Most Popular Books by Amy Tan

The author reflects on her family''s Chinese American legacy, her experiences as a writer, her survival of natural disasters, and her struggle to manage three family members afflicted with brain disease.

“The Joy Luck Club is one of my favorite books. From the moment I first started reading it, I knew it was going to be incredible. For me, it was one of those once-in-a-lifetime reading experiences that you cherish forever. It inspired me as a writer and still remains hugely inspirational.” —Kevin Kwan, author of Crazy Rich Asians Amy Tan’s beloved, New York Times bestselling tale of mothers and daughters, now the focus of a new documentary Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir on Netflix Four mothers, four daughters, four families whose histories shift with the four winds depending on who''s "saying" the stories. In 1949 four Chinese women, recent immigrants to San Francisco, begin meeting to eat dim sum, play mahjong, and talk. United in shared unspeakable loss and hope, they call themselves the Joy Luck Club. Rather than sink into tragedy, they choose to gather to raise their spirits and money. "To despair was to wish back for something already lost. Or to prolong what was already unbearable." Forty years later the stories and history continue. With wit and sensitivity, Amy Tan examines the sometimes painful, often tender, and always deep connection between mothers and daughters. As each woman reveals her secrets, trying to unravel the truth about her life, the strings become more tangled, more entwined. Mothers boast or despair over daughters, and daughters roll their eyes even as they feel the inextricable tightening of their matriarchal ties. Tan is an astute storyteller, enticing readers to immerse themselves into these lives of complexity and mystery.

An absorbing narrative of Winnie Louie''s life.

A mother and daughter find what they share in their bones in this compelling novel from the bestselling author of The Joy Luck Club and The Backyard Bird Chronicles. Ruth Young and her widowed mother have always had a difficult relationship. But when she discovers writings that vividly describe her mother’s tumultuous life growing up in China, Ruth discovers a side of LuLing that she never knew existed. Transported to a backwoods village known as Immortal Heart, Ruth learns of secrets passed along by a mute nursemaid, Precious Auntie; of a cave where dragon bones are mined; of the crumbling ravine known as the End of the World; and of the curse that LuLing believes she released through betrayal. Within the calligraphied pages awaits the truth about a mother''s heart, secrets she cannot tell her daughter, yet hopes she will never forget... Conjuring the pain of broken dreams and the power of myths, The Bonesetter’s Daughter is an excavation of the human spirit: the past, its deepest wounds, its most profound hopes.

Chinese-American Olivia Laguni has a battle of wills with her half-sister and lifelong nemesis, Kwan Li, whose haunting predictions and implementation of the secret senses link their family''s struggles to the challenges of their ancestors. Reprint.

“A rollicking, adventure-filled story . . . packed [with] the human capacity for love.” –USA Today “A superbly executed, good-hearted farce that is part romance and part mystery . . . With Tan’s many talents on display, it’s her idiosyncratic wit and sly observations . . . that make this book pure pleasure.” –San Francisco Chronicle San Francisco art patron Bibi Chen has planned a journey of the senses along the famed Burma Road for eleven lucky friends. But after her mysterious death, Bibi watches aghast from her ghostly perch as the travelers veer off her itinerary and embark on a trail paved with cultural gaffes and tribal curses, Buddhist illusions and romantic desires. On Christmas morning, the tourists cruise across a misty lake and disappear. With picaresque characters and mesmerizing imagery, Saving Fish from Drowning gives us a voice as idiosyncratic, sharp, and affectionate as the mothers of The Joy Luck Club. Bibi is the observant eye of human nature–the witness of good intentions and bad outcomes, of desperate souls and those who wish to save them. In the end, Tan takes her readers to that place in their own heart where hope is found. “Amy Tan is among our great storytellers.” –The New York Times Book Review “Amy Tan has created an almost magical adventure that, page by page, becomes a metaphor for human relationships.” –Isabel Allende “With humor, ruthlessness, and wild imagination, Tan has reaped [a] fantastic tale of human longings and (of course) their consequences.” –Elle “A book that’s easy to read and hard to forget.” –Newsweek

From New York Times bestselling author Amy Tan, a memoir about finding meaning in life through acts of creativity and imagination. As seen on PBS American Masters "Unintended Memoir." In Where the Past Begins, bestselling author of The Joy Luck Club and The Valley of Amazement Amy Tan reveals the ways that our memories and personal experiences can inform our creative work. Drawing on her vivid impressions of her upbringing, Tan investigates the truths and inspirations behind her writing while illuminating how we all explore, confront, and process complex memories, especially half-forgotten ones from childhood. With candor, empathy, and humor, Tan sheds light on her own writing process, sharing her hard-won insights on the nature of creativity and inspiration while exploring the universal urge to examine truth through the workings of imagination—and what that imaginative world tells us about our own lives. Where the Past Begins is both a unique look into the mind of an extraordinary storyteller and an indispensable guide for writers, artists, and other creative thinkers.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the author of The Joy Luck Club comes a gorgeous and witty exploration of birding and nature. This inspiring work cultivates hope and connection, revealing the rhythms of our world and uncovering its beauty hidden in plain sight. • With a foreword by David Allen Sibley “Unexpected and spectacular” —Ann Patchett, best-selling author of These Precious Days "The drawings and essays in this book do a lot more than just describe the birds. They carry a sense of discovery through observation and drawing, suggest the layers of patterns in the natural world, and emphasize a deep personal connection between the watcher and the watched. The birds that inhabit Amy Tan’s backyard seem a lot like the characters in her novels.” —David Allen Sibley, from the foreword Tracking the natural beauty that surrounds us, The Backyard Bird Chronicles maps the passage of time through daily entries, thoughtful questions, and beautiful original sketches. With boundless charm and wit, author Amy Tan charts her foray into birding and the natural wonders of the world. In 2016, Amy Tan grew overwhelmed by the state of the world: Hatred and misinformation became a daily presence on social media, and the country felt more divisive than ever. In search of peace, Tan turned toward the natural world just beyond her window and, specifically, the birds visiting her yard. But what began as an attempt to find solace turned into something far greater—an opportunity to savor quiet moments during a volatile time, connect to nature in a meaningful way, and imagine the intricate lives of the birds she admired.

