Amy Tan (People to Know) [Library Binding]

Barbara Kramer (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 11 and up | Grade Level: 6 and up | Series: People to Know

Explores the life and career of author Amy Tan, from her childhood in Oakland, California, through her struggle to accept her Chinese heritage, to her career as a writer.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-6?A biography that could be read for recreation or used for assignments. The chapters are well organized, and the bits of personal information meld to create an engaging look at the likable subject. Sources are given for all dialogue and quotes. There is at least one black-and-white photograph per chapter. Kramer has presented a wonderful role model for young people, especially Asian Americans, females, and aspiring writers. This title is a solid choice for collections with a demand for contemporary biographies.?Linda Gray, Tyler Public Library, TX
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 6^-12. Rooted as it is in the Chinese American experience, Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club (1989) is a best-seller because it's about the love and anger between mothers and daughters everywhere. This very readable literary biography talks about how Tan became a fiction writer, the books that influenced her (including Louise Erdrich's Love Medicine [1984]), the success of her second novel, The Kitchen God's Wife (1991), and how much of her writing is autobiographical and how much is not. There are well-chosen quotes from published interviews and from reviews, positive and negative, all meticulously documented in chapter notes at the back. Tan is candid about her early denial of her immigrant background, her longing to be a "true" unhyphenated American, and about how she changed and came to celebrate her family roots, in China and here. Lots of black-and-white photos show a smiling, glamorous Tan playing pool, singing in her rock band, with her mother, and at home with her husband. A brief final note talks about other Chinese American writers. Hazel Rochman

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 11 and up
  
• Library Binding: 112 pages
• Publisher: Enslow Publishers (June 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0894906992
• ISBN-13: 978-0894906992
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,056,360 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars reader's opinion, February 10, 2000

By 

camvy vo (United States of AMerica) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Amy Tan (People to Know) (Library Binding)

I loved this book, i have read it about four times. I think that Amy Tan does a very good job of portraying the Asian American families in the United States. I related to this book a lot, those of you that have similar problems should read this book. Of course everyone has heard about the movie, but i feel the book is a lot better. If you have heard of any Tan's other book "The Kitchen God's Wife", pick it up, it addressing a lot of the same aspects as in "The JOy LUck Club."

4.0 out of 5 stars The Joy Luck Club's rave., April 15, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Amy Tan (People to Know) (Library Binding)

"The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan is a book about the lives and journey of four Chinese women (Suyuan Woo, An-mei Hsu, Lindo Jong, and Ying-ying St. Clair) & their American-born daughts (Jing-mei "June" Woo, Rose Hsu Jordan, Waverly Jong, and Lena St. Clair). Capitivated in a series of shorts, are tales of the pre-1949 to today's modern times. The Joy Luck Club held it's statis as it was named for, hope and good fortune. As the next generation holds its' faith, it becomes something just a little more special, linking two generations together..

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars This book is grossly overrated, October 31, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Amy Tan (People to Know) (Library Binding)

The book provides a detailed description of the lives of eight Chinese-American women and the issues they have to face. However, by the end of first few sections the book becomes redundant with very predictable outcomes. Certain details, such as jobs at fortune cookie factories, lead to a general impression of primitivity and lack of imagination. The story itself tries to imitate conflicts and plots of a mature tragedy, but does so rather poorly. The book may have been slightly more acceptable if its profusion of characters had been cut down to two. Other than for a required assignment this book does not add much to one's reading experience.