What you need to know about this one:
- Published in 2006
- One of Tan’s lesser known novels
- Less detail about Chinese history and culture than in author’s more popular books
- Focuses on 11 American tourists who disappear into the Myanmar jungle on Christmas morning
- A satirical look at American tourists (these are all from San Francisco) who naively place themselves in grave danger while expecting their good intentions and American citizenship to keep them safe from harm
- Comic at times, deadly serious at others, even when one sixteen-year-old boy reluctantly becomes a god for the tribe that kidnaps the group
- Not what most expected from Amy Tam after The Joy Luck Club, The Kitchen God’s Wife or The Bonesetter’s Daughter
I imagine that this was quite a change-of-pace novel for Tan when she published it. I like it (not love it) because of the interesting characters she develops so well over the course of this 472-page story. If you like literary fiction, you are probably going to enjoy Saving Fish from Drowning.
Sounds very different. And interesting.
ReplyDeleteIt was especially different coming from someone like Amy Tan all of whose earlier books were so heavily invested in Chinese heritage and culture. I don’t do very well with satirical novels, and had a bit of diffiulty knowing when Tan was serious and when she was exaggerating for effect. Still a good read, though.
ReplyDeleteI am glad you reviewed this. I have a copy of this and you have convinced to add it to my books to read this year. It does sound strange, especially in reviews and the summary at Goodreads, but I think I will like it.
ReplyDeletet’s one of those books that deserve a good thinking about a few days after you’ve finished it. It has a lot to say about people, culture, their feelings of superiority no matter what their circumstances, etc. that are easy to gloss over at first glance. Its slapstick at times, subtle at others - makes it easy to see why it is not more popular a novel than it is. I’m curious to see what others might think of it.
DeleteWow glad you're back posting again. I hope you continue -- your reviews are always valuable. This novel does sound different than her others and it seems sort of a grim plot. I'm glad you reviewed it -- since I had no idea what it was about (& sort of an ambiguous title). It seems like quite a long story. Satires can be a bit tough to gauge. thx
ReplyDeleteThanks, it’s good to be back and posting a little. I’m working hard to keep myself in the right mindset now that I’ve tried to get back to the book-blogging world again. It’s too easy to fall back into the trap of becoming overwhelmed by all of the little things that daily life throws at you sometimes.
DeleteThis one reminds me a little of some of the more satirical spy fiction I’ve read in the past; very atmospheric and character driven. But as I've mentioned, satire gives me as much trouble as poetry does, and I’m not always sure if I’m really “getting it” or not.
To be honest, I never did like The Joy Luck Club (which appalled my then-college roommate who loaned me a copy- it was her favorite book). So I wonder if I'd like this one better!
ReplyDeleteI’m not much of a Joy Luck Club fan myself, maybe because I read it after watching the movie with my wife. She loved the movie but didn’t read the novel. It reminds me too much, I think, of one of those novels too perfectly tailored for Book Club discussions. As ambiguous as I am about Saving Fish from Drowning, I do think it is the more memorable novel of the two - a least for me,
DeleteI've never even heard of this one by her. I wonder if my library has a copy of it.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I can tell, this one didn’t make much of a splash when it was published, so I don’t know how good the odds are that it will still be on many library shelves. I imagine that a used copy could be picked up fairly easily and cheaply, though.
ReplyDelete