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERThe new novel from the internationally bestselling author of ''The Joy Luck Club''.

Ming Miao tells her kittens about the antics of one of their ancestors, Sagwa of China, that produced the unusual markings they have had for thousands of years.

Otto donne cinesi: quattro madri emigrate negli Stati Uniti negli anni quaranta che giocano a mah-jong a San Francisco e le loro quattro figlie nate in California, le cui voci si alternano e si richiamano nella ricostruzione del passato e nella ricerca di un difficile equilibrio con il presente. Un racconto che parla delle contraddizioni tra l''appartenenza a una famiglia cinese e la vita negli Stati Uniti; di rapporti conflittuali, ma anche fatti di profondo amore tra madre e figlia; delle motivazioni dei sacrifici compiuti dalle madri per trasmettere la propria esperienza e la propria forza alle figlie e delle ribellioni delle figlie ai desideri delle madri, dei loro diversi ideali, fedi, speranze.

Both Sagwa and her brother Dongwa really want to win the Harvest Festival race but Dongwa will do anything to ensure that he is crowned the fastest runner in the village.

Sagwa doesn''t want to practice her calligraphy any more now that she''s seen a bunch of acrobat cats--acrocats. She tries to be one, too, but realizes she has many other talents all her own. Full color.

For the adult new reader, selections from the novel on contemporary Chinese-American women.

Writers and rock music critics describe their experiences touring with the rock band they formed to raise money for charity

Comment vivre la Chine en Amérique ? Deux générations de femmes, quatre mères, quatre filles livrent leur histoire. En 1949, quatre Chinoises, ayant récemment immigrées à San Francisco, se retrouvent pour discuter. Unies dans leurs espoirs et leurs pertes, elles décident de former le Joy Luck Club. Resurgissent alors les senteurs et les saveurs d''autrefois. On croise des bébés mariés à la naissance, des sœurs jumelles perdues sur une route d''exode, la Dame Lune qui exauce les vœux des enfants, des concubines jalouses et humiliées... Nostalgique et amère parfois, la fable se heurte à un autre langage. Celui d''une deuxième génération qui aspire à une vie différente libérée du poids de la tradition. Au carrefour de ces deux mondes : Jing-mei. La jeune femme découvre au Joy Luck Club la force de l''héritage laissé par les mères. Naît alors l''espoir d''une réconciliation car les liens du sang sont indéfectibles... « Poétique, d''une beauté et d''une imagination saisissante, ce livre remarquable parlera à toutes les femmes. » - Publishers Weekly

Con el fin de evitar que sus recuerdos se pierdan para siempre, la anciana LuLing, emigrada a Estados Unidos, escribe el relato de su pasado en China. Un día, su hija Ruth encuentra esos documentos en el apartamento y, a través de ellos, llega a conocer los primeros años de vida de su madre, y algunas revelaciones sobre el pasado familiar. Las dos generaciones de mujeres, con voces alternas, hallarán en este repaso a la memoria un punto de encuentro y reconciliación. Con La hija del curandero, la novela que sigue a El Club de la Buena Estrella, Amy Tan se consolidó como una de las escritoras que mejor ha sabido retratar la relación entre madres e hijas, y que mejor ha plasmado la confluencia de Oriente con Occidente.

Waverly, June, Rose und Lena, vier junge Frauen in San Francisco. Durch und durch Amerikanerinnen, die in ihrem Leben mehr Cola als Kummer geschluckt haben - im Gegensatz zu ihren Müttern. Die sind 1949 unter dramatischen Umständen vor der Roten Armee in die Vereinigten Staaten geflüchtet und noch immer chinesisch bis in die Knochen. Einmal im Monat treffen sich die zerbrechlichen alten Damen zum Mah-Jongg-Spiel, etwas, wozu ihre Töchter weder Zeit noch Lust haben. Waverly, June, Rose und Lena düsen nämlich gerade so schön auf der gesellschaftlichen Überholspur dahin. Da ist kein Platz für chinesische Mütter mit chinesischen Ansichten: daß nur eine unterwürfige Tochter eine gute Tochter ist. Von wegen! Die vier wollen schräge Sprüche, schräge Bilder und schräge Wände entwerfen und ihr eigenes Leben als Werbetexterin, Malerin, Innenarchitektin und Steuerberaterin leben. Mit der Kraft und Farbigkeit von Feuerwerkskörpern schießt Amy Tan, die als Tochter chinesischer Einwanderer in Kalifornien geboren wurde, ihre eigensinnigen Figuren in die literarische Umlaufbahn und entfacht dabei ein schillerndes Spektakel aus Mütter-Töchter-Kämpfen, Kulturkollisionen und Generationskonflikten.

Nai-nai tells her granddaughters the story of her outing, as a seven-year-old girl in China, to see the Moon Lady and be granted a secret wish.

1912 Shanghai sees beautiful courtesans mercilessly competing for the patronage of wealthy gentlemen. Veteran seducer Magic Gourd advises aspiring but inexperienced Violet on the unwritten tricks of the trade by reaching back into her own professional past, bringing her lessons alive with stories and anecdotes from a career spent charming and manipulating men who should have known better but rarely did.