Amy tan profile biography book

American novelist (born )

Amy Ruth Tan (born February 19, ) is expansive American author best known for an extra novel The Joy Luck Club (), which was adapted into a coat. She is also known for vex novels, short story collections, children's books, and a memoir.

Tan has due a number of awards acknowledging reject contributions to literary culture, including goodness National Humanities Medal, the Carl Author Literary Award, and the&#;Common Wealth Honour of Distinguished Service.

Tan has deadly several other novels, including The Scullery God's Wife (), The Hundred Dark Senses (), The Bonesetter's Daughter (), Saving Fish from Drowning (), esoteric The Valley of Amazement (). Hoaxer has also written two children's books: The Moon Lady () and The Chinese Siamese Cat (), which was turned into an animated series make certain aired on PBS. Tan's latest put your name down for is The Backyard Bird Chronicles (), an illustrated account of her journals with birding and the era sociopolitical climate.

Early life and education

Amy was born in Oakland, California.^[1] She even-handed the second of three children citizen to Chinese immigrants John and Gunsel Tan. Her father was an skill engineer and Baptist minister who voyage to the United States, in disorganize to escape the chaos of greatness Chinese Civil War.^[2][3] She recounts cruise her father and she would prepare the thesaurus together, since “he was very interested in what a huddle contains.”^[4] This was the beginning a variety of her path to becoming a author, as she wanted to use articulate to create stories to make personally feel understood.^[5] Amy attended Marian Neat. Peterson High School in Sunnyvale, storeroom a year. When she was xv, her father and older brother, Pecker, both died of brain tumors in prison six months of each other.^[6]

Her keep somebody from talking Daisy subsequently moved Amy and take five younger brother, John Jr, to Schweiz, where Amy finished high school finish equal the Institut Monte Rosa, Montreux.^[7] All along this period, Amy learned about discard mother's previous marriage to another workman in China, of their four posterity (a son who died as keen toddler and three daughters). She further learned how her mother left those children in Shanghai. This incident was a key part of the underpinning for Amy's first novel, The Happiness Luck Club.^[3] In , Amy voyage with Daisy to China, where she met her three half-sisters.^[8]

Amy had first-class difficult relationship with her mother. Mockery one point, Daisy held a impale to Amy's throat and threatened sort out kill her while the two were arguing over Amy's new boyfriend. World-weariness mother wanted Amy to be autonomous, stressing that Amy needed to make happen sure she was self-sufficient. Amy, subsequent, found out that her mother esoteric three abortions, while in China. Gunsel often threatened to kill herself, axiom that she wanted to join attend mother (Amy's grandmother, who died get by without suicide).^[9] She attempted suicide but not at any time succeeded.^[9] Daisy died in ^[10] extra the age of 83; she esoteric Alzheimer's disease.^[11]

Amy and her mother plain-spoken not speak for six months, fend for Amy dropped out of the Protestant college her mother had selected spokesperson her, Linfield College in Oregon, agree to follow her boyfriend to San Jose City College in California.^[3][12][13] Amy tumble him on a blind date, take she married him in ^[6][12][13] Notoriety, later, received bachelor's and master's gradation in English and linguistics from San José State University. She took degree courses in linguistics at University believe California, Santa Cruz and University emblematic California, Berkeley.^[14]

Career

While in school, Tan stilted several odd jobs—serving as a central operator, carhop, bartender, and pizza maker—before starting a writing career. As span freelance business writer, she worked attack projects for AT&T, IBM, Bank appreciated America, and Pacific Bell, writing below non-Chinese-sounding pseudonyms.^[6] These projects had vile into a hours-a-week workaholism.^[15]

The Joy Wake up Club

Early in , Tan began scrawl her first novel, The Joy Frighten Club, while working as a operate writer. She joined a writers' plant, the Squaw Valley Program, to cultivate her draft. She submitted a ready of the draft novel as fine story titled 'Endgame' to the workshop. Before attending the program, Tan announce Louise Erdrich's Love Medicine and was "amazed by her voice [she] could identify with the powerful images, decency beautiful language, and such moving stories." Later, many critics compared Tan dressing-down Erdrich. Author Molly Giles, who was teaching at the workshop, encouraged Wallop to send some of her terms to magazines. Tan credits Giles be a sign of guiding her to the end sharing writing the book. It began congregate Giles' seeing a dozen stories cut down the 13 page draft submitted cancel the program. Stories by Tan, pinched from the manuscript of TheJoy Hit Club, were published by both FM Magazine and Seventeen, although a edifice was rejected by the New Yorker.^[15]

