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l0tus's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
hexagong's review against another edition
5.0
Detailed, brave, honest, endearing, transporting, full of wonderful human stories.
kategci's review against another edition
4.0
My first Amy Tan ever! I somehow missed reading The Joy Luck Club. I picked this up for Spilling Tea Book Club (20th Century Women authors), and while the group reaction was mixed, I liked it! Published in 1995, The Hundred Secret Senses brought me back to the types of books I was reading at that time. Women's fiction, with some important deep themes, but not always too heavy. Olivia has grown up in the Bay Area and when she is 8 her older half-sister comes from China to live with the family. Olivia is self-absorbed, always wanting more of others than they are able or willing to give to her. All except Kwan who adores Libby-ah, but whose feelings are never wholly reciprocated. Through Kwan, stories are told from the 1850s which may parallel contemporary life for Olivia. Amy Tan more than capably brings the stories together to a satisfying conclusion.
karenleagermain's review against another edition
2.0
I'm a huge fan of Amy Tan and I have read all, but her most recent novel. Tan's third novel, The Hundred Secret Senses, follows two sisters as they try to overcome culture gaps to form a bond.
The narrator is Olivia, a photographer who sets up the story through flashbacks to her childhood. On Olivia's father's death bed, he tells his family that he has fathered a child who is living in a remote village in China and he wishes for his daughter to be brought to America. When Olivia is six, her adult half-sister, Kwan, is brought to live with her family in San Francisco.
Kwan is a bit quirky. She claims to be able to see and communicate with the dead. She is eager to please her new American family, especially Olivia, who finds her customs and invasive nature to be off putting. Most of Kwan's visions of the dead are dismissed as crazy, until Kwan's stories begin to captivate Olivia. Kwan, a very capable storyteller, draws Olivia into her world and she begins to give into the tales of ghosts and past lives.
βThe Hundred Secret Senses failed to grab my attention. It's a messy story. Half of the novel is comprised of Kwan's ghost stories and the other half is Olivia's rocky relationship with her husband Simon. The story is muddled and between the two story lines, it takes a painfully long time to play out and intersect. Approximately 95% of the novel is leading up to a reveal that just doesn't merit the time invested in the build.
What's strange is that the story feels more like it should have been broken down into a series of short stories. The tone doesn't match between the various sections and it's jarring. I really didn't care about Kwan's ghost stories. They bogged down the pacing and it took me weeks to finish the book due to a lack of interest.β
The section involving the trip to China began to renew my interest in the novel. I enjoyed Olivia and Simon's adventure in a foreign culture. However, it wasn't too long before Kwan's stories came back into play and I struggled through the last twenty pages. Kwan is an interesting character, but only when she is rooted in the real world and not in her fantasy life.β
I love Tan's writing style and her stories are usually captivating, but this isn't the best example of her talents. β
Please visit my blog for more reviews and musings.
The narrator is Olivia, a photographer who sets up the story through flashbacks to her childhood. On Olivia's father's death bed, he tells his family that he has fathered a child who is living in a remote village in China and he wishes for his daughter to be brought to America. When Olivia is six, her adult half-sister, Kwan, is brought to live with her family in San Francisco.
Kwan is a bit quirky. She claims to be able to see and communicate with the dead. She is eager to please her new American family, especially Olivia, who finds her customs and invasive nature to be off putting. Most of Kwan's visions of the dead are dismissed as crazy, until Kwan's stories begin to captivate Olivia. Kwan, a very capable storyteller, draws Olivia into her world and she begins to give into the tales of ghosts and past lives.
βThe Hundred Secret Senses failed to grab my attention. It's a messy story. Half of the novel is comprised of Kwan's ghost stories and the other half is Olivia's rocky relationship with her husband Simon. The story is muddled and between the two story lines, it takes a painfully long time to play out and intersect. Approximately 95% of the novel is leading up to a reveal that just doesn't merit the time invested in the build.
What's strange is that the story feels more like it should have been broken down into a series of short stories. The tone doesn't match between the various sections and it's jarring. I really didn't care about Kwan's ghost stories. They bogged down the pacing and it took me weeks to finish the book due to a lack of interest.β
The section involving the trip to China began to renew my interest in the novel. I enjoyed Olivia and Simon's adventure in a foreign culture. However, it wasn't too long before Kwan's stories came back into play and I struggled through the last twenty pages. Kwan is an interesting character, but only when she is rooted in the real world and not in her fantasy life.β
I love Tan's writing style and her stories are usually captivating, but this isn't the best example of her talents. β
Please visit my blog for more reviews and musings.
cranea653's review against another edition
4.0
Somewhat of a slow start, but absolutely captivating by the end
mossymandalin's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
proseandpostre's review against another edition
3.0
I am giving this a 3.5 star rating. It was going to be a 4 star read had it not been for the ending. It felt rushed. Tan took the time in the beginning to have us become familiar with many characters, but when we finally discover their intricate connection it just lacked.
bdfarber13's review against another edition
3.0
Amy Tan is a beautiful writer. The characters and stories in this one were not my favorite, however. Olivia is an incesstantly irritating character. She treats Kwan so poorly it almost made me stop reading. She complains all the time and is deeply insecure and does not value the love and affection she receives. So. There's that. Kwan, though, is a lively character. I'm sure she'd also drive me batty, but she's endearing, and I'd love her, too. The ending is trite and predictable in a pretty boring way. I like learning about Chinese stories and history, though, so that's always interesting.
paigewetzel's review against another edition
4.0
This book immediately intrigued me and gave me a glimpse into the ways our cultures can clash or morph together. I really appreciate the way Tan raises questions without providing definitive answers. So many questions about past, present, future, family, culture, and self cannot be answered so simply. I enjoyed the characters built in Tan's world though I found the ending a bit disappointing, perhaps because it felt unexpected. After fantastic stories and imaginings the ending felt abrupt. But I can still appreciate the world Tan crafted and the questions we are left to inwardly examine as a result.