Amy Tan (born February 19, 1952) is an American writer whose work explores mother-daughter relationships and the China-American experience. His novel The Joy Luck Club was adapted into a 1993 film by director Wayne Wang.
Tan has written some other novels, including The Kitchen God Wife , The Hundred Secret Senses, Princess Bonesetter , /i>, and The Valley of Amazement . He also wrote a collection of non-fiction essays entitled The Opposite of Fate: A Book of Musings. Tan's latest book is a memoir entitled Where The Past Begins: A Writer's Memoir (2017). In addition to this, Tan has written two children's books: The Moon Lady (1992) and Sagwa, Chinese Siamese Cat (1994), which have been transformed into animated series. which is aired on PBS.
Although he has won several awards for his work, Tan has also received substantial criticism for his "involvement in perpetuating racial stereotypes and misinterpretations and inaccuracies in recalling details of Chinese cultural heritage". This, along with his often negative portrayal of Chinese culture in his work, has led some writers and scholars to accuse Tan of succumbing to Western prejudices and prejudices about the Chinese.
Video Amy Tan
Personal life
Tan was born in Oakland, California. He is the second of three children born to Chinese immigrants, John and Daisy Tan. His father was an electrical engineer and Baptist minister who traveled to the United States to escape the chaos of the Chinese Civil War. Tan attended Marian A. Peterson High School in Sunnyvale for one year. When he was fifteen, his father and brother Peter died of brain tumors within six months of each other.
Daisy then moves Amy and her younger brother, John Jr., to Switzerland, where Amy completes high school at the Monte Rosa Institute in Montreux. During this period, Amy found out about her previous mother's marriage to another man in China, from their four children (a son who died as a toddler and three daughters), and how her mother left these children in Shanghai. This incident is the foundation for Tan Joy Luck Club's first novel . In 1987, Amy traveled with Daisy to China. There, Amy meets her three half siblings.
Tan has a difficult relationship with her mother. At one point, Daisy held a knife to her throat and threatened to kill her as they argued about Amy's new girlfriend. Her mother wanted Tan to be independent, stressing that Tan must ensure she is self-sufficient. Tan later learned that his mother had three abortions in China. Daisy often threatens to commit suicide, saying that she wants to join her mother (Tan's grandmother, who also completed suicide). He tried to commit suicide but never succeeded. Daisy died in 1999.
Tan and his mother did not speak for six months after Tan quit the Baptist school her mother chose for her, Linfield College in Oregon, to follow her boyfriend to San Jose City College in California. Tan met him on a blind date and married him in 1974. Tan later received a bachelor's and master's degree in English and linguistics from San Jose State University. He also participated in doctoral studies in linguistics at UC Santa Cruz and UC Berkeley, but left his doctoral studies in 1976.
While at school, Tan works oddly - serving as a keyboard operator, carbo maker, bartender, and pizza - before starting his writing career. As a freelance business writer, he works on projects for AT & amp; T, IBM, Bank of America, and Pacific Bell, writing under a non-Chinese pseudonym.
When Tan studied at Berkeley, his roommate was killed, and Tan had to identify his body. The incident left him for a while mute. He claims that every year for ten years, the day he identifies his body, he loses his voice.
In 1998, Tan suffered from Lyme disease, which was misdiagnosed for several years. As a result, she suffers from complications such as epileptic seizures. Tan founded LymeAid 4 Kids, which helps uninsured children pay for treatment. He wrote about his life with Lyme's disease in The New York Times.
Tan also suffers from depression, where he takes antidepressants. Part of the reason why Tan chose not to have children is the fear that she will inherit the genetic inheritance of mental instability - the maternal grandmother finishing suicide, her mother often threatening suicide, and she herself has struggled with suicidal ideation.
Tan lives in San Francisco, California, with her husband in a house they design "to feel open and airy, like a tree house, but also a place where we can live comfortably in old age" with accessibility features. Tan recently took pictures and shared his artwork on social media.
