirits
Review: Amy Tan walks in the footsteps of Maxine Hong Kingston when she brings superstition, ghosts and reincarnation into her story. With Kwan's yin eyes, the story opens up a very rich cultural tradition of letting the spirits live among us prevalent in many ancient cultures. Libby, like many of us, are hesitant to acknowledge the spiritual side of life, however, Tan is one of many minority writers who remind us that the spiritual world is right beyond our scope of vision. Like Kingston's Woman Warrior, Tan succeeds in telling a very Chinese story with her use of superstition, dialogue and mythology. She also addresses our need to be connected beyond life, similar to Like Water for Chocolate and Dreaming in Cuban
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Summary: Poignant and touching.
Review: This is one of those rare books where I thought really got to the roots of the Chinese culture without complicating the issue.
It brought me back to my own cultural roots offering a glimpse into an aspect of the Chinese culture, that of the spirit world, reincarnation and the bonds of a family without being overbearing. I loved this book, and you do not even need to be Chinese to understand the intricate nuances of the plot. A fantastic read, unputdownable.
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Summary: The 100 Secret Senses
Review: This is a mystical Chinese story that tells the life of Olivia Laguni. When Olivia was a young child, her half-sister, Kwan, arrived from China to stay with her family. Because Olivia's mother was preoccupied with her own personal problems, Kwan became Olivia's substitute mother. Kwan was difficult as well as unusual to be around. She continually talked about nonsensical things especially at night since they shared a bedroom together. Kwan reported that she had "Yin" eyes and was able to speak to ghosts. Later in their lives, when Olivia had trouble with her marriage to Simon, Kwan arranged a trip to China. She reported that it would be a homecoming for all three of them since each had Chinese blood. Through unusual circumstances, Kwan arranged for Olivia and Simon to reunite spiritually as well as physically in their homeland...
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Summary: Hundred Secret Senses: A story with true Chinese meaning
Review: The Hundred Secret Senses, by Amy Tan, is ispiring and wonderful all in one. As a reader and fan of what we call "foreign literature," we know that Amy Tan is Chinese, and writes from her experiences as a Chinese girl in a traditional Chinese family growing up in the Americian society. Her tone in her writing makes you understand that she has experienced some of these things first hand. Tan's story catches the eeriness and excitement caused by Chinese superstition. Something I too have delt with in a traditional Chinese family. Tan's story picks up with a young girl in a modern, somewhat Chinese, family. Her long lost sister has just come to live with her straight out from the depths of China. Olivia struggles to live with her "all-asian" sister, and finds it tougher than the usual. Kwan not only brings her belongings and her suitcase from China, but stories and memories, from this lifetime, and her last. As the book begins to gain speed, you find the plot being split into two different stories, one with Ms. Banner and Nunumu, and the other about Olivia and Kwan. But just when the story begins to come to an end, Tan takes all the strings from these two stories and ties them together, to make an even more meaningful finish. It's a wonderful book with brilliance and passion. For some it could be a tear-jerker, but it is a book that will most likely strike a chord. By far one of Tan's better pieces of work.
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Summary: Ya, I liked it
Review: Hey, forget about a literary masterpiece. Forget about being believable for every minute. Forget about deep characters and motivations. Just sit back, open this book, read, and enjoy a funny, poignent, compelling story.
I don't need to summarize the plot again - it's all here on Amazon. Basically, it's a family saga spanning generations, with several twists that are different and refreshing. There's even some contemporary relationship angst thrown in for good measure. Very entertaining - and isn't that what a book is supposed to do?
I rarely give a book 5 stars. I'm a tough critic. This book is flawed, but at least when I finished it, I didn't feel like I had wasted my time. I also continued to think about the characters and parts of the book for days afterward. I definitely think it's worth the read.
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Summary: An excellent book
Review: This book was written amazingly well- almost like poetry... AND it had an excellent story. I just finished it and I can't find a book I like as much.
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Summary: Magical and Funny
Review: Olivia is a girl, that many who loved and felt less appeciated or unworthy, will understand. Her sister's love is touching and her behavior and innocence give this book plenty of high voiced laughter.
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