The Hundred Secret Senses

I put off other things on my weekend to finish this book because I was so involved in it, and I've been recommending it to other readers since finishing it. This book was more beautiful to me than The Joy Luck Club, but it took me a little longer to get into the book and realize how amazing it was.

The plot is summarized well on Amazon. While reading, I had a little trouble getting into Kwan's Miss Banner previous-lifetime stories. I, like Olivia, thought Kwan was a kooky dreamer. Of course, her stories have a deeper meaning, and I urge you to stick with them so see Tan's beautiful resolution of the relationship between Olivia and Kwan.

In the beginning of the book, I thought Olivia knew herself the best, and that Kwan was just an overly-emotional meddler. As the book progressed, Tan convined me of the depth of Kawn's character, and my feelings about everyone in the novel changed. Tan is a masterful storyteller for taking me in this journey of discovery.

This history of China is well-treated in this novel, and I wanted to learn more about the Taiping Rebellion when I finished. Don't be put off if you don't like historical fiction, though, because I'm not usually a fan, but I found myself entirely wrapped up in this.

When I first began to read this book, I was glad I was reading a separated woman's realistic perspective about her present situation. It's a love story without the fluff, and I thought it was easy to relate to. Though cynical, Oliva is perceptive and intelligent and I found myself sympathizing with her predicament. I too, was annoyed by Kwan and her endless yin stories. I even skipped many of them in the beginning, only to find myself compelled to read and appreciate them toward the end. Amy Tan does a beautiful job bringing together Olivia's mind and spirit to make her whole again. Reading this book became a wonderful experience as I grew to appreciate Kwan at the same rate as Olivia. I relate to Amy Tan's heroines better than any author I've read. She is a moving and amazing writer.

I borrowed this book from the library, and am glad I did. How many times can Tan write the same story? How many times can the same stereotypes be repeated over and over again? From reading her books, one certainly gets the impression that she has an intense dislike for Asian men. Surely out of several billion Asian men, there must be at least one decent one! Read the Joy Luck Club if you want to read Tan. It's her best and at least it's original--all the rest are just dull reruns of the same old same old.

I had vowed to myself to read an Amy Tan novel and when I came to Amazon.com to see which one I should read the reviews for this book seemed astounding. I thought I would be pleasantly entertained by the book, and I thought it would also be thought provoking. It seemed the only bad reviews for it came from people who really didn't understand the book or couldn't voice themselves properly. But now I wonder, how could everyone have seen this as an incredible book? Sure, Kwan was endearing, and I felt anger at Olivia's insensitivity towards her, but other than that I don't think I really got an indepth feel of the characters. One that I found was especially weak was Olivia's husband. If I was to have any sympathy for their situation I would have liked to have known him better. Most of them seemed like cardboard - one-sided, or they were neurotic - I just couldn't piece them together. That could also describe Amy Tan's writing. Neurotic. All over the place; no overall strong point or message (I really couldn't find one); trying to make a small point or a significant message in one paragraph and failing to make me care because of little elaboration or continuation through the book. It got a little annoying. But I do have to admit I did like the intertwining of the past lives. It had me asking, What is fiction and what is fact (in an historical sense)? It made for a very interesting and touching story, and also a comforting view of the afterlife. In fact, the only thing that may have kept me reading was my need to know who was who and what happened in their past lives. So I guess this book does fine for some easy, lazy, rainy day reading, but it's nothing to get too excited about.

The Hundred Secret Senses refers to Olivia's (the narrator's) Chinese half sister Kwan and her ability to see yin people, people who have died. Kwan came to live with Olivia's mother and siblings when Olivia was 6 and Kwan almost 18. Kwan became her caretaker, which Olivia resented, but through Kwan she learned the Chinese language and much about the Chinese culture. It's only as an adult that Olivia can truly come to appreciate Kwan, when she steps in to help Olivia piece together her failing marriage. And only then does Olivia finally see what a loyal friend Kwan is and has always been.

The ending is a surprising tear jerker that I wasn't suspecting. Very good, very worth reading. Highly recommended.

There can be no doubt that Amy Tan is a wonderful author. I enjoy her books and, as a man married to a Taiwanese woman, find words hit home more than the average white American male would tend to experience. Having said that, I feel The Hundred Secret Sense is too similar to The Joy Luck Club in it's words, difficulties, and general feel. While both books are well worth the read, I did not find enough variance between Joy Luck and Secret Senses. I admit this may be unfair, as each book should be taken in a vacuum. But life isn't a vacuum, and one cannot be read without influencing the other.

