The Hundred Secret Senses by Amy Tan
FROM GOODREADS: Amy Tan’s latest effort unfolds a series of family secrets that questions the connection between fate, beliefs, and hopes, memory and imagination, and the natural gifts of our hundred secret senses. Years after her Chinese half-sister assails her with ghost stories set in the mysterious world of Yin, a young woman finds herself in China, looking for a way to reconcile the ghosts of her past with the dreams of her future.
MY REVIEW: A wonderful hardcover version of The Hundred Secret Senses was a present from my friend Tara, and it was truly a gift. Although it took a while to settle into the rich tapestry of the storyline, I was happy to let it slowly unfold for me. It’s a love story, really—between two sisters, between husband and wife, between two cultures. And like any love story, it’s detailed with heartache and loss, magic and surprises.
she does let her tales “unfold” – nice critique of a wonderful writer – i just hope i still have my hundred secret senses :)
Hi, Jen – I’m assembling the books to take on vacation this spring. Alas, for such a thing, they must be evaluated by weight, as well as importance. So far, we’ve got the Downton Abbey companion book, The Wild Things by Dave Eggers (and if you haven’t read What Is The What, I’d suggest you must), the Countess of Carnarvon’s book about the “real” Downton, Cleremont Castle, and How To Be An Adult in Relationships, by David Richo. And we think we have some Rilke poems to take along, and haven’t found them yet.
So we’re taking a lot of Edwardian, and post-Edwardian, British stuff to a small island in the West Indies. Many of the friends see there, annually, are from the UK, so I’m pretty sure they’ll resonate with that.
Your blog is ever beautiful.
C
Please tell me these are all weighty, page-filled tangible objects that will fill up cargo space and not just megabytes! A suitcase full of books – how utterly DIVINE!
Enjoy!!
xoxo, Jen
Hmmm . . . sounds like a good read. :-)
I REALLY think this is a book you would love. Here, I’ll psychically manifest it at your upcoming used book sale… … … …
My very favorite of her books is The Opposite of Fate: Secrets of a Writer’s Life.
Or something close to that —
Non-fiction, of course, and about writing. I thought it was wonderful, and you might too.
I am going to look it up right now – thanks!
Very nice post of Amy Tan’s work, thanks. Sharing with you my thought about the Joy Luck Club…http://wp.me/p3bwN9-8g
I have that on my list of books to read – thank you for the intro!