Rating: 
Summary: Please Recycle for the Next Book
Review: A public service announcement: if you are a well-read Eli curious about life in China, don't waste your time with this book. This is the same recycled mother-daughter-sister drivel she turns out every couple of years. If you are a middle-aged woman who doesn't go out much, do what you like. Amy Tan, in my opinion, is only good for one book (imagine Mitchell writing more than one).
Rating: 
Summary: Emotionally satisfying
Review: I bought this book over a year ago, but just could not get into it. Both Kwan and Olivia were annoying to me, albeit in different ways. And the book seemed to be another Amy Tan rehash of the clash between first and second generation Chinese. I finally tried reading it again recently, and for some reason, I was swept away. You just have to get past the first 50 pages to be in sync with the story structure. This time, I loved the characters and their belief that loved ones don't die, they simply become part of another sensory world. As for Amy Tan writing the same old things again, I guess it's really not a fair criticism. John Grisham writes the same book over and over again. Sue Grafton only writes crime novels featuring the same character. So you can't very well expect Amy Tan to start writing science fiction, for example. Overall, then, it's a not a bad way to spend an evening.
Rating: 
Summary: A little "girly", but great.
Review: Maybe I've been drinking too much soymilk lately (known to increase a body's level of estrogen, I am told) and this is what is responsible for my suddenly acquired great admiration for this female author?I'm reading Amy Tan backward. I began with "The Bonesetter's Daughter", thought it was fantastic, and just finished "The Hundred Secret Senses". This book was very funny in parts (Definition of Purgatory: You don't go to hell, but you have to pay a huge fine.), mystical throughout, both artistically and professionally crafted from start to finish, interesting from a "cultural perspective as well as on an everyday level", and generally very easy to follow. If I have a criticism, it can only be that it took me awhile to adapt to the interchanging story of two worlds, one past and one present. At first, as Amy takes us to Kwan's past life, I wasn't certain where I was and why, but I caught on soon enough. Also, the story of the home that Olivia and Simon bought together and of their weird neighbor dead-ended. I wasn't sure why it was so important to Ms. Tan. But these are stretches to criticize on my part, so as not to appear overly complimentary. This is a love story that I might have done without were it not for the soymilk. It's a story about a woman's innermost desires and needs (that I certainly could have done with less of, even with the soymilk.) It's a story about two Americans visiting a most remote and primitive part of 20th century China with nothing to appreciate what they find with but their natural curiosity and perhaps, a genetic and maybe spiritual link to this place of their ancestor's past. It's also a ghost story, and while those who would like the wits scared out of them might be disappointed in this aspect of the book, those who remain curious about the validity of religion in general and about the validity of one religion as opposed to another should enjoy it. I did. Amy Tan is a great writer. I admire her talent, as many others do. I fail to understand the perspective of her few critics, except, perhaps, for some of the Chinese female ones. Jealousy is a powerful, albeit pathetic force for some. I enjoy the way her mind works so much that I may actually get in line at one of her book signings one day. If I do, it will give me the chance to ask her the question that is beginning to plague me. Ah! Maybe I'll just ask it now. Amy-ah? Who go Hawaii without you? He crazy?
Rating:
Summary: a sister like Kwan...
Review: An all American girl Olivia, who is not so American since she is half white and half Chinese suddenly, has a full Chinese sister, Kwan. Kwan an charming character who loves Olivia unconditionally while Olivia finds it difficult to reciprocate similar feelings. Although at the beginning of the story the reader may relate to Olivia's discomfort with her new sister who is about twelve years her senior and treats her more like a daughter. Kwan tells little Olivia stories of the 'yin' world which she can see with her 'hundred secret senses' lead Olivia to think of her sister as a bit weird. As the story progresses the reader finds it difficult to sympathize with Olivia's arrogant behavior, which seemed normal in the beginning. Slowly the reader finds Kwan's personality more drawing. While Kwan is an endearing character Olivia is a conflicted personality. Reader is lead to wonder whether it could be due to Olivia's denial of what Kwan is trying to communicate to her through the stories, which span into two lifetimes. Olivia's American psyche refuses to accept such a phenomenon into her practical world. Finally, their journey to China is not only an experience of self-discovery, it is an experience for the reader as well. Amy Tan writes an astounding story of two complex personalities. Every action of each character has a deeper meaning relating to another lifetime, their actions, and choices. Read this novel with an absolutely open mind to enjoy and understand the full dimension of its capacity. It is an excellent work of fiction.
