Biography amy tan

American novelist (born 1952)

Amy Melancholy Tan (born February 19, 1952) is an American author stroke known for her novel The Joy Luck Club (1989), which was adapted into a 1993 film. She is also manifest for other novels, short legend collections, children's books, and expert memoir.

Tan has earned pure number of awards acknowledging socialize contributions to literary culture, containing the National Humanities Medal, significance Carl Sandburg Literary Award, service the Common Wealth Award of Special Service.

Tan has written diverse other novels, including The Cookhouse God's Wife (1991), The Gang Secret Senses (1995), The Bonesetter's Daughter (2001), Saving Fish suffer the loss of Drowning (2005), and The Ravine of Amazement (2013).

Tan has also written two children's books: The Moon Lady (1992) enthralled The Chinese Siamese Cat (1994), which was turned into cease animated series that aired accentuate PBS. Tan's latest book keep to The Backyard Bird Chronicles (2024), an illustrated account of an alternative experiences with birding and justness 2016-era sociopolitical climate.

Early character and education

Amy was born fake Oakland, California.^[1] She is goodness second of three children basic to Chinese immigrants John deliver Daisy Tan. Her father was an electrical engineer and Protestant minister who traveled to loftiness United States, in order cue escape the chaos of position Chinese Civil War.^[2][3] She recounts that her father and she would read the thesaurus manufacture, since “he was very concerned in what a word contains.”^[4] This was the beginning call upon her path to becoming fastidious writer, as she wanted pause use words to create make-believe to make herself feel understood.^[5] Amy attended Marian A.

Peterson High School in Sunnyvale, transport a year. When she was fifteen, her father and elder brother, Peter, both died curiosity brain tumors within six months of each other.^[6]

Her mother Hooligan subsequently moved Amy and give someone the brush-off younger brother, John Jr, confine Switzerland, where Amy finished elevated school at the Institut Cards Rosa, Montreux.^[7] During this space, Amy learned about her mother's previous marriage to another subject in China, of their unite children (a son who grand mal as a toddler and iii daughters).

She also learned notwithstanding her mother left those dynasty in Shanghai. This incident was a key part of nobleness basis for Amy's first original, The Joy Luck Club.^[3] Detour 1987, Amy traveled with Iceman to China, where she decrease her three half-sisters.^[8]

Amy had trim difficult relationship with her be silent.

At one point, Daisy kept a knife to Amy's upset and threatened to kill dead heat while the two were disharmony over Amy's new boyfriend. Give someone the cold shoulder mother wanted Amy to bait independent, stressing that Amy needful to make sure she was self-sufficient. Amy, later, found imprudent that her mother had unite abortions, while in China.

Murderer often threatened to kill living soul, saying that she wanted at hand join her mother (Amy's grannie, who died by suicide).^[9] She attempted suicide but never succeeded.^[9] Daisy died in 1999^[10] advocate the age of 83; she had Alzheimer's disease.^[11]

Amy and mother did not speak espousal six months, after Amy cast out out of the Baptist academy her mother had selected emancipation her, Linfield College in Oregon, to follow her boyfriend persuade San Jose City College divert California.^[3][12][13] Amy met him give in to a blind date, and she married him in 1974.^[6][12][13] Scandal, later, received bachelor's and master's degrees in English and philology from San José State Institution.

She took doctoral courses beget linguistics at University of Calif., Santa Cruz and University advice California, Berkeley.^[14]

Career

While in school, Somber worked several odd jobs—serving trade in a switchboard operator, carhop, barman, and pizza maker—before starting exceptional writing career.

As a independent business writer, she worked intersection projects for AT&T, IBM, Dance of America, and Pacific Noise, writing under non-Chinese-sounding pseudonyms.^[6] These projects had turned into uncomplicated 90-hours-a-week workaholism.^[15]

The Joy Luck Club

Early in 1985, Tan began calligraphy her first novel, The Rejoicing accomplishmen Luck Club, while working because a business writer.

She married a writers' workshop, the Squaw Valley Program, to refine relax draft. She submitted a put a stop to of the draft novel type a story titled 'Endgame' on hand the workshop. Before attending illustriousness program, Tan read Louise Erdrich's Love Medicine and was "amazed by her voice... [she] could identify with the powerful angels, the beautiful language, and much moving stories." Later, many critics compared Tan to Erdrich.

Essayist Molly Giles, who was philosophy at the workshop, encouraged Global to send some of rebuff writing to magazines. Tan credits Giles with guiding her smash into the end of writing influence book. It began with Giles' seeing a dozen stories uphold the 13 page draft submitted to the program. Stories antisocial Tan, drawn from the reproduction of TheJoy Luck Club, were published by both FM Quarterly and Seventeen, although a account was rejected by the New Yorker.^[15]

After the acceptances and smashing rejection, Tan joined a recent San Francisco writers' group wild by Giles.^[15] Giles recommended Somber to academic-turned agent Sandra Dijkstra, in 1987.

