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Summary: This book made me reach inside myself and actually feel .
Review: Not only did I fall in love with the novel itself but I also felt for all of the characters as well. I believe Amy Tan is truly a divine author who makes the reader feel like they are inside the actual story . I found myself wanting to get to know olivia and Kwan more as if they were real people. I truly hope Amy Tan keeps up the good work .
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Summary: Unpalatable Stereotypes
Review: When the work of a minority artist receives sudden attention is it always a good thing ? Can an artist ever truly be said to represent hir or her minority group? These are questions that should be raised in view of the widespread acclaim and commercial success of writers like Chinese-American Amy Tan.Critics have said Tan has "given voice to the Asian-American woman's experience." Her works have joined the ranks of Joy Kogawa and Maxine Hong Kingston on the reading lists of women's studies courses. But are Tan's works really the stuff of required reading? No. Even Tan herself has denied that she ever wanted to be part of the "multicultural canon". The public, though, has taken Tan and her works to representative of real Asian women and Asian culture. Tan's works rely heavily on CRUDE STEREOTYPES of Chinese culture. Her characters dwell in a universe of Oriental "otherness" - literary MSG injected for the American mainstream palate. Not e what Tan implies by her infamous introduction in "Joy Luck Club": "In America I will have daughter just like me. But over there nobody will say her worth is measured by the loudness of her husband's belch. Over there nobody will look down on her, because I will make her speak only perfect American English.... And she waited, year after year, for the day she could tell her daughter this in perfect American English." It appears the mainstream press missed the irony in this passage. Tan really seems to be advocating some bizarre 'loser' or "Uncle Tom" mentality for Asian-Americans - "speak proper English or you will be laughed at and rejected, even by your children." Another (related) problem is that Tan's novels portray almost all the Chinese men negatively. They are either perverse, cheap, impotent, weak, or some combination of theof. The Chinese male characters from The Joy Luck Club consist of a rich middle-age man who rapes An Mei's mother, an obese, impotent boy and a cad who beats and cheats on his wife. Even the Chinese-American ex-husband of one of the characters is portrayed as a miser who insists on splitting all the household expenses, though he makes far more money than her. These Chinese males are strongly contrasted by their white counterparts. Rich is the goofy but loveable blond guy and Ted is the rich cheating husband who reconciles with his Chinese wife and is part of the happy gathering at the end. One might point out that the male characters are depicted negatively in the work of black female writers like Terry Macmillan (Waiting to Exhale) in the same way. Actually, this comparison brings up another interesting point. The women in Exhale, unlike Joy Luck, didn't find it necessary to run to white males when they found themselves wronged by black men. As well, they didn't hesistate to assesrt themselves and tell the men off, unlike the meek little women in Tan's novels. Tan's women are invariably superstitious or neurotic. The Hundred Secret Senses is about a young Eurasian woman named Olivia whose life is thrown into disarray by her half-sister Kwan, from is a fresh immigrant from mainland China. Tan's portrayal of Kwan is a compound caricature of the weird and mystical Oriental (she sees "ghosts" everywhere) and the vulgar, ill-mannered immigrant who refuses to assimilate to American ways. Even after 30 years in the US , she still speaks broken English ("Wah ! What you mean!") Tan even comments that "this kind of person would be considered ordainary in some parts of China, Hong Kong, or Taiwan.." It's difficult to know if Tan meant to be ignorant or dishonest. While Tan's writing perpetuates stereotypes (sadly she also writes children's books) she certainly did not invent them. In his essay in the Asian-American anthlogy "The Big Aiiieee!", veteran critic and writer Frank Chin argues that such stereotypes originated both in fanciful early Western literature as well as in autobiographies, a form of Asian-American writing that remains predominant today (see Wild Swans, Red China Blues, The Hermit Kingdom, etc). Chin goes on to say the literary form of autobiography was descended from the tradition of Christian confession. This partly explains why so much of Asian-American writing reads like "cultural confession." This is not to say all writing by or about Asian culture in North America has followed this pattern. There have been exceptions. Sui Sin Far's writing and Katherine Anne Porter's ghost-written "My Chinese Marriage" are two examples. Both challenged common misconceptions at the time that all Chinese men were misogynistic and sexless. In fairness, it should be said that Tan's influence has not been all negative. The success of her books has opened the doors for excellent writers like Shawn Wong and Faye Ng. Also her film hopefully was a step towards convincing Hollywood that a non-action movie with Asian leads can hold its own at the box office. It is unfortunate though, that Tan become something of a role model for Asian women and other women as well, despite the fact that for her, stereotypes of Asian culture are fact, not fiction.
