Rating: Summary: Fabulous! I'm giving this one to my friends. Review: From the moment I picked up this book I could not put it down. I laughed out loud many times. The author can mingle humor and tragedy in such a way that you will laugh and cry at both. The characters are so vivid that they become good friends that you know and love.
Rating: Summary: Magical, mystical, captivating book Review: Well-written book with much Chinese cultural tid-bits. Amusing, but it is also full of Chinese mysticism. Anyone interested in the Chinese or American-Chinese culture will love this special book.
Rating: Summary: lost the sparkle somewhat Review: I've never missed Amy's book. I'm finding her book rather palatable & heart warming. To me, this book seems to have lost the X factor that her previous works were able to produce. Could it be that Amy was compelled to obligate her contract to write another book for her publisher in such a short span of time? I'm convinced that Amy could have done better. There's nothing wrong for her to dwell on female characters as been criticised by some readers. Isn't it Chinese saying that we only do what we know best? Even though this is not her best book yet, I am still looking forward to read her next offering. USA is proud to have someone like her. Girl Power!
Rating: Summary: One of the most enthralling books you'll ever read! Review: This is one of the best books I've ever read. Ever since I started reading it, I literally CANNOT put it down! I've been carrying it around with me so I can read it every possible free second I have! Bottom line is that if you can tolerate "sob stories", even if only a little bit, you MUST READ THIS BOOK! Thanks N for telling me it's so awesome! Wow, what I would've missed if I just gave up and avoided it with the "not enough time" excuse!
Rating: Summary: We couldn't stop listening! Review: We checked this audiobook out from our local library to listen to while on a dull drive. We were disappointed when we arrived at our destination! The story is mesmerizing, and Amy Tan is a superb reader - she gives life and distinctiveness to Olivia and Kwan as she tells their story. My husband asked, "Is this autobiographical"? By the end, I completely believed in the main characters and in the yin world that seemed so close to Kwan. I plan to listen to Joy Luck Club and Kitchen God's Wife on tape as well.
Rating: Summary: Best of the best Review: I have never read a book which touched so deep inside. this book got me into a journey that none of the other authors have taken me. being a Chinese myself, I found this book rather funny when Kwan's errors occur everytime. It is so great. I HAVE READ THIS BOOK FOR FIVE TIMES AND I AM ON MY 6TH TIME. Can't wait for another book by Amy Tan. I love you, Amy.
Rating: Summary: If you liked The Joy Luck Club, you must read this book! Review: This book was wonderful. I could not put it down. I couldn't wait to find out more about Kwan's stories of the yin people and how they related to what was happening in Olivia's life. The way that Ms. Tan moves back and forth between the present and the past was masterful. As soon as I finished the book, I gave it to my mother, who has been calling me for the past several days sharing her thoughts about the book and thanking me for reccommending it to her. This is a "must-read" and it is a wonderful book to share with your family.
Rating: Summary: Hundred Secret Senses Review: Tan has written a character who transcends culture, and maybe even gender. Anyone can laugh at her comedy, that's what makes this book so special. The lessons that Olivia learns are lessons that anyone woman can learn, and should. If you want to laugh out loud, read this novel. Well worth the time!
Rating: Summary: A lively book about Chinese ghosts and American marriages Review: Hundred Secret Senses is yet another Amy Tan novel that focuses on the cross cultural strains felt by Chinese Americans. In this novel, Olivia, a daughter of a white American mother and a Chinese father grows up in California as an All-American girl. When Olivia's father dies, a half sister, Kwan is brought from China to share Olvia's bedroom and life. Kwan, is steeped in the rich traditional Chinese pantheon of ghosts and yin people--this she freely shares with a relustant Olivia. All throughout young Olivia's relationship with Kwan, Chinese ghosts wander, until Olivia has learned Chinese and much about traditional Chinese life and culture. Amy Tan is very clever in forming Olivia's character, she works from the inside and outside through Kwan's observations.When Olvia leaves for college and hopefully a new life, she finds Simon Bishop. Simon is also of mixed Chinese heritage and also is haunted by the modern ghost of a former girl friend killed in a skiing accident. Olivia pursues Simon and the couple marries, however the partner's ghosts haunt the marriage, and as the story begins, Olivia and Simon are seeking a divorce. It is so interesting to see how Amy Tan intertwines Chinese ghosts into an essential American story of lost love. She allows Kwan to cross the barriers of both cultures and also Olivia's mind to show that ghosts are real and are effect everyone. Deep emotions and feelings are revealed in her books and that is one of reasons they are so compelling. Although this is the third novel about Chinese Americans and their cross cultural lives, it is really about anyone's life, as Amy Tan writes about real emotions and feelings.
Rating: Summary: City life and the Chinese lives of 2 sisters Review: The Hundred Secret Senses by Amy Tan was a story about a girl named Olivia, who finds out before her father dies, has a half sister. So her half sister Kwan comes from China to join her family in Daly City. This book is different from Amy Tan's other work The Joy Luck Club, for it deals more between siblings, sister to sister. Also this book involves a scary side with ghosts and strange phenomenon. It starts of when Olivia is told by Kwan that she has a sixth sense, meaning that she can see dead people. Now if you have seen the newest movies out, you have probably seen a movie similar to this book called The Sixth Sense. They are like much similar to that each character deals with seeing dead people, but Amy Tan's book deals with how the character tries to interact with these dead people that she sees, and gets somewhat close to them. Olivia tells her mother and soon her relatives find out that Kwan has special powers that nobody believes and she is sent to a psychiatric ward, so to speak. But after a few years have gone by the story continues, and now they are all grown up. Kwan is now different from when she was younger and now acts more mature, but still has her supernatural abilities. It seemed cruel for her sister Olivia to send her to away, but Kwan still respects her. Their love together as sisters grow, but the supernatural situations continue. Kwan, who sees dead people, makes friends with the dead that she sees, and most of what goes on throughout the book deals with Kwan's "ghost stories that build the stories plot. But I felt this book was interesting, because I could relate to the city life situations, being in Daly City. Also after reading the first few chapters I could not put it down, that is why I recommend this book to other readers. The book although does not really intensify until the end, where Olivia goes to China, where here Chinese life is really shown. I do not want to give away any of the book because it's so good, but in my opinion if you like city life, enjoy ghost stories and sixth senses, I suggest you red this book, The Hundred Secret Senses by Amy Tan.
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