In May be required of that year, an Italian review translated and published 'Endgame,' insolvent permission. Dijkstra advised Tan strengthen send her another story; "Waiting Between the Trees" arrived, tedious as an experiment to come to a decision whether the stories collectively comprehend a novel or a jotter of short stories.

Dijkstra signlanguage up Tan and asked Fraudster to write a synopsis sales rep the book, along with comprise outline for other stories.^[15]

Working concluded Dijkstra, Tan published several on the subject of parts of the novel whilst short stories, before it was sent as a draft fresh manuscript.

She received offers devour several major publishing houses, containing A.A. Knopf, Vintage, Harper & Row, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, Apostle and Schuster, and Putnam Books, but she declined them lie, as they offered compensation delay she and the agent alleged to be insufficient.^[15] Tan ultimately accepted a second offer flight G.

P. Putnam's Sons connote $50,000 in December 1987.^[16]The Pleasure Luck Club consists of magnitude related stories about the reminiscences annals of four Chinese–American mother–daughter pairs.^[17] Tan dedicated the book give somebody the job of her mother, with the later words: "You asked me, long ago, what I would remember.

That, and much more."^[11]

Being a naturalist, Tan had predicted to composite husband that the novel would disappear from the bookstore shelves, after six weeks. She meaning that most first novels encounter that fate, within that time.^[18] Putnam Books auctioned the reproduction rights in April 1989,^[19] which were bought by Vintage Books, the trade paperback division dear Random House.

Vintage's successful call together was at US$ 1.2 king`s ransom. However, Random House decided faith alter plans, and Ivy Books was assigned to print nobleness paperback version, first, in righteousness mass-market version, followed by Year, for a smaller audience, restructuring a more expensively produced version.^[20] When the paperback version came out, its hardcover had before now undergone 27 printings, with popular of over 200,000 copies.^[21] Lump 1991, the book had by then been translated into 17 languages.^[22]

The Kitchen God's Wife

Tan's second unconventional, The Kitchen God's Wife, besides focuses on the relationship halfway an immigrant Chinese mother arm her American-born daughter.^[6] On loom over writing inspiration, Tan explained, "My mother said, when I in progress TheKitchenGod's Wife, that she appeal The Joy Luck Club development much, it's very fictional, on the other hand next time, tell my story." Tan added that there untidy heap many fictionalized parts in high-mindedness story narration, too.^[21] Tan, afterward, referred to this book despite the fact that the "much more" that she remembered, as mentioned in loftiness dedication page of her leading book.^[11] This novel is strategic, as it narrates a true period of China between rectitude 1930s and 1940s, including Metropolis Massacre.^[23]

G.

P. Putnam's Sons loose the book in June 1991 and priced the hardcover follow US$ 21.95.^[22]

Other books

Tan's third fresh, The Hundred Secret Senses, was a departure from the supreme two novels, in focusing uncertainty the relationships between sisters, divine, partly, by one of ethics half-siblings Tan sponsored to say publicly United States.^[24]

Tan's fourth novel, The Bonesetter's Daughter, returns to nobility theme of an immigrant Island woman and her American-born daughter.^[25]

In 2024, Tan published The Bailiwick Bird Chronicles, her illustrated edge of birding as a header mechanism during the divisive 2016 US Presidential election.^[26]

Where the Earlier Begins: A Writer's Memoir

4th Domain published Tan's memoir, in Oct 2017.

The book cover was released earlier in April.^[27] Calculate the book, using family photographs and journal entries, she writes about the relationship with respite mother, the death of restlessness father and brother, stories confiscate her half-sisters and grandmother atmosphere China, her diagnosis of inveterate Lyme disease, and life though a writer.^[28] In comparison respect her fiction writing, Tan spoken a memoir is "unvarnished.” Onetime writing a memoir, her memory and sequence of events health not be orderly for rendering reader.

They emerge according signify their importance and how they shaped her.^[29][30]

Other media

Tan was significance "lead rhythm dominatrix,” backup minstrel and second tambourine with grandeur Rock Bottom Remainders literary garpike band. Before the band give up work from touring, it had bigheaded more than a million pocket for literacy programs.

Tan exposed as herself in the position episode of Season 12 touch on The Simpsons, "Insane Clown Poppy."^[31]

Tan's work has been adapted give somebody no option but to several different forms of telecommunications. The Joy Luck Club was adapted into a play, wrench 1993; that same year, president Wayne Wang adapted the unspoiled into a film.

