My Rating: 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars
When I first learned that I had been approved for an ARC
of Amy Tan’s new memoir, I was excited, as I’ve enjoyed quite a few of Amy’s
books and count The Joy Luck Club as one of my favorites. Reading the summary, I understood going into
it that this would be a memoir where Amy talks about many of the things that
influenced her writing over the last 3 decades, with emphasis on her family’s
history and her own cultural heritage, both of which have served as a basis for
her novels. While I would say yes, this
memoir did deliver in terms of what was laid out in the summary, it did so in a
way that I didn’t quite expect, which impacted my overall enjoyment of the book
as a whole.
In her memoir, family history was conveyed via the
various mementos and keepsakes Amy finds – old photographs, letters, documents,
newspaper clippings, etc. – all of which opened up the floodgates of her
memories of her childhood, her relationship with her parents, her brothers, her
extended family and relatives in China, some of whom she never really got to
know. Digging deep into the past, Amy
describes in candid detail the story of her maternal grandmother’s life in
China (the differing versions told to her by her mother and by relatives) and the
impact this had on the life her mother ended up leading as well as the type of
person she eventually became – the significance being how greatly this impacted
the next generation, specifically Amy and the books she ended up writing. I found this part of the book fascinating and
most enjoyable. But then, in the middle
of all this history, entire sections are inserted that appear to be excerpted
from Amy’s journals -- random segments that seem to be (somewhat philosophical)
self-reflections on her writing, tangents from her imaginative mind, ideas she
had jotted down over the years as well as parts of stories that she had written
that never got published. For me, these journal excerpts were the parts of the
book that I didn’t expect and in fact, broke the flow of the narrative about
Amy’s life and her family, which affected my ability to enjoy this book as much
as I would’ve liked. There was also a
chapter that consisted entirely of letters between Amy and her editor, letters
exchanged during the writing of The Valley of Amazement – while the
letters were interesting and at times fun to read, I felt that they were a bit
of a distraction and, like the journal entries, broke the flow of the book a
bit. Of course, it didn’t help that I
haven’t yet read The Valley of Amazement, so much of what was said about the
novel was lost on me – perhaps later, after I read the book, I can come back to
this chapter, during which time I’m sure I would be able to appreciate this
chapter better.
In addition to giving us insight into her family’s
history and past, Amy also revealed many of her personal struggles, some of
which I was surprised to find out about, such as her having epilepsy and the
periodic lapses in her brain being able to function properly, also the fact that
she suffered from depression that stemmed largely from her tragic childhood and
a family history (on her mother’s side) of suicidal tendencies. There were also the instances where she
narrowly escaped death several times, all of which were described in such
detail that it made my heart stop a few times.
I appreciated all the details and stories that Amy told about her own
life as well as those of her family, but what appealed to me most was Amy’s
depiction of her relationship with her mother, which was so vividly described
in here (the theme of mother-daughter relationships is one of the things I love
most about her novels – the ones that I’ve read, that is). There were so
many aspects of Amy’s childhood and upbringing that I was able to relate to, but
most of all, it was her relationship with her mother that had me floored
because of the striking similarities to my relationship with my mom -- many of
the experiences Amy described about the way she and her mother often interacted,
I had actually experienced the same things growing up, so I knew exactly what
she was talking about when she described her feelings and reactions to situations
that had occurred. I was also shocked at
some of the similarities in background with our parents (i.e.: my mom is also
Shanghainese and came from a well-to-do family, also a beauty in her youth who
lived a privileged life but left all that behind to start over again in another
country; my dad was also born into a Cantonese family with an ancestral home in
Guangzhou and also came from a large family, with him being the oldest of 10
children). My parents’ histories weren’t
as tragic of course, but many of the cultural and emotional nuances that Amy and
her brothers experienced as a result of being raised in an immigrant Chinese
household parallel the experiences my brother and I had -- also the pressure
this caused on the entire family was similar (i.e.: the struggles with assimilating to a
completely different life in a foreign country, constantly having to live up to
certain expectations, the resentment towards having to give up so much in
exchange for a way of life that didn’t turn out as expected, etc.). It is this personal connection and also the
emotional impact from reading Amy’s story that made me round this up to a 4. I greatly admire Amy and her mother’s
strength, resolve, endurance, and most of all resilience in the face of all the
tragedy and loss their family suffered.
What is also admirable is Amy’s continued dedication to her mother after
the death of her father and brother – a dedication that continued to endure
despite all the arguments and the hurts and the emotional pain inflicted
(whether intentionally or unintentionally).
The chapter where Amy described her relationship with her mother during
the last years of her mother’s life, when she was suffering from Alzheimer’s
and could barely talk or move, up through the days of her death, truly moved me
to tears. That chapter alone reinforced
for me the power of love and family and its ability to put previous grievances
and wrongs suffered into perspective.
Despite the issues I had with the format (if it had been
better organized instead of all over the place, I think I would’ve given this
book a solid 4 stars, maybe even higher), I would still recommend this memoir
to Amy’s fans and/or anyone who has enjoyed her novels. The writing is wonderfully descriptive in
many places and quite a few passages were beautifully rendered. The 80% or so of the book that talked about
her childhood, family history, and their influences on her writing and in
shaping who she became, really pulled me in…the rest, not as much, but overall
this was still a worthwhile read. Also,
knowing what I know now about the influence of her family background in her
writing, this makes me want to go back and read/re-read Amy’s novels in the
context of what I learned, as I’m sure her novels will take on a whole new
meaning for me now.
Received advance
reader’s copy from Harper Collins / Ecco via Edelweiss
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