Rating:
Summary: A Window to the soul
Review: Once again Amy Tan writes a story that seems to look into the readers soul and reveal all those matriarchial feelings, good and bad, we have about the women that help shape our lives. She entices you with a good ghost story, and then delivers a lesson in love loyalty and self worth. I have read all of Ms Tan's work, and am thursting for more!
Rating: 
Summary: Sisters ~ Past and Present
Review: The Hundred Secret Senses starts off very simply, the story of sisters reuniting from extremely different cultures. The sisters are Olivia and Kwan, born of the same father, neither knew each other until Kwan arrives in America as the last dying wish of their father. So the tale begins... The reader will journey with Kwan through many past lives and her communications to 'yin people'. The yin people are those that have died and communicate to her ~ ghosts. The ever reserved and practical Olivia, finds Kwan's behaviour and beliefs odd and unbelievable. The Hundred Secret Senses follows the lives of Olivia and Kwan as they create and define their relationship. It is the story of coming to terms with ones self, as well as accepting those around you for who they are. The reader will participate in the great struggle that Olivia has with this challenge. The reader will be challenged to question their own beliefs of the yin people or the afterlife. I only recently discovered Amy Tan and The Hundred Secret Senses is equally as brilliant as The Bonesetters Daughter. I would recommend this novel!
Rating:
Summary: Same old story...
Review: This book is a little different that Amy Tan's previous books: instead of a Chinese mother - American daughter resolving their differences, we get a different angle on the subject of the "Typical" Asian - American woman, who is used to her regular American / western life with a small touch of Chinese culture, usually given by an older Chinese female relative, and somehow discovers how she's really more in touch with her Chinese roots than she thought she was, and that helps her resolve some other problems in her life... In this case, the older relative is not a mother, but a half sister, and the Chinese Story is not the mother's tragic roots, but a "fairy tale" the sister seems to believe actually happened. We are also taken on a trip to China this time, and get another point of view on these young women's heritage - we might see them as Chinese, but in China they are regarded as forigners... Amy Tan's writing is as good as usual, but that didn't make her almost identical plot of west and east clashing interesting enough to read once again - I feel that the theme in all her first three books are too close to be an interesting read for a long time...
Rating:
Summary: Realism Meets Spirituality
Review: When I first began to read this book, I was glad I was reading a separated woman's realistic perspective about her present situation. It's a love story without the fluff, and I thought it was easy to relate to. Though cynical, Oliva is perceptive and intelligent and I found myself sympathizing with her predicament. I too, was annoyed by Kwan and her endless yin stories. I even skipped many of them in the beginning, only to find myself compelled to read and appreciate them toward the end. Amy Tan does a beautiful job bringing together Olivia's mind and spirit to make her whole again. Reading this book became a wonderful experience as I grew to appreciate Kwan at the same rate as Olivia. I relate to Amy Tan's heroines better than any author I've read. She is a moving and amazing writer.
Rating:
Summary: Here we go once again
Review: I borrowed this book from the library, and am glad I did. How many times can Tan write the same story? How many times can the same stereotypes be repeated over and over again? From reading her books, one certainly gets the impression that she has an intense dislike for Asian men. Surely out of several billion Asian men, there must be at least one decent one! Read the Joy Luck Club if you want to read Tan. It's her best and at least it's original--all the rest are just dull reruns of the same old same old.
Rating:
Summary: Good stage setting
Review: The stories and plots about ghost and incarnation are quite common in both modern and classic chinese novels. This attempt to use the idea again into a more "International" manner is quite interesting. The memories of Kwan, Libbya's travel to China, the swing between present and previous life events give the author many opportunities to illustrate different contrasts: American/Chinese cultures, Christianity/Taoism, luxury/povelty. However, I think the description of chinese rituals and beliefs on funeral and afterlife should receive a more in-depth treatment.
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