The Opposite of Fate: Memories of a Writing Life
by Amy Tan
|
|
Sign in to Goodreads to see your friends' reviews of The Opposite of Fate: Memories of a Writing Life.
discuss this book
friend reviews (0)
To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.
lists with this book
This book is not in any lists. Go add it to a list.
other reviews (showing 1-20 of 1101)
recommends it for:
anyone, but particularly Amy Tan fans
This book was a pleasure to read. I don't know whether it could technically be called a memoir; it's basically a collection of mostly autobiographical essays and musings. Whatever its classification, these essays were well-written (no surprise there), interesting, provocative, and often funny. Amy Tan had just the right degree of self-deprecating humor so that she came across as refreshingly humble but not neurotic -- someone I would probably enjoy being friends with, as opposed to many other...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
I am reviewing this book after reading it for the second time, so it should already be obvious that I enjoyed it. Amy Tan, one of my favorite American writers, finally gives her fans an inside look at what inspires and drives her story-telling. All writers are influenced by their own experiences, but none have a wealth of tragedies and settings in their lives to pull from. Tan has lived through the deaths of her older brother and her father, within a year of each other, and many years later, of ...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in August, 2007
recommends it for:
nosey, lost, inspiration-seeking individuals like me
Again, did this one as an audiobook........... I truly enjoyed listening to this book. It is narrated by Tan herself, which is a bonus, and her imitation of her mother's Chinese voice and accent in comparison to her own accent-free "American" voice, was so interesting to me. But I digress..........
This book is full of humor as Tan looks at her career and life but it is fully of heart-wrenching moments of truth: whether moments of actual circumstance or moments of emotional realizat...more
This book is full of humor as Tan looks at her career and life but it is fully of heart-wrenching moments of truth: whether moments of actual circumstance or moments of emotional realizat...more
Like this review?
yes
1 comments
Read in November, 2007
recommends it for:
any woman, or man
I learned, that family, no matter how bizarre we think they are, ther is always one up on us, and to learn to know your body, doctors can't tell you how you feel, only you can try to let them know, I had a simular thing(medical) happen to me, and for 3 months in pain, the doctors all said heart, I knew it wasn't, it was abdominal, long story short, 4 1/2' of intestine had wrapped around it's self and was killing it & me in the process. All worked out, I'm well..if you can call it that, I fee...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 2006
During the 1980s, I admit I jumped on the Asian-Americans-Who-Hate-Amy-Tan bandwagon.
But after reading her memoir, I hold her less accountable to the Asian American writer standard. Why should she represent? Her job as a writer is to tell a good story with believable characters. Her books reflect her specific experience as a daughter of Chinese immigrants. It's not under her control how the public including book critics, place her books within the American canon. It's not her fault how publ...more
But after reading her memoir, I hold her less accountable to the Asian American writer standard. Why should she represent? Her job as a writer is to tell a good story with believable characters. Her books reflect her specific experience as a daughter of Chinese immigrants. It's not under her control how the public including book critics, place her books within the American canon. It's not her fault how publ...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in June, 2008
Would recommend: Yes
I was under the impression that The Opposite of Fate was a cohesive memoir, but it's more of a collection of essays. That's not to say that I did not enjoy it, or that I did not receive a full sense of Amy Tan's life, but the pieces in this book are not designed to flow together, and there are some redundant, overlapping parts. That said, I enjoyed the book immensely. Amy Tan is one of my favorite authors of fiction, and her nonfiction voice is equally appealing...more
I was under the impression that The Opposite of Fate was a cohesive memoir, but it's more of a collection of essays. That's not to say that I did not enjoy it, or that I did not receive a full sense of Amy Tan's life, but the pieces in this book are not designed to flow together, and there are some redundant, overlapping parts. That said, I enjoyed the book immensely. Amy Tan is one of my favorite authors of fiction, and her nonfiction voice is equally appealing...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
"My mother believed in God's will for many years. It was if she had turned on a celestial faucet and goodness kept pouring out. She said it was faith that kept all these good things coming our way, only I thought she said 'fate,' because she couldn't pronounce that 'th' sound in 'faith.'
And later, I discovered that maybe it was fate all along, that faith was just an illusion that somehow you're in control. I found out the most *I* could have was hope, and with that I was not denying any p...more
And later, I discovered that maybe it was fate all along, that faith was just an illusion that somehow you're in control. I found out the most *I* could have was hope, and with that I was not denying any p...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
This book made me laugh, and was very tender at the same time. I loved how Tan played on the themes and ironies of "fate" and "faith," and her honest descriptions of live as an Asian-American. At times, I felt as if she had opened a window into my own life and write about me instead of herself. Most notably was the story about writing thank-you cards with her mother. I laughed for days over that one, and made my sister and mother read it too! Tan expertly captures that specia...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Anyone who can relay her feelings about writing with as much clarity, insight, and humor as Amy Tan deserves five stars. I was amazed at how she's able to get at the core of her thoughts and feelings about the process of writing so eloquently. She's amazingly funny, too!
