false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171375276m/97331.jpg 97331 27 Amy Tan begins <I>The Opposite of Fate: A Book of Musings</I>, a collection of essays that spans her literary career, on a humorous note; she is troubled that her life and novels have become the subject of a "Cliff's Notes" abridgement. Reading the little yellow booklet, she discovers that her work is seen as complex and rich with symbolism. However, Tan assures her readers that she has no lofty, literary intentions in writing her novels--she writes for herself, and insists that the recurring patterns and themes that critics find in them are entirely their own making. This self-deprecating stance, coupled with Tan's own clarification of her intentions, makes <I>The Opposite of Fate</I> feel like an extended, private conversation with the author. <p> Tan manages to find grace and frequent comedy in her sometimes painful life, and she takes great pleasure in being a celebrity. "Midlife Confidential" brings readers on tour with Tan and the rest of the leather-clad writers' rock band, the Rock-Bottom Remainders. And "Angst and the Second Book" is a brutally honest, frequently hysterical reflection on Tan's self-conscious attempts to follow the success of <I>The Joy Luck Club</I>. <p> In a collection so diverse and spanning such a long period of time, inevitably some of the pieces feel dated or repetitious. Yet, Tan comes off as a remarkably humble and sane woman, and the book works well both to fill in her biography and to clarify the boundaries between her life and her fiction. In her final, title essay, Tan juxtaposes her personal struggles against a persistent disease with the nation's struggles against terrorism in the aftermath of 9/11. She declares her transformative, artistic power over tragedy, reflecting: "As a storyteller, I know that if I don't like the ending, I can write a better one." <I>--Patrick O'Kelley </i> 1842599 2001 The Opposite of Fate: Memories of a Writing Life total:1676|5:457|4:616|3:458|2:129|1:16| 1676 6397 2405 241 4 2 false false Fri Feb 06 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 01 11:34:49 -0800 2009 Fri Feb 06 12:02:44 -0800 2009 more...]]> 2 1 false false Tue Nov 18 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Nov 20 12:19:26 -0800 2008 Thu Nov 20 12:30:01 -0800 2008 1 The author describes her life and the events that inspired her novels, which were inspired by her mother and grandmother'...more...]]> 4 1 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Sat Oct 18 09:17:06 -0700 2008 Sat Nov 01 08:10:37 -0700 2008
I especially appreciated Tan’s essa...more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2006 Thu Feb 19 00:15:59 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 19 00:18:02 -0800 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Sat Dec 27 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Jan 09 01:03:41 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 09 01:04:53 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false true Sat Nov 14 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Nov 15 08:36:12 -0800 2009 Sun Nov 15 08:55:34 -0800 2009
The last third slows down with more musings and philosphy a...more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Jul 30 18:44:53 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 30 18:45:00 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Dec 24 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 15 20:10:04 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 24 18:45:41 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 1 false false Sun Apr 13 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Apr 04 19:10:07 -0700 2008 Tue Apr 15 18:30:32 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Sep 26 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 30 06:38:20 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 30 06:39:59 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Sep 04 06:43:36 -0700 2009 Fri Sep 18 20:19:32 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Mar 29 18:29:32 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 07 08:09:29 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Mar 18 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Mar 11 09:42:01 -0700 2009 Wed Mar 18 15:20:39 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Dec 05 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Jan 20 14:17:42 -0800 2009 Tue Jan 20 14:20:31 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Jun 15 17:06:01 -0700 2009 Thu Jun 18 14:59:53 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Nov 23 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Nov 18 18:33:08 -0800 2008 Sun Nov 23 09:52:47 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Jul 22 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 18 17:09:16 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 26 19:13:28 -0700 2009
I read Tan's first two novels many years ago (I just checked - it has been 20 years since Joy Luck Club was published.) I really enjoyed them. It was especially fascinating t...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Nov 09 08:40:52 -0800 2008 Sun Nov 09 08:40:52 -0800 2008
She answered that question in this book, of course, but this is so much more than just "I had to stop writing for a wh...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Aug 23 21:18:45 -0700 2008 Sat Aug 23 21:19:12 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Jul 28 07:13:11 -0700 2008 Mon Jul 28 07:13:11 -0700 2008 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=97331