Amy Tan

Alternate cover editions for this ISBN can be found here.Four mothers, four daughters, four families, whose histories shift with the four winds depending on who's telling the stories. In 1949, four Chinese women, recent immigrants to San Francisco, meet weekly to play mahjong and tell stories of what they left behind in China. United in loss and new hope for their daughters' futures, they call themselves the Joy Luck Club. Their daughters, who have never heard these stories, think their mothers' advice is irrelevant to their modern American lives – until their own inner crises reveal how much they've unknowingly inherited of their mothers' pasts. With wit and sensitivity, Amy Tan examines the sometimes painful, often tender, and always deep connection between mothers and daughters. As each woman reveals her secrets, trying to unravel the truth about her life, the strings become more tangled, more entwined. Mothers boast or despair over daughters, and daughters roll their eyes even as they feel the inextricable tightening of their matriarchal ties. Tan is an astute storyteller, enticing readers to immerse themselves into these lives of complexity and mystery.

Ruth Young and her widowed mother, LuLing, have always had a tumultuous relationship. Now, before she succumbs to forgetfulness, LuLing gives Ruth some of her writings, which reveal a side of LuLing that Ruth has never known. . . .In a remote mountain village where ghosts and tradition rule, LuLing grows up in the care of her mute Precious Auntie as the family endures a curse laid upon a relative known as the bonesetter. When headstrong LuLing rejects the marriage proposal of the coffinmaker, a shocking series of events are set in motion–all of which lead back to Ruth and LuLing in modern San Francisco. The truth that Ruth learns from her mother’s past will forever change her perception of family, love, and forgiveness.

Winnie and Helen have kept each other's worst secrets for more than fifty years. Now, because she believes she is dying, Helen wants to expose everything. And Winnie angrily determines that she must be the one to tell her daughter, Pearl, about the past—including the terrible truth even Helen does not know. And so begins Winnie's story of her life on a small island outside Shanghai in the 1920s, and other places in China during World War II, and traces the happy and desperate events that led to Winnie's coming to America in 1949.

The Hundred Secret Senses is an exultant novel about China and America, love and loyalty, the identities we invent and the true selves we discover along the way. Olivia Laguni is half-Chinese, but typically American in her uneasiness with her patchwork family. And no one in Olivia's family is more embarrassing to her than her half-sister, Kwan Li. For Kwan speaks mangled English, is cheerfully deaf to Olivia's sarcasm, and sees the dead with her "yin eyes."Even as Olivia details the particulars of her decades-long grudge against her sister (who, among other things, is a source of infuriatingly good advice), Kwan Li is telling her own story, one that sweeps us into the splendor, squalor, and violence of Manchu China. And out of the friction between her narrators, Amy Tan creates a work that illuminates both the present and the past sweetly, sadly, hilariously, with searing and vivid prose.

A sweeping, evocative epic of two women's intertwined fates and their search for identity, that moves from the lavish parlors of Shanghai courtesans to the fog-shrouded mountains of a remote Chinese village.Spanning more than forty years and two continents, The Valley of Amazement resurrects pivotal episodes in history: from the collapse of China's last imperial dynasty, to the rise of the Republic, the explosive growth of lucrative foreign trade and anti-foreign sentiment, to the inner workings of courtesan houses and the lives of the foreign "Shanghailanders" living in the International Settlement, both erased by World War II. A deeply evocative narrative about the profound connections between mothers and daughters, The Valley of Amazement returns readers to the compelling territory of Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club. With her characteristic insight and humor, she conjures a story of inherited trauma, desire and deception, and the power and stubbornness of love.

San Francisco art patron Bibi Chen has planned a journey of the senses along the famed Burma Road for eleven lucky friends. But after her mysterious death, Bibi watches aghast from her ghostly perch as the travelers veer off her itinerary and embark on a trail paved with cultural gaffes and tribal curses, Buddhist illusions and romantic desires. On Christmas morning, the tourists cruise across a misty lake and disappear.With picaresque characters and mesmerizing imagery, Saving Fish from Drowning gives us a voice as idiosyncratic, sharp, and affectionate as the mothers of The Joy Luck Club. Bibi is the observant eye of human nature–the witness of good intentions and bad outcomes, of desperate souls and those who wish to save them. In the end, Tan takes her readers to that place in their own heart where hope is found.

A gorgeous, witty account of birding, nature, and the beauty around us that hides in plain sight.Tracking the natural beauty that surrounds us, The Backyard Bird Chronicles maps the passage of time through daily entries, thoughtful questions, and beautiful original sketches. With boundless charm and wit, author Amy Tan charts her foray into birding and the natural wonders of the world.In 2016, Amy Tan grew overwhelmed by the state of the Hatred and misinformation became a daily presence on social media, and the country felt more divisive than ever. In search of peace, Tan turned toward the natural world just beyond her window and, specifically, the birds visiting her yard. But what began as an attempt to find solace turned into something far greater—an opportunity to savor quiet moments during a volatile time, connect to nature in a meaningful way, and imagine the intricate lives of the birds she admired.

