| The Hundred Secret Senses | |
|---|---|
First edition cover. |
|
| Author(s) | Amy Tan |
| Country | USA |
| Genre(s) | Novel |
| Publisher | G. P. Putnum's Sons |
| Publication date | 17 October 1995 (1st edition) |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover, Paperback), Audiobook (Cassette, CD) |
| Pages | 358 pp. (1st edition) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0399141146 (1st edition) |
| OCLC Number | 32894903 |
| Dewey Decimal | 813/.54 20 |
| LC Classification | PS3570.A48 H86 1995 |
The Hundred Secret Senses is a 1995 novel by Amy Tan, focusing on the relationship between Chinese-born Kwan and her younger, Chinese American sister Olivia, who serves as the book's primary narrator. Olivia and Kwan's relationship begins when their father dies. Kwan relates to Olivia through the telling of Chinese tales and superstitions however Olivia is somewhat embarrassed by Kwan. Kwan believes she has Yin eyes, which means that she can see ghosts. Kwan's stories aren't just stories; they are based on her belief that she is part of the Yin world, the world of the ghosts, and recounts tales from her past life. The melding of Olivia's modern Western world and Kwan's yin world come to show the desire and ambivalence of connecting and creating an Asian American identity for Olivia and Kwan, individually and together. The tension builds when together Kwan schemes to get Olivia and her estranged husband, Simon, back together by traveling to China. Kwan serves as the translator for the two writers on their assignment to discover Olivia and Kwan's connection to the Yin world. Kwan makes Olivia come to see that there are things in this world that we can understand through our five senses but that sometimes the hundred secret senses are where we understand the rest. This story is about the journey of identity, family history, past lives, and ultimately, love.
It was shortlisted for the 1996 Orange Prize for Fiction.[1]
|
||||||||