| Saving Fish From Drowning | |
|---|---|
1st edition |
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| Author(s) | Amy Tan |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Novel |
| Publisher | G. P. Putnam's Sons |
| Publication date | 2005 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback and Paperback) |
| Pages | 474 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN |
Saving Fish From Drowning is a 2005 novel written by Amy Tan. It is Tan's sixth and most recent work. The story follows the trials and tribulations twelve American tourists face when they embark on an expedition to explore China and Burma.[1][2]
The novel was awarded an honorable mention from the Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature.
Amy Tan says in her "Note to the Reader" that she drew inspiration for her work from a collection of "Automatic writing... messages from the unseen world" a term which can refer to stories people receive from the dead, and which are then written down. She says that a specific story, of a lady from her home town of San Francisco, caught her attention, inspiring her to do some digging and write the story which we now know as "Saving Fish From Drowning".
However, in an interview[3], she recants this explanation and claims that she actually made up the story of Bibi Chen, the protagonist whose story was supposedly passed along through automatic writing.
The book opens with an article from the San Francisco Chronicle, stating that 11 tourists, including four men, five women, and two children have mysteriously vanished in Burma, after sailing away on a cruise on Christmas morning.
From then on, the story is told through the omniscient first person narrative of Bibi Chen, the tour leader who unexpectedly dies before the trip takes place and who continues to watch over her friends as they journey towards their fate.
The novel explores the relationships, insecurities and hidden strengths of the tourists, set against the uneasy political situation in Burma.
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