- Hardcover: 358 pages
- Publisher: Diane Pub Co; Reprint edition (June 2000)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0788192043
- ISBN-13: 978-0788192043
- Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 16 x 3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 567 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (162 customer reviews)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Tan's novel of the conflicts between two very different Chinese American sisters spent 12 weeks on PW's bestseller list.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From School Library Journal
YA?Olivia, the narrator of this story, was born to an American mother and a Chinese father. She meets her 18-year-old Chinese half sister, Kwan, for the first time shortly after their father's death. Kwan adores "Libby-ah" and tries to introduce her to her Chinese heritage through stories and memories. Olivia is embarrassed by her sibling, but finds as she matures that she has inadvertently absorbed much about Chinese superstitions, spirits, and reincarnation. Olivia explains, "My sister Kwan believes she has Yin eyes. She sees those who have died and now dwell in the World of Yin..." Now in her mid-30s, Olivia, a photographer, is still seeking a meaningful life. The climax of the story comes when she and her estranged husband Simeon, a writer, go to China on assignment with Kwan as the interpreter. In the village in which she grew up, Kwan returns to the world of Yin, her mission completed. Olivia finally learns what Kwan was trying to show her: "If people we love die, then they are lost only to our ordinary senses. If we remember, we can find them anytime with our hundred secret senses." The meshing of the contemporary story of Olivia and the tales Kwan tells of her past life in late-19th century China may confuse some readers. Although this story is different from Tan's previous novels because of the supernatural twist, YAs will find some familiar elements.?Carol Clark, R. E. Lee High School, Springfield, VA
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
A lively book about Chinese ghosts and American marriages,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Hundred Secret Senses (Paperback)
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.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Write by Number?,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Hundred Secret Senses (Paperback)
First off, I'd like to assert that Amy Tan is an incredibly successful writer, whose books sell in the millions, and NOBODY can take that away from her. On the enjoyment count, this book (like almost all of Tan's) gets 5 stars, no questions asked. Tan's prose is alternately beautiful and heart rending - even though she is a "popular" writer, the woman CAN turn a good phrase. That said, Tan's novels are SOOOO formulaic, I can't help but be reminded of paint-by-number. The plot runs something like this: Chinese American woman is in conflict with her Chinese roots/heritage/culture, and she is usually brought to this awareness by her still VERY Chinese mother (or in this case, a half sister does the trick). This conflict usually leads to relationship problems with her American partner. Along the way, our protagonist is plunged headon into Chinese folklore and legend, eventually culminating in her confrontation with and acceptance of her Chinese-ness (if you can excuse the made-up word). In order for this to happen, the Chinese American sometimes has to visit mainland China, but in other cases, the deal goes through with an oral or written memoir (detailing life in pre-WW2 China, and her relative's escape from it) of some sort.Amy Tan has found a formula that works, and I say good for her. So? If you want a book you cannot put down, read Amy Tan. But maybe just the once....
5.0 out of 5 stars
Traveling Between Two Worlds,
By Fitzgerald Fan (Troy, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Hundred Secret Senses (School & Library Binding)
Once again, Amy Tan has managed to blow my mind. I have read "The Bonesetter's Daughter" and was deeply impressed by how well Tan can weave a multi-dimentional story..."The Hundred Secret Senses" is no different.The main character is Olivia. She is likeable but extremely self-absorbed. Her half sister Kwan is more than just an annoyance in Olivia's life, but is the one who ultimately shows her what life is about; what's truly important. The book deals with reincarnation and zigzags between the past life that Kwan recalls in China and her present one in the U.S. This may sound hokey to some who have not read the book but it is done in a wonderful way that makes you want to suspend disbelief as a reader and wonder "what if?" The text is wonderfully fast moving and the dialect she uses for Kwan is absolutely amusing and touching at the same time (her poor English is absolutely adorable and you can almost hear her talking when you read the book.) All in all, it is a coming of age story for a very late bloomer (Olivia), who up until now, has forgotten to turn around and notice the rest of the world. If you've never read Amy Tan, you don't know what you are missing. Her ability to tell a complex story with ease is unparalleled.
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