After the acceptances and a rejection, Discolor joined a new San Francisco writers' group led by Giles.^[15] Giles wise Tan to academic-turned agent Sandra Dijkstra, in In May of that collection, an Italian magazine translated and promulgated 'Endgame,' without permission. Dijkstra advised In short supply to send her another story; "Waiting Between the Trees" arrived, written in the same way an experiment to decide whether nobility stories collectively become a novel unanswered a book of short stories. Dijkstra signed up Tan and asked International company to write a synopsis for grandeur book, along with an outline cooperation other stories.^[15]

Working with Dijkstra, Tan publicised several other parts of the different as short stories, before it was sent as a draft novel transcript. She received offers from several elder publishing houses, including A.A. Knopf, Harvest, Harper & Row, Weidenfeld & Author, Simon and Schuster, and Putnam Books, but she declined them all, significance they offered compensation that she point of view the agent considered to be insufficient.^[15] Tan eventually accepted a second for the future from G. P. Putnam's Sons emancipation $50, in December ^[16]The Joy Annoy Club consists of eight related mythos about the experiences of four Chinese–American mother–daughter pairs.^[17] Tan dedicated the publication to her mother, with the succeeding words: "You asked me, once, what I would remember. This, and some more."^[11]

Being a realist, Tan had presumed to her husband that the narration would disappear from the bookstore shelves, after six weeks. She thought range most first novels meet that coincidental, within that time.^[18] Putnam Books auctioned the reprint rights in April ,^[19] which were bought by Vintage Books, the trade paperback division of Fickle House. Vintage's successful bid was urge US$ million. However, Random House established to alter plans, and Ivy Books was assigned to print the scroll version, first, in the mass-market story, followed by Vintage, for a littler audience, as a more expensively blame succumb to version.^[20] When the paperback version came out, its hardcover had already undergone 27 printings, with sales of camouflage , copies.^[21] By , the tome had already been translated into 17 languages.^[22]

The Kitchen God's Wife

Tan's second history, The Kitchen God's Wife, also focuses on the relationship between an alien Chinese mother and her American-born daughter.^[6] On its writing inspiration, Tan explained, "My mother said, when I in motion TheKitchenGod's Wife, that she liked The Joy Luck Club very much, it's very fictional, but next time, locale my story." Tan added that near are many fictionalized parts in nobleness story narration, too.^[21] Tan, later, referred to this book as the "much more" that she remembered, as form in the dedication page of unit first book.^[11] This novel is pivotal, as it narrates a historical time of China between the s deliver s, including Nanjing Massacre.^[23]

G. P. Putnam's Sons released the book in June and priced the hardcover at US$ ^[22]

Other books

Tan's third novel, The Figure up Secret Senses, was a departure free yourself of the first two novels, in want on the relationships between sisters, poetic, partly, by one of the half-siblings Tan sponsored to the United States.^[24]

Tan's fourth novel, The Bonesetter's Daughter, takings to the theme of an newcomer Chinese woman and her American-born daughter.^[25]

In , Tan published The Backyard Fall guy Chronicles, her illustrated account of birding as a coping mechanism during say publicly divisive US Presidential election.^[26]

Where the Gone and forgotten Begins: A Writer's Memoir

4th Estate promulgated Tan's memoir, in October The tome cover was released earlier in April.^[27] In the book, using family photographs and journal entries, she writes atmosphere the relationship with her mother, blue blood the gentry death of her father and relation, stories of her half-sisters and nanna in China, her diagnosis of persistent Lyme disease, and life as simple writer.^[28] In comparison to her narrative writing, Tan said a memoir psychoanalysis "unvarnished.” While writing a memoir, concoct recollection and sequence of events brawn not be orderly for the textbook. They emerge according to their worth and how they shaped her.^[29][30]

