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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Racism, Violence
Minor: Child death, Car accident, Death of parent
Beautifully written and heartfelt, the kind of book I want to bury for a hundred years and meet in another lifetime.
El final es a little underwhelming, pero el libro me interesó mucho.
http://www.neapoulain.com/2020/01/recuendo-tel-guadalupereinas2019.html
Esta novela es todo lo que espero de Amy Tan, o sea, me gustó. Pero tampoco me sorprendió o fue más de lo que esperaba, realmente. Lo que sí me gustó mucho fue cómo escribía realismo mágico al hablar del mundo yin y de la reencarnación, pero el resto ya me lo esperaba más o menos porque las novelas de Amy Tan siguen todas una misma estructura. Que no es malo, las hay muy buenas, como La hija del curandero que es un libro que ha marcado toda mi existencia. Pero a veces, sólo a veces, siento que les falta un poco para ser novelas que me muevan todo el piso. Mi parte favorita de la novela fue, definitivamente, lo adorable que es Kwan y lo lista que es y lo genial personaje que es.
http://www.neapoulain.com/2020/01/recuendo-tel-guadalupereinas2019.html
Esta novela es todo lo que espero de Amy Tan, o sea, me gustó. Pero tampoco me sorprendió o fue más de lo que esperaba, realmente. Lo que sí me gustó mucho fue cómo escribía realismo mágico al hablar del mundo yin y de la reencarnación, pero el resto ya me lo esperaba más o menos porque las novelas de Amy Tan siguen todas una misma estructura. Que no es malo, las hay muy buenas, como La hija del curandero que es un libro que ha marcado toda mi existencia. Pero a veces, sólo a veces, siento que les falta un poco para ser novelas que me muevan todo el piso. Mi parte favorita de la novela fue, definitivamente, lo adorable que es Kwan y lo lista que es y lo genial personaje que es.
I fell in love with reading Amy Tan books when I was in high school and we were assigned "The Joy Luck Club". I love her writing style and she amazing characters. This rings true in "The Hundred Secret Senses" as well. I have read and re-read this book so that I can crawl into the lives of the characters and live in the emotions and events of the text. I love going between the three different worlds (ghost world, China, America). Amy Tan has a wonderful way of taking you places with her beautiful words. READ THIS BOOK!!!
Amy Tan does a really good job with fleshing out the inner workings of characters from their own perspective. Of course, Kwan was my favorite character, and I really respect the level of love and devotion that she had towards her sister--even across lifetimes! I found Olivia to be petty and selfish at times. Why does she always have to be right about everything? Why shouldn't she have to verbally communicate things to Simon? Why does she think he should be able to magically read her mind? I've run into a lot of women who think like this in real life, and they have massive relationship problems as well. Good read, highly recommended!
An interesting view of Chinese-American life. I loved the relationship between the sisters and enjoyed their time in China the most. Worth the read if a bit spacey at times.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I feel like I didn’t quite understand the importance of Kwan’s stories at first, so I probably glossed over and missed a lot of that in the first 100 pages or so. Olivia drove me crazy with her insecurities and projections, but she’s also relatable on a lot of levels. Once they started the trip to China, I couldn’t put the book down. I loved the way the story came together and I’m just amazed at how Tan’s writing pulls you into each scene. I could feel myself tensing with anxiety and feelings of guilt/shame right alongside the characters in certain moments, and then relief and joy in others. So glad Im finally digging into Amy Tan’s books!
It's become a tradition for me to read Amy Tan's books when flying. My recent trip to Las Vegas was no exception, since at the last minute, I pulled down Amy Tan's The Hundred Secret Senses - the Kindle version - and dived into it as soon as I could turn my electronic devices back on.
The book starts, "My sister Kwan believes she has yin eyes. She sees those who have died and now dwell in the World of Yin, ghosts who leave the mists just to visit her kitchen on Balboa Street in San Francisco."
There are ghosts a-plenty in this book. Two or three in particular are fundamental to the story line, and the stories of their lives, deaths, and in some cases reincarnations are woven seamlessly into the narrative, as Kwan shifts from her accented English into Chinese to tell her sister Olivia the stories. Kwan spends time in a mental institution for her troubles.
To Kwan, the ghosts are real. Olivia, born and raised in America, and not part of the culture Kwan is speaking from, is skeptical. And yet, against her will, over decades of listening to her sister, Olivia has learned the stories, internalized them, and become haunted by some of them herself, as well as taking on a few new ones.
The ghosts are the reason Kwan is so desperate to patch Olivia's failed marriage back together. The ghosts and their story are the reason Olivia, Simon (Olivia's ex-husband) and Kwan go to China. But a ghost can't change anything about its life. Ghosts are dead. It's for the living, the dying, and the newly born who ultimately bring the story to resolution.
Tan evokes both these women - Olivia and Kwan - so thoroughly you feel as though you know them, that you have known them since you were a child. Through the longstanding argument and story telling between them, she evokes the ghosts as well, and their stories, and their passions, their very lives that were, to the point that they too are characters in the present story.
If it sounds disjoint - like I'm still wrapping my head around this book, digesting it, trying to figure out how Tan did what she did, and why - that's because I am. There's a lot of story there. Tan's books are thick, dense with plot and rich with characters, and The Hundred Secret Senses is no exception. Totally immersive, and I found myself wishing my flight had lasted longer than the two hours or so it actually did, so I could get through more of it. As it was, I was up until 2:00am reading it in the middle of my vacation. It's that good. Read it. Enjoy it.
The book starts, "My sister Kwan believes she has yin eyes. She sees those who have died and now dwell in the World of Yin, ghosts who leave the mists just to visit her kitchen on Balboa Street in San Francisco."
There are ghosts a-plenty in this book. Two or three in particular are fundamental to the story line, and the stories of their lives, deaths, and in some cases reincarnations are woven seamlessly into the narrative, as Kwan shifts from her accented English into Chinese to tell her sister Olivia the stories. Kwan spends time in a mental institution for her troubles.
To Kwan, the ghosts are real. Olivia, born and raised in America, and not part of the culture Kwan is speaking from, is skeptical. And yet, against her will, over decades of listening to her sister, Olivia has learned the stories, internalized them, and become haunted by some of them herself, as well as taking on a few new ones.
The ghosts are the reason Kwan is so desperate to patch Olivia's failed marriage back together. The ghosts and their story are the reason Olivia, Simon (Olivia's ex-husband) and Kwan go to China. But a ghost can't change anything about its life. Ghosts are dead. It's for the living, the dying, and the newly born who ultimately bring the story to resolution.
Tan evokes both these women - Olivia and Kwan - so thoroughly you feel as though you know them, that you have known them since you were a child. Through the longstanding argument and story telling between them, she evokes the ghosts as well, and their stories, and their passions, their very lives that were, to the point that they too are characters in the present story.
If it sounds disjoint - like I'm still wrapping my head around this book, digesting it, trying to figure out how Tan did what she did, and why - that's because I am. There's a lot of story there. Tan's books are thick, dense with plot and rich with characters, and The Hundred Secret Senses is no exception. Totally immersive, and I found myself wishing my flight had lasted longer than the two hours or so it actually did, so I could get through more of it. As it was, I was up until 2:00am reading it in the middle of my vacation. It's that good. Read it. Enjoy it.