Delve into the stories from Amy Tan's life that inspired bestselling novels like The Joy Luck Club and The Valley of Amazement and the new memoir, Where the Past BeginsAmy Tan has touched millions of readers with haunting and sympathetic novels of cultural complexity and profound empathy. With the same spirit and humor that characterize her acclaimed novels, she now shares her insight into her own life and how she escaped the curses of her past to make a future of her own. She takes us on a journey from her childhood of tragedy and comedy to the present day and her arrival as one of the world's best-loved novelists. Whether recalling arguments with her mother in suburban California or introducing us to the ghosts that inhabit her computer, The Opposite of Fate offers vivid portraits of choices, attitudes, charms, and luck in action--a refreshing antidote to the world-weariness and uncertainties we all face today.

In Where the Past Begins, bestselling author of The Joy Luck Club and The Valley of Amazement Amy Tan is at her most intimate in revealing the truths and inspirations that underlie her extraordinary fiction. By delving into vivid memories of her traumatic childhood, confessions of self-doubt in her journals, and heartbreaking letters to and from her mother, she gives evidence to all that made it both unlikely and inevitable that she would become a writer. Through spontaneous storytelling, she shows how a fluid fictional state of mind unleashed near-forgotten memories that became the emotional nucleus of her novels. Tan explores shocking truths uncovered by family memorabilia—the real reason behind an IQ test she took at age six, why her parents lied about their education, mysteries surrounding her maternal grandmother—and, for the first time publicly, writes about her complex relationship with her father, who died when she was fifteen. Supplied with candor and characteristic humor, Where the Past Begins takes readers into the idiosyncratic workings of her writer’s mind, a journey that explores memory, imagination, and truth, with fiction serving as both her divining rod and link to meaning.

In her startlingly sensual new story, “Rules for Virgins”—this 43-page jewel of a tale is the first fiction she has published in six years—beloved bestselling author Amy Tan (“The Joy Luck Club,” “The Bonesetter’s Daughter”) takes us deep into the illicit world of 1912 Shanghai, where beautiful courtesans mercilessly compete for the patronage of wealthy gentlemen. For the women, the contest is deadly serious, a perilous game of economic survival that, if played well, can set them up for life as mistresses of the rich and prominent. There is no room for error, however: erotic power is hard to achieve and harder to maintain, especially in the loftiest social circles. Enter veteran seducer, Magic Gourd, formerly one of Shanghai’s “Top Ten Beauties” and now the advisor and attendant of Violet, an aspiring but inexperienced courtesan. Violet may have the youth and the allure, but Magic Gourd has the cunning and the knowledge without which the younger woman is sure to fail. These ancient tricks of the trade aren't written down, though; to pass them on to her student, Magic Gourd must reach back into her own professional past, bringing her lessons alive with stories and anecdotes from a career spent charming and manipulating men who should have known better but rarely did.The world of sexual intrigue that Tan reveals in "Rules for Virgins" actually existed once, and she spares no detail in recreating it. But this story is more than intriguing (and sometimes shocking) historical literary fiction. Besides inviting us inside a life that few writers but Tan could conjure up, the intimate confessions of Magic Gourd add up to a kind of military manual for the War of the Sexes’ female combatants. The wisdom conveyed is ancient, specific, and timeless, exposing the workings of vanity and folly, calculation and desire that define the mysterious human heart.

A magical night when secret wishes can come trueOn a rainy afternoon, three sisters wish for the rain to stoop, wish they could play in the puddles, wish for something, anything, to do. So Ying-Ying, their grandmother, tells them a tale from long ago. On the night of the Moon Festival, when Ying-ying was a little girl, she encountered the Moon Lady, who grants the secret wishes of those who ask, and learned from her that the best wishes are those you can make come true yourself. This haunting tale, adapted from Amy Tan's best-seller The Joy Luck Club and enhanced by Gretchen Schields's rich, meticulously detailed art, is a book for all to treasure.

"Before you go out into the world," Ming Miao told her five kittens, "you must know the true story of your ancestors...."And so begins the story of Sagwa of China, a mischievous, pearl white kitten. Sagwa lived in the House of the Foolish Magistrate, a greedy man who made up rules that helped only himself. One day, Sagwa fell into an inkwell and accidentally changed one of the Foolish Magistrate's rules. Little did Sagwa know she would alter the fate—and the appearance—of Chinese cats forever!

"Two kinds" is a short story from the book The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan. It was first published in 1989. The short story outlines the main Jing- Mei Woo’s childhood and the effects of her mother’s high expectations for her life.

Two stories depict the lives of Chinese immigrants to the United States and their Chinese American children.

"A Pair of Tickets" was published in The Norton Introduction to Literature - 9th Edition and An Introduction to Fiction - 11th Edition.

About a house in San Francisco and the battle for ownership among three families over the last seventy-five years. The narrator is an octogenarian who has had a stroke and finds she can speak only Chinese, the once-forgotten language of her childhood. She can now recall what she heard long ago, the source of the feud, and the reason her memory of it was removed. It's a story about motives, passion, and inherited desire.