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Summary: Great Book - 1st Audio Book I couldn't stop listening to.
Review: I love to read but have not time, so I tried an Audio Book. While listening to this driving to and from work I was hooked. I would even drive around during lunch to listen to the rest of the story. Amy Tan is a very good writer and I love the fact that she also reads for this book.
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Summary: As always, an interesting exploration of relationships.
Review: Both previous Amy Tan books, I feel, are not only about Chinese American culture and relationships, but about the way each of us relates to the people we love. The 100 Secret Senses was no different. There are people whom I love very much that I've struggled my whole life to understand. This book gives me both the hope that I'll understand them someday, and the peace of knowing that I don't have to -- loving them is quite enough. Also, this book had the added bonus of making me wish I believed in things that my upbringing and education tell me are impossible.
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Summary: A marvelous, mysterious, completly wonderful book
Review: This books is one of my favorites. Amy Tan's writing of Kwan and Olivia make you believe in what sisterhood should be, after worlds, and every thing else in this book. I felt as if I were in China, and in San Francisco the entire book. It took me only three days to read and I'm definetly ready for more of Tan's books. Not only was the moral of the book great, but the ending of the book was the best ending ever.
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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: The Hundred Secret Sense Is Neat
Review: I read this book in my Comtemporary Literature Class. This book really takes out the insight of Olivia's mind. As a Chinese-American author, Amy Tan uses her skills to depict the character Kwan with great colors. As a Chinese, most of the events make up the whole picture of the theme. It also reflects the whole American society. At the end, Kwan's mysterious disappearance somehow plays the role of sacrifizing of herself to lead Simon back to Olivia. The description of Kwan's last life also brings out the Chinese view of reincarnation.................. Although the langugae used in this book is pretty easy to read and follow, this book is a great entry to the Chinese culture.
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Summary: An easy read, but not an interesting one
Review: I had vowed to myself to read an Amy Tan novel and when I came to Amazon.com to see which one I should read the reviews for this book seemed astounding. I thought I would be pleasantly entertained by the book, and I thought it would also be thought provoking. It seemed the only bad reviews for it came from people who really didn't understand the book or couldn't voice themselves properly. But now I wonder, how could everyone have seen this as an incredible book? Sure, Kwan was endearing, and I felt anger at Olivia's insensitivity towards her, but other than that I don't think I really got an indepth feel of the characters. One that I found was especially weak was Olivia's husband. If I was to have any sympathy for their situation I would have liked to have known him better. Most of them seemed like cardboard - one-sided, or they were neurotic - I just couldn't piece them together. That could also describe Amy Tan's writing. Neurotic. All over the place; no overall strong point or message (I really couldn't find one); trying to make a small point or a significant message in one paragraph and failing to make me care because of little elaboration or continuation through the book. It got a little annoying. But I do have to admit I did like the intertwining of the past lives. It had me asking, What is fiction and what is fact (in an historical sense)? It made for a very interesting and touching story, and also a comforting view of the afterlife. In fact, the only thing that may have kept me reading was my need to know who was who and what happened in their past lives. So I guess this book does fine for some easy, lazy, rainy day reading, but it's nothing to get too excited about.
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Summary: Another 5 cheers for Amy Tan
Review: In this novel Amy Tan makes the unbelievable believable. I have not finnished it yet - only another 50 pages to go but I don't want it to end.
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Summary: Very Realistic
Review: I say these characters are not too far off or rather typical. I thought Olivia is pretty much a typical ABC and Kwan is a typical Chinese woman. I'm stuck between two cultures myself and I can relate to both of these characters.
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