book data
1,466 ratings,
3.83
average rating, 203 reviews
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published
September 28th 2004
(first published 2001)
by Penguin (Non-Classics)
binding
Paperback, 416 pages
isbn
0142004898
(isbn13: 9780142004890)
description
Amy Tan begins The Opposite of Fate: A Book of Musings, a collection of essays that spans her literary career, on a humorous note; she is troubled tha...more
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avg 3.83
editions: all | this edition
editions: all | this edition
Read in February, 2009
Reading this book is like sitting down to lunch with someone you hardly know and making a new friend. I happen to love Amy Tan's novels. I also like to read about writers and how they got their breaks. This memior/musings/essay book held a lot of the magic that is found in Joy Luck Club/Kitchen God's Wife with a lot of reality and the daily suffering of a writer.
I particularly enjoyed reading about Tan's mother (but of course it's the crazy/hard-lifed mothers that make Joy Luck an...more
I particularly enjoyed reading about Tan's mother (but of course it's the crazy/hard-lifed mothers that make Joy Luck an...more
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Read in November, 2008
I just read it because my mother recommended it to me. This book is clearly written for the author's fans. Since I had no idea who she was, I found it quite self exalting.
The author describes her life and the events that inspired her novels, which were inspired by her mother and grandmother's struggles in China.
A recurring topic throughout the book is the minority issues of being a chinese american and how she has been influenced by both cultures. Another important aspect of the b...more
The author describes her life and the events that inspired her novels, which were inspired by her mother and grandmother's struggles in China.
A recurring topic throughout the book is the minority issues of being a chinese american and how she has been influenced by both cultures. Another important aspect of the b...more
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Read in January, 2007
recommends it for:
writers
I highly recommend this book to all writers as well as those interested in the “evolution” of a writer. I truly enjoyed Amy Tan’s honest and insightful account of her “journey,” told through a series of essays and autobiographical sketches.
I especially appreciated Tan’s essay, “Required Reading and Other Dangerous Subjects,” in which she rejects the widespread belief that writers come in colors – and those colors do not mix and match. It is a biting critique of tho...more
I especially appreciated Tan’s essay, “Required Reading and Other Dangerous Subjects,” in which she rejects the widespread belief that writers come in colors – and those colors do not mix and match. It is a biting critique of tho...more
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Read in September, 2006
Aq mengenal Amy Tan ketika aq lagi sebel dengan kuasa-NYA dalam membuat takdir, aq merasa DIA tidak adil, mengapa orang baik justru selalu dapat musibah, mengapa orang yang jahat tidak pernah mendapat teguran, mengapa mengapa dan mengapa lainnya yang membuatku muak dengan sebuah kata bernama "takdir".
"The Opposite of Fate" itu nama judul buku dengan nama pengarang yang enggak aq kenal, aq membayangkan penulisnya juga mengalami perasaan sama sepertiku, dan tanpa pik...more
"The Opposite of Fate" itu nama judul buku dengan nama pengarang yang enggak aq kenal, aq membayangkan penulisnya juga mengalami perasaan sama sepertiku, dan tanpa pik...more
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Read in December, 2008
The book is a series of essays/stories throughout her life and about her life and writing. Although the book is extremely well written and has some interesting thoughts in it, I find Amy Tan a little full of herself and pretty pretentious when expressing her views on various subjects. There are also numerous times when she repeats stories (although this is probably because she writes the book in essay style which I didn't particularly care for). Here's a good example of a statement I found ridic...more
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Read in December, 2008
I like books about the writing process and this is a good one. It was also a needed respite from the spate of books involving terribly repressed, oppressed and depressed women. The book is a collection of musings, talks, diary entries and essays written by Tan over a number of years - many have been published in various magazines (oddly a lot of them in Ski Magazine). I liked the juxtaposition of the short pieces and longer pieces. I enjoyed her sense of humor. I really liked her thoughts on lan...more
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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.
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This collection of shorter writings and muses are a delightfully personal look into the mind and creative force of Amy Tan. I found it especially insightful to hear about her own battles with writer's block, as well as the details of her relationship with her mother set outside the constraints of fiction. As a creative woman, I found much to ponder in her musings, and walked away from this book with a handful of solid ideas I wish to research and pursue further. I even feel compelled to write Ms...more
Read in March, 2009
This is a book full of Amy Tan's musings about her own life. I can't say I'm a huge fan of the Joy Luck Club but I did enjoy this book. I always think it's insightful to learn the journey that brings someone to a certain place and I enjoyed reading about the childhood and journeys of this author. Some say that Amy is full of herself and self-exalting in her story telling and I disagree. I found her down to earth and honest. I especially enjoyed and marvelled at her relationship with her mother. ...more
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Read in December, 2008
I like reading about how writers create, and Amy Tan comes through in some essays but bores in others. There's one chapter about why she should not solely be a "multicultural" author--and I agree--but I felt like I was being hit over the head and was being whined and opined to. Yeah, yeah, I got it. Thanks.
