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_dosia_ 's review for:
The Hundred Secret Senses
by Amy Tan
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-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
Amy really shines in the complexity of her familial relationships, her worldbuilding is beautiful and her writing immersive, and particularly the more traumatic stuff that occurs is written expertly. I always appreciate that she embodies the frustration of immigrants not being able to convey their personalities and stories fluently in English, and having Kwan be a kind of 'bumbling idiot' type of character in English, and a beautiful story-teller in Chinese, really illustrates that. Also just love Kwan. I did find it interesting, especially Kwan's ghost story and how it came together.
I had two main issues with this book;
1. The narration was confusing, and although I liked the story of Kwan's past life, it felt unfinished - it felt too fantastical and out-of-time to be historical fiction, the characters felt bland, and I found it difficult to connect to the 'deep' relationship Nunumu seemed to have with Miss Banner... honestly I was a bit baffled as to why they were reincarnated together.
2. Olivia kind of sucks as a protagonist. Where I can appreciate a realistic and flawed character, too often she came across as spoiled, cruel and genuinely just an asshole. I didn't find myself rooting for her at any point and her relationship with Simon didn't feel like 'star-crossed soulmates', but more like 'they should've gone through with the divorce' - their relationship was literally built on a hideous manipulation, lies, and presumed homewrecking.
I think some disappointment comes from this having to follow up 'The Kitchen God's Wife', which is one of my favorite books of all time, and because both books share similar structures and themes it was difficult to not compare the two, and ultimately I found 'The Hundred Secret Senses' lacked some of the authenticity and emotional impact of TKGW.
I had two main issues with this book;
1. The narration was confusing, and although I liked the story of Kwan's past life, it felt unfinished - it felt too fantastical and out-of-time to be historical fiction, the characters felt bland, and I found it difficult to connect to the 'deep' relationship Nunumu seemed to have with Miss Banner... honestly I was a bit baffled as to why they were reincarnated together.
2. Olivia kind of sucks as a protagonist. Where I can appreciate a realistic and flawed character, too often she came across as spoiled, cruel and genuinely just an asshole. I didn't find myself rooting for her at any point and her relationship with Simon didn't feel like 'star-crossed soulmates', but more like 'they should've gone through with the divorce' - their relationship was literally built on a hideous manipulation, lies, and presumed homewrecking.
I think some disappointment comes from this having to follow up 'The Kitchen God's Wife', which is one of my favorite books of all time, and because both books share similar structures and themes it was difficult to not compare the two, and ultimately I found 'The Hundred Secret Senses' lacked some of the authenticity and emotional impact of TKGW.