I should reiterate I did like the book. Several times it made me laugh out loud, something I don't find myself doing all that often while reading on public transportation. The book is easy to read, as she is great in putting words together and writing stories that come from the heart, loaded with meaning that straddle her Chinese and American roots. Her themes are ones I can identify with, at least as far as I can identify with my wife's having experienced much of the same culture clash I believe Tan has experienced.

But the book isn't perfect, by any stretch. Much of the time the story wasn't clear in the direction it was taking. Often it flailed along, not having a true course of action in it's flow. Many of the chapters were thrown together, as if they were observations Tan made in her daily life. I'm not sure what Tan was getting at with this book. Her reliance on unexplainable and randomly adhered to Chinese lore is non-committal at best. If one is to draw anything from that lore, it would be foolish, as the main character doesn't really believe any of it. Perhaps the message is of a confused Chinese-American woman confronted with the realities of life. But then, life is a myriad of confusion regardless of your nationality and country of origin.

Perhaps the book is a manifestation of Tan's difficulty in dealing with the seemingly absurd statements that occasionally come from the Chinese culture - statements such as proclaiming a ghost spirit was using them as a medium last week, or the reason a person is fat is because they have a pair of Buddha gods living in their stomach. I know the feeling, having heard these non-sequiter comments for the better part of 9 years from various in-laws, including the 2 mentioned above. Still, the feeling I get from this book is similar to the one I got from Lost in Translation, where the crux of the story is to say that she is confused, and wallowing in that confused sadness is what she intends to do.

Perhaps it is my preference in books such as Tom Robbins novels that leads me to have difficulty identifying with the main character here. Instead of attempting to move forward, she sidles down in her sorrow more often than not. Then again, it would be far from fair to say Robbins' characters resemble anyone you might meet in real life, where Tan's certainly do.

Even though I read Joy Luck Club over a year ago, it was still too soon to read Hundred Secret Senses. If you haven't read either, I suggest the Joy Luck Club first, then wait a few years to buy this one. While it is good, and I plan on reading more Amy Tan novels in the future, it did not resonate with me as much as her more popular book did. Easy to read, yet repetitive in nature, the book dabbles along, entertaining but then dragging for a while before diving head first into the mysticism that permeates the confused situation the main character finds herself in.

An all American girl Olivia, who is not so American since she is half white and half Chinese suddenly, has a full Chinese sister, Kwan. Kwan an charming character who loves Olivia unconditionally while Olivia finds it difficult to reciprocate similar feelings. Although at the beginning of the story the reader may relate to Olivia's discomfort with her new sister who is about twelve years her senior and treats her more like a daughter. Kwan tells little Olivia stories of the `yin' world which she can see with her `hundred secret senses' lead Olivia to think of her sister as a bit weird. As the story progresses the reader finds it difficult to sympathize with Olivia's arrogant behavior, which seemed normal in the beginning. Slowly the reader finds Kwan's personality more drawing. While Kwan is an endearing character Olivia is a conflicted personality. Reader is lead to wonder whether it could be due to Olivia's denial of what Kwan is trying to communicate to her through the stories, which span into two lifetimes. Olivia's American psyche refuses to accept such a phenomenon into her practical world. Finally, their journey to China is not only an experience of self-discovery, it is an experience for the reader as well.
Amy Tan writes an astounding story of two complex personalities. Every action of each character has a deeper meaning relating to another lifetime, their actions, and choices. Read this novel with an absolutely open mind to enjoy and understand the full dimension of its capacity. It is an excellent work of fiction.

This is one of Amy Tan's best. When you read it, it is more than entertaining, it is total immersion. A must read.

Too bad Tan's first book was so damned good. She's having a hard time rising to that standard again. The Hundred Secret Senses weaves a sensuous spell, examining (as do just about all Tan's books) the ancestral ties of Chinese Americans and how these old threads affect them into the present.
Hundred Secret Senses is a haunting tale of Olivia who was 5 when Kwan, her 18yo half-sister, came to live with the family. Kwan is overwhelming in every way: loving, irritating, relentless, self-sacrificing, really very disturbed and disturbing. Kwan tells long mythical tales at night - or are they family history? Or memories? Kwan is determined to mend Olivia's rift with her husband as a way of soothing ghosts from a previous incarnation.
It's a wonderful book, and most charming and convincing is Kwan's immigrant voice. But it's not Joy Luck, not quite.

I was rating (checking the boxes) several other Amy Tan books and started thinking about this wonderful novel. It isn't the plot or the characters or the setting but rather the remembrance of the feel of this book. Two years after reading it, the mood returns with just the mention of the title. A mood of thoughfulness and like her other books a mood filled with a little melancholy and much joy.