But there's some stories that worked very well, especially one about her friend dying, another about the cabin in Tahoe she bought, and how she doesn't seek to create sym...more
But there's some stories that worked very well, especially one about her friend dying, another about the cabin in Tahoe she bought, and how she doesn't seek to create sym...more
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This is Amy Tan's book of memoirs about her life - writing as well as her personal life. I enjoy learning what goes on in a writer's life behind-the-scenes. A large chunk of this book describes her struggle with a mysterious ongoing illness that affected her ability to write. By this time, she had enjoyed the success of her first several novels and was contracted to produce more, but found herself literally unable to write. Eventually she was diagnosed with Lyme Disease, but unfortunately n...more
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Read in November, 2008
I am intrigued by reading of other author's writing process. Amy Tan has a wonderful witty sense of humor and I wish it could rub off on me. Despite the tragedies of her families' past, she finds joy and miracles in life. With determination to tell their stories and despite the influences of fame and misinterpretations of her life and work, she continues to follow her heart. I respect her even more after hearing how she has responded to her success as a writer. In fact, now i want to re-read Th...more
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I was going through Amy Tan withdrawls when this book was published. I couldn't understand why she wasn't publishing books anymore, and it was all very discouraging.
She answered that question in this book, of course, but this is so much more than just "I had to stop writing for a while because..." Her musings, her memories, her ideas - they were all poured into this book for her fans.
I admit it, I harbor a secret hope that one day when I'm walking through San Fr...more
She answered that question in this book, of course, but this is so much more than just "I had to stop writing for a while because..." Her musings, her memories, her ideas - they were all poured into this book for her fans.
I admit it, I harbor a secret hope that one day when I'm walking through San Fr...more
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Amy Tan’s book “The Opposite of Fate.” The book (she calls musings) is a collection of essays, speeches, and articles (one dating back to when she was 7 years old and others written for this book). For me, the most powerful piece was the last one. The author describes a mysterious illness that involved thinning hair, raid heart rate, palpitations, stiff muscles, joint pain, insomnia, hallucinations, fatigue, etc. Multiple physical tests all came up negative. The doctors suggested that she ...more
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Amy Tan begins The Opposite of Fate: A Book of Musings, 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 recurrin...more
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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
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Read in May, 2009
This book is a collection of essays, speeches, eulogies, and introductions that Amy Tan has written over the last 25+ years. I initially read this book because I knew that Amy Tan discussed her chronic Lyme disease in it, which is something my husband suffers from, but that only involved the last 30 pages of the book.
The first 370 were, for the most part, really enjoyable and thought-provoking to read. She talks a lot about the events in her life that led her to become a writer. ...more
The first 370 were, for the most part, really enjoyable and thought-provoking to read. She talks a lot about the events in her life that led her to become a writer. ...more
Read in May, 2009
This is an extensive collection of Amy Tan's writing.
I really enjoyed reading this. I suggest that if you want to learn more about the author and her writing than you shoul read this book. This not meant to be read in one sitting. It would be overwhelming. Each piece of writing deserves to be appreciated by itself.
I appreciated Amy Tan's honest voice.
I realize that I had several misconceptions about the author and reading her book helped cleared up most of them.
I really enjoyed reading this. I suggest that if you want to learn more about the author and her writing than you shoul read this book. This not meant to be read in one sitting. It would be overwhelming. Each piece of writing deserves to be appreciated by itself.
I appreciated Amy Tan's honest voice.
I realize that I had several misconceptions about the author and reading her book helped cleared up most of them.
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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 real...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 real...more
Read in June, 2009
I listened to this book with Ryan during a couple of road trips, so the quotes may not be verbatim. Still, here are my favorite lines:
1. "There is more power in silence."
2. "Memory feeds imagination."
3. "It's your belief in yourself that enables you to do what you wish."
4. "That's what I like to get out of a book: a connection with the world."
5. "Imagination leads to compassion."
1. "There is more power in silence."
2. "Memory feeds imagination."
3. "It's your belief in yourself that enables you to do what you wish."
4. "That's what I like to get out of a book: a connection with the world."
5. "Imagination leads to compassion."
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