Chinese American women; Fiction; General; Mothers and daughters; Readers for new literates

A collection of American short stories ranging in theme from loss of innocence to loss of love includes the work of Amy Tan, Raymond Carver, John Sayles, Sandra Cisneros, and many more. Lit Guild.

The Opposite of Fate:Amy Tan was born into a family that believed in fate. In The Opposite of Fate: A Book of Musings, she explores this legacy, as well as American circumstances, and finds ways to honor the past while creating her own brand of destiny. She discovers answers in everyday actions.With the same spirit, humor, and magic that characterize her beloved novels, Amy Tan presents a refreshing antidote to the world-weariness and uncertainties we face today, contemplating how things happen - in her own life and beyond - but always returning to the question of fate and its opposites: the choices, charms, influences, attitudes, and lucky accidents that shape us all.Saving Fish from Drowning:Twelve American tourists join an art expedition that begins in the Himalayan foothills of China, and heads south into the jungles of Burma. But after the mysterious death of their tour leader, the carefully laid plans fall apart, and disharmony breaks out among the pleasure-seekers as they come to discover that the Burma Road is paved with less-than-honorable intentions, questionable food, and tribal curses.With her signature “idiosyncratic, sympathetic characters, haunting images, historical complexity, significant contemporary themes, and suspenseful mystery” (Los Angeles Times), Amy Tan spins a provocative and mesmerizing tale about the mind and the heart of the individual, the actions we choose, the moral questions we might ask ourselves, and above all, the deeply personal answers we seek when happy endings are seemingly impossible.

Hér segir frá fjórum konum sem ólust upp í Kína við ólíkar aðstæður og eiga sér leyndardóma og harmsögur. Allar fluttust til Bandaríkjanna og þar vaxa dætur þeirra úr grasi, í samfélagi gjörólíku því sem mæðurnar eru sprottnar úr. Þær hittast reglulega í spila- og matarklúbbi, segja sögur og láta sig dreyma um betri tíð fyrir næstu kynslóðir. Dæturnar fjórar skilja hins vegar ekki viðhorf og siði mæðranna enda eru þær mótaðar af fortíð sem dæturnar vita lítið um. Leikur hlæjandi láns fjallar eftirminnilega um hyldýpisgjána milli kynslóða, milli austrænnar og vestrænnar menningar en ekki síður um samband móður og dóttur – það sem glatast og það sem varðveitist. Amy Tan er bandarískur höfundur af kínverskum ættum og hefur sent frá sér allmargar metsölubækur. Leikur hlæjandi láns var fyrsta skáldverk hennar og hlaut gífurlega góðar viðtökur, var þýtt á 35 tungumál og eftir því gerð vinsæl kvikmynd, The Joy Luck Club. Rúnar Helgi Vignisson þýddi og ritaði eftirmála.

Short story about a woman in China whose arranged marriage is complicated by the death of her father and maternal grandfather, witnessed by her nursemaid mother, at the hands of her prospective father in law . . .

Ruth elää tavallista yhdysvaltalaisen koulutetun naisen elämää ja työskentelee haamukirjoittajana. Suhde kiinalaissyntyiseen äitiin LuLingiin on ollut aina monimutkainen – toisaalta äiti on rakas, toisaalta Ruth ei ole voinut ymmärtää kaikkia äidin kasvatusmenetelmiä. Kun LuLing sairastuu dementiaan, äidin ja tyttären suhde muuttuu. Ruth löytää äidin kirjoituksia, jotka paljastavat äidin historiasta hurjia asioita. Mitä kiinalaisessa kylässä oikein tapahtui ennen kuin LuLing lähti Yhdysvaltoihin? Luutohtorin tytär on koskettava romaani tyttären ja maahanmuuttajaäidin monimutkaisesta suhteesta.Amy Tan (s.1952) on amerikkalainen kirjailija, jonka juuret ovat Kiinassa. Useat hänet romaaneistaan ovat käsitelleet kiinalaisten maahanmuuttajien elämää Yhdysvalloissa.

Use Novel-Ties ® study guides as your total guided reading program. Reproducible pages in chapter-by-chapter format provide you with the right questions to ask, the important issues to discuss, and the organizational aids that help students get the most out of each book they read.

Based on Amy Tan's #1 New York Times bestseller The Backyard Bird Chronicles, this beautifully bound nature journal with a removable half-jacket and ribbon marker is ready to capture the happenings outside your window.What are the stories in your backyard? Whether you're a birder, hiker, or simply enjoy being outdoors, this thoughtfully designed journal helps you channel intentional curiosity with room to write and sketch what you observe outdoors. Within The Backyard Bird Journal, you'll find a new introduction from Amy Tan, her "no rules" guide to nature journaling with examples from her own work, and daily journaling pages peppered with quotes and sketch art from The Backyard Bird Chronicles.Use these pages to simply write or draw what is happening in front of you—whatever you notice and what it might remind you of. Keep the journal by a window or bring it with you on a walk. With a lay-flat spine, ribbon marker, removable jacket, and high-quality paper ideal for pen or pencil, The Backyard Bird Journal is your space for musing, reflecting on, and capturing the natural wonders of the world, whether you are a budding or practiced nature enthusiast.