AMY TAN’S “THE HUNDRED SECRET SENSES”: A CHINESE BANQUET FOR THE MIND AND HEART

 

RATING GUIDE:

5 – A keeper!   

4 – Very good

3 –  Passable

2 –  I’d rather read a telephone book

1 – An absolute bomb.  Read at your own risk!

The first time I heard about Amy Tan was when I saw this movie adaptation of one of her famous novels called “The Joy Luck Club”.  I remember it well because the movie featured Andrew McCarthy, who was one of my crushes when I was young.  It was an excellent movie about a group of Chinese women who either lived in China or moved to/grew up in America.

While I have yet to buy a book by Amy Tan, I have had a copy of one of her books called “The Hundred Secret Senses” lying around in my house for years. 

“The Hundred Secret Senses” is basically the story of two Chinese women.  It’s primarily the story of Olivia, a thirty-something Chinese-American photographer who’s on the verge of divorcing her husband, a half-Chinese, half-American man named Simon.  She’s not a very likable character (in fact, she annoys the hell out of me).  She’s insecure, selfish, manipulative and mean-spirited.  It’s actually quite ironic that for someone who makes a living viewing the world through the lens of a camera, she can be quite narrow-minded.  You’d think a photographer would be pretty broad-minded, right?  Well, not this woman.  Only her opinion is the right one.  She’s also pretty self-absorbed. 

It’s also the story of Kwan, Olivia’s elder sister.  Unlike Olivia, who grew up in the United States and is basically American except for her “packaging,” Kwan is still all Chinese, for she moved to the United States when she was already in her teens.  While Kwan can be slightly gullible or crazy at times, she is, unlike Olivia, pure-hearted and full of wisdom. 

Work forces Olivia and Simon to travel to China (rather, Kwan puts them up to it).  It is on this journey that Olivia makes many surprising discoveries about herself and her traveling companions.

Since I’m used to pretty straightforward narratives, it took me a while before I got used to Amy Tan’s style of writing.  I found the book to be a bit surreal and confusing at first.  I thought the book was pretty slow at boring at the beginning, but Kwan was just too interesting a character that I decided to finish reading the book.

Reading this book is like thickening soup with cornstarch.  At first, everything is a slurry mess, but then, everything suddenly comes together into one.  In my experience, everything began to coalesce when I was about three-fourths of the way through.  That’s the point when everything began to make sense.  I was very surprised by the revelation in this book.  I couldn’t believe it.  How come I never saw that one coming?  But Amy Tan very sneakily planted clues along the way.  I was just too clueless to notice it.

I still didn’t like Olivia by the time I was done reading the book.  She’s just not very likable as a character.  She reminds me too much of the kind of people I need to stay away from if I want to keep my sanity.  But Kwan … now, she’s the reason why you should read this book.  She’s definitely an unforgettable character.  Kooky bordering on the verge of mad, but actually very, very wise.  She reminds you of the most important values your senses have to keep looking out for, values which have been lost in modern day life.  Loyalty, generosity, hope.

Amy Tan grew up in America, so in this book, we get to see the world she created through an American’s eyes.  The culture clash is very evident here, as is the confusion that is probably in the heart of every foreigner who grows up in a Western world.  Most of the time, it’s funny, yet at times, it’s heartbreaking.  One particularly painful scene in the book is Olivia’s reaction to Kwan being made fun of by her American “friends”.  What a betrayal!  She also gives us a very interesting story of life in old China, as well as modern day China through her funny, interesting, thought-provoking side characters.

I can only describe “The Hundred Secret Senses” as a Chinese banquet.  You know, a the kind of banquet where the food keeps on coming, and the eating experience only gets better as you go further along the feast.  This book is a multi-layered feast, not just for one’s mind, but also for one’s soul.  Highly recommended.

RATING:  5