Tan sang with Rock Bottom Remainders before they retired from the tour.
Maps Amy Tan
Work and theme
The first novel Tan, The Joy Luck Club , comprises sixteen related stories about the experience of four American mates. The second novel Tan, The Kitchen God Wife , also focuses on the relationship between a Chinese immigrant mother and her American-born daughter. The third novel Tan, The Hundred Secret Senses , is the departure of the first two novels, which focus on the relationship between sisters. The fourth novel Tan, Princess Bonesetter , returns to the theme of a Chinese woman immigrant and her American-born daughter.
Adaptations
Tan's work has been adapted into several different media forms. The Joy Luck Club has been adapted into a drama in 1993; in the same year, director Wayne Wang adjusted the book into a movie. Princess Bonesetter was adapted to opera in 2008. Children's books Tan Sagwa, Chinese Siamese Cat was adapted into a PBS animated television show.
Criticism
Although he has won several awards for his work, Tan has also received substantial criticism for his "involvement in perpetuating racial stereotypes and misinterpretations and inaccuracies in recalling details of Chinese cultural heritage". Sau-ling Cynthia Wong, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, wrote that Tan's novels "seem to have the authority of authenticity but are often the product of a highly-mediated American writer's understanding of Chinese things." Other authors state that the popularity of Tan's work can largely be attributed to Western consumers "who find his work entertaining in his stereotypical image reproduction".
The portrayal of Chinese culture and the often negative Chinese in Tan's work has raised eyebrows, with a scholar saying that the novel's storyline "shows an interest in throwing Chinese people into the worst possible light". This, despite the lack of cultural and historical accuracy in Tan's work, has led some writers and scholars to accuse Tan of "wandering into the popular imagination" of Westerners about Chinese people.
Bibliography
Short story
- Cheek (1987)
Novel
- The Joy Luck Club (1989)
- The Lord's Kitchen Wife (1991)
- One Hundred Census (1995)
- Princess Bonesetter (2001)
- Saving Fish from Sink (2005)
- Valley of Feeling (2013)
Children's books
- The Moon Lady , illustrated by Gretchen Schields (1992)
- Sagwa, Chinese Siamese Cat , illustrated by Gretchen Schields (1994)
Non-fiction
Mid-Life Confidential: The Rock Bottom Remainders Tour America With Three Chord and Attitude (with Dave Barry, Stephen King, Tabitha King, Barbara Kingsolver) (1994)
Awards
- 1989, National Finalist Book Award for The Joy Luck Club
- 1989, Finalist of the National Book of Critique of the Award Cycle for The Joy Luck Club
- Finalist of Los Angeles Times Fiction Prize
- Award-winning Gulf Region Books
- The Commonwealth Gold Award
- The famous books of the American Library Association
- Best Book of the American Library Association for Young Adults
- 2005-2006, Asian/American American Awards for Literary Literature to Save Fish From Sink
- The Joy Luck Club was selected for the National Endowment for the Arts' Big Read
- New York Times Important Book
- Book List Editor Choices Finalists
- for Orange Prizes
- Nominated for Orange Prize
- Nominated for Dublin International Literary Award
- Audie Awards: Best Non-fiction, Compact
- Choice of Parents Award, Best Television Program for Children
- Selected UK Film and Television Academy Award, best adaptation scenario
- Selected WGA awards, best adaptation scenarios
- 1996, Academy of Achievement, Golden Plate Award
See also
- Chinese American literature
References
- General
- The Bonesetters Daughter-The Opera
External links
- Official website
- 'Reverse Reading', review of The Opposite of Fate in Oxonian Reviews
- * Teresa Miller's television interview with Amy Tan (60 minutes)
- An interview with Amy Tan from the Academy of Achievement
- Amy Tan at the Library of Congress Authorities, with 34 catalog records
- 'I'm Full of Contradictions': Novelis Amy Tan On Destiny And Family, Interview on Fresh Air (37 mins)
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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