If you like Tan's work, if you're a writer, or if you just enjoy hearing thoughts about the creative process, read this book. I especially enjoyed it as I listened to it on CD, read by Tan herself. She is a delight, someone ...more
If you like Tan's work, if you're a writer, or if you just enjoy hearing thoughts about the creative process, read this book. I especially enjoyed it as I listened to it on CD, read by Tan herself. She is a delight, someone ...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in May, 2008
Turns out Amy Tan, in addition to being a great writer, is also a pretty hysterical gal...and is part of a rock band of authors called the Rock Bottom Remainders. One performance of "These Boots Were Made For Walkin'" resulted in the following:
"It's just not fair," Stephen King groused one night after the show. "Dave Barry got the whip jammed in his mouth two nights in a row! When's it going to be my turn?"
Needless to say, I loved this book. (It wasn't fu...more
"It's just not fair," Stephen King groused one night after the show. "Dave Barry got the whip jammed in his mouth two nights in a row! When's it going to be my turn?"
Needless to say, I loved this book. (It wasn't fu...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in June, 2008
I had heard of The Joy Luck Club, but I never read it or watched the movie, so-- go figure-- that I picked up Amy Tan's more or less biography about herself. I found Amy's writing delightful and poignant. Not only did I understand Amy's reason for writing the stories that she does, but I got to read about her relationship with her mother, which was extremely interesting. This book is a bunch of Amy's collective writings: diary entries, essays, interviews, and thoughts-- and all of it wort...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
I enjoyed this book very much. I learned a lot about Amy Tan and found her perspectives on being an Asian American writer very interesting. Her background, family history, etc. are fascinating and I appreciated her honesty and straightforwarness in writing about her feelings. I especially liked her essay on the English language--gave me much food for thought. Her experience with Lyme disease was quite enlightening--I had no idea that she suffered from this nor did I realize it's seriousness.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in March, 2005
I found her writing to be good for a chuckle but rather lackluster. I enjoyed the cast of characters that flitted in and out of her memoir (e.g. other well-known authors) but her narrative voice sounded smug and a little arrogant, which irked me.
At the root, I read this as a 'rah-rah' for Asian-American writers. Still, it's always interesting to read how people interpret their own personal histories, so it was fun as a quasi-voyeuristic experience.
At the root, I read this as a 'rah-rah' for Asian-American writers. Still, it's always interesting to read how people interpret their own personal histories, so it was fun as a quasi-voyeuristic experience.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 2008
This book, and Saving Fish From Drowning- the last 2 books I've read by Tan are definitely not her best work (I really HATED Saving Fish....). Some of the essays were interesting, but overall the whole book was kind of a yawn. A few of the essays are written in a way that requires background information the reader is never given, e.g.- her whole rock star tour thingy?..... But I stuck with it, I usually don't finish a book if I really dislike it.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in February, 2008
A varied collection of talks Amy Tan has given and prefaces she's written. Gives insight into her writing and parts of her life, particuarly her family relations. I relate to her stories about her mom and the challenges they faced when her brother and father died. She makes some good comments about the writing community and fan-dom. Would recommend to anyone who likes her books and those interested in becoming writers.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in April, 2008
recommended to Lisa by:
merecommends it for: chinese-american, writers
I really enjoyed this book. It was so different from the books I normally read. Amy Tan has led an interesting life! It was a little slow 3/4 of the way through, but I enjoyed reading about her life and relationship with her mother. Seeking the "American Dream" and the chinese culture of honoring and obeying your parents are so polar opposite. It's understandable that first generation kids grow up very confused.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in June, 2008
I've read about 275 pages of this book and I really liked it at first. She made me laugh. Amy Tan is a wonderful essayist -- I didn't know this! So yay! But the reason I'm not finishing is because it started to feel a little repetitive (facts about, for instance, moving to Switzerland with her mother and younger brother) and now I want to read something else.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in February, 2008
recommends it for:
daughters, mothers, Asians, writers, anyone
I had no idea. I had no idea what a great writer she is, what an amazing person she is, how difficult her life has been. Now that I've read this book, I know. And I am inspired.
I highly recommend this book to any daughter, any Asian, any writer, and any person with an open mind/heart who wants to know a little bit more about an intriguing, challenging life.
I highly recommend this book to any daughter, any Asian, any writer, and any person with an open mind/heart who wants to know a little bit more about an intriguing, challenging life.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in June, 2007
This autobiography left me with a craving to read more Amy Tan novels. Interspersed throughout her entertaining and heart-wrenching personal stories are little excerpts from her novels which were appetizers for the real thing. It really shines a different light on an author's works when they talk about their inspirations and experiences behind their novels.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in September, 2007
recommends it for:
anyone who like Joy Luck Club
Amy Tan really lets you see who she is. I felt like I was sitting down with an old friend. Some of the material is redundant because the essays overlap but not enough to overlook this great memoir. It helped me see this amazing author as a real person -- a person I might add who has been married to the same person for about 30 years. That's awesome!
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
