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Saving Fish from Drowning

Amy Tan

Discussion: Books Set in Asia

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Books Set in Asia

* Asian Authors
By Diane , Armchair Tour Guide · 25 posts · 896 views

last updated Oct 16, 2020 08:08PM

Malaysia
By Diane , Armchair Tour Guide · 20 posts · 1657 views

last updated Jul 10, 2025 12:37PM

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What Members Thought

Jun 21, 2007 Kara rated it did not like it

I'm a huge fan of Amy Tan, and this book was a disappointment.
Saving Fish from Drowning was outside of her voice and style, and unlike her previous novels, it took me forever to get into it. I finally finished after forcing myself to do so.
Perhaps it's that I've come to expect her typical style that mixes magic, relationships, lessons learned and insight to Asian cultural. You could argue that Saving Fish from Drowning included those elements. However, I feel those pieces were not entwined int ...more

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Jun 24, 2012 Amy Nash Parker rated it really liked it

Great story from Amy Tan about what it means to try to "help" others and how our own naive, self-centered views can harm those very people. Great travel book to read too. ...more

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Sep 29, 2007 Pam rated it really liked it

#2 01/04/06
TITLE/Author: SAVING FISH FROM DROWNING by Amy Tan
RATING: 4/B
GENRE/PUB DATE/# OF PGS: Fiction, 2005, 15 cds
TIME/PLACE: present; CA & Burma
CHARACTERS: Bibi Chen/ art dealer
COMMENTS: Author is narrator & did a very good job!

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Jan 21, 2018 Nikki Morse added it · review of another edition

Shelves: dnf

I just couldn’t get into this. After 10-15% of a book I give myself permission to give up. With 50 books on my “top want to read” list and over 1,000 on my general want to read list, I can’t be bothered with books that don’t grab me.

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Dec 03, 2020 Laura (booksnob) rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2020, literature, world-lit, diverse-books

A group trip to China and Myanmar goes awry when the participants are kidnapped by a Karen tribe.
It was interesting. I learned a lot about the Karen people and Myanmar.

-LL

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Aug 05, 2007 Jennifer rated it it was ok

Shelves: fiction

It's different from anything Amy Tan's ever written. And I can't say it's different in a good way. The characters in the book weren't all that likeable. The only one I enjoyed was the little dog. ...more

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