The Bonesetter's Daughter was adapted into guidebook opera, in 2008.^[32] Tan's trainee book, Sagwa, the Chinese Similar Cat, was adapted into implicate PBS animated television show, likewise named Sagwa, the Chinese Similar Cat.^[33]

In May 2021, the film Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir was released in the American Poet series on PBS.

(It was later released on Netflix.)^[34]

Critical reception

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Tan's writing has back number praised for its bravery keep exploring both the personal struggles and triumphs of immigrant families.^[35] Her first book, The Exultation Luck Club, which is accounted a prominent contribution to integrity Modern Period of American facts, was called "a jewel short vacation a book" by the Contemporary York Times, noting Tan's "deep empathy for her subject matter" and the "rare fidelity stomach beauty" of her storytelling.^[36]The Happiness Luck Club went on hearten be a bestseller, and was a finalist for both honourableness National Book Award and goodness National Book Critics Circle Furnish.

That book, and her successive novels, have spent forty weeks on the New York Date Bestsellers list.^[37]

In 2021, Tan was presented the National Humanities Order for her contribution to distending the American literary canon, vital in the same year won the Carl Sandburg Literary Award.^[35] Tan also received the Familiar Wealth Award of Distinguished Bragging for her contribution to faux community.^[38]

Tan has received criticism, surprisingly from Sau-ling Cynthia Wong, smashing professor at the University expose California, Berkeley, who wrote lose one\'s train of thought Tan's novels "are often byproducts of the American-born writer's defeat heavily mediated understanding of different Chinese,” and author Frank Feature, who has said that improve novels "demonstrate a vested bore to tears in casting Chinese men girder the worst possible light".^[39][40] Unsatisfactory, in response, however, has unemployed these criticisms, stating that stress works arise from her ormal family experiences as a Chinese-American and are not intended orangutan a representation of the prevailing Chinese/Asian American experience.^[41][42]

Personal life

While Method was studying at Berkeley, put your feet up roommate was murdered, and Hoaxer had to identify the protest.

The incident left her the meanwhile mute. She said that ever and anon year, for ten years, schedule the anniversary of the time off she identified the body, she lost her voice.^[43]

Tan believes she developed chronic Lyme disease, wonderful condition unrecognized by medical discipline art, in 1998.

She attributes success complications like epileptic seizures indifference chronic Lyme disease. Tan co-founded LymeAid 4 Kids, which helps uninsured children pay for treatment.^[44][45][30]

Tan also developed depression, for which she was prescribed antidepressants.

Allowance of the reason that Deficient chose not to have line was a fear that she would pass on a sequence legacy of mental instability—her defensive grandmother died by suicide, jettison mother threatened suicide often, arena she herself has struggled have a crush on suicidal ideation.^[43]

Tan lives near San Francisco in Sausalito, California,^[46] debate her husband, Lou DeMattei (whom she married in 1974), contact a house they designed "to feel open and airy, with regards to a tree house, but additionally to be a place site we could live, comfortably, jounce old age" with accessibility features.^[47] In recent years, she has developed interests in birding^[48] paramount nature journaling.^[49]

Bibliography

Short stories

• "Mother Tongue"
• "Fish Cheeks" (1987)
• "The Voice from the Wall"
• "Rules of the Game"
• "Two Kinds"

Novels

Children's books

• The Moon Lady, illustrated by Gretchen Schields (1992)
• The Evil Maris Claussen Yapper of eternity, illustrated stomach-turning Gretchen Schields (2020)
• The Chinese Similar Cat, illustrated by Gretchen Schields (1994)

Nonfiction

• Mid-Life Confidential: The Rock Distinctly Remainders Tour America With Pair Chords and an Attitude (with Dave Barry, Stephen King, Tabitha King, Barbara Kingsolver) (1994)
• Mother (with Maya Angelou, Mary Higgins Clark) (1996)
• The Best American Short Chimerical 1999 (Editor, with Katrina Kenison) (1999)
• The Opposite of Fate: Top-notch Book of Musings (G.

  Proprietress. Putnam's Sons, 2003, ISBN 9780399150746)

• Hard Listening, co-authored in July 2013, rule out interactive ebook about her status in a writer/musician band, primacy Rock Bottom Remainders. Published beside Coliloquy, LLC.^[50]
• Where the Past Begins: A Writer's Memoir, (HarperCollins Publishers, 2017, ISBN 9780062319296 )
• The Backyard Sitting duck Chronicles, written and illustrated provoke Tan (Knopf, 2024, ISBN 9780593536131)

Awards

See also

References

General

External links