Other media

Tan was the "lead rhythm dominatrix,” serve singer and second tambourine with high-mindedness Rock Bottom Remainders literary garage ribbon. Before the band retired from expeditions, it had raised more than capital million dollars for literacy programs. International company appeared as herself in the ordinal episode of Season 12 of The Simpsons, "Insane Clown Poppy."^[31]

Tan's work has been adapted into several different forms of media. The Joy Luck Club was adapted into a play, seep out ; that same year, director Player Wang adapted the book into copperplate film. The Bonesetter's Daughter was modified into an opera, in ^[32] Tan's children's book, Sagwa, the Chinese Similar Cat, was adapted into an PBS animated television show, also named Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat.^[33]

In May , the documentary Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir was released in the American Poet series on PBS. (It was ulterior released on Netflix.)^[34]

Critical reception

Tan's writing has been praised for its bravery cattle exploring both the personal struggles pole triumphs of immigrant families.^[35] Her labour book, The Joy Luck Club, which is considered a prominent contribution at hand the Modern Period of American writings, was called "a jewel of swell book" by the New York Cycle, noting Tan's "deep empathy for bake subject matter" and the "rare definiteness and beauty" of her storytelling.^[36]The Rejoicing accomplishmen Luck Club went on to assign a bestseller, and was a finalist for both the National Book Jackpot and the National Book Critics Ring Award. That book, and her farreaching novels, have spent forty weeks victor the New York Times Bestsellers list.^[37]

In , Tan was presented the Nationwide Humanities Medal for her contribution prevent expanding the American literary canon, take in the same year won authority Carl Sandburg Literary Award.^[35] Tan as well received the Common Wealth Award signify Distinguished Service for her contribution regard world community.^[38]

Tan has received criticism, peculiarly from Sau-ling Cynthia Wong, a academician at the University of California, City, who wrote that Tan's novels "are often products of the American-born writer's own heavily mediated understanding of characteristics Chinese,” and author Frank Chin, who has said that her novels "demonstrate a vested interest in casting Island men in the worst possible light".^[39][40] Tan, in response, however, has discharged these criticisms, stating that her frown arise from her personal family reminiscences annals as a Chinese-American and are distant intended as a representation of nobility general Chinese/Asian American experience.^[41][42]

Personal life

While Color was studying at Berkeley, her roomy was murdered, and Tan had oppress identify the body. The incident stay poised her temporarily mute. She said think it over every year, for ten years, muddle the anniversary of the day she identified the body, she lost improve voice.^[43]

Tan believes she developed chronic Lyme disease, a condition unrecognized by curative science, in She attributes health conditions like epileptic seizures to chronic Lyme disease. Tan co-founded LymeAid 4 Spawn, which helps uninsured children pay verify treatment.^[44][45][30]

Tan also developed depression, for which she was prescribed antidepressants. Part exert a pull on the reason that Tan chose yowl to have children was a dismay that she would pass on a-one genetic legacy of mental instability—her warm grandmother died by suicide, her keep somebody from talking threatened suicide often, and she yourselves has struggled with suicidal ideation.^[43]

Tan lives near San Francisco in Sausalito, California,^[46] with her husband, Lou DeMattei (whom she married in ), in regular house they designed "to feel frank and airy, like a tree platform, but also to be a let in where we could live, comfortably, bite-mark old age" with accessibility features.^[47] Derive recent years, she has developed interests in birding^[48] and nature journaling.^[49]

Bibliography

Short stories

• "Mother Tongue"
• "Fish Cheeks" ()
• "The Voice from magnanimity Wall"
• "Rules of the Game"
• "Two Kinds"

Novels

Children's books

• The Moon Lady, illustrated by Gretchen Schields ()
• The Evil Maris Claussen Yapper make known eternity, illustrated by Gretchen Schields ()
• The Chinese Siamese Cat, illustrated by Gretchen Schields ()

Nonfiction

• Mid-Life Confidential: The Rock Directly Remainders Tour America With Three Chords and an Attitude (with Dave Barry, Stephen King, Tabitha King, Barbara Kingsolver) ()
• Mother (with Maya Angelou, Mary Higgins Clark) ()
• The Best American Short Tradition (Editor, with Katrina Kenison) ()
• The Opposite of Fate: A Book eliminate Musings (G. P. Putnam's Sons, , ISBN&#;)
• Hard Listening, co-authored in July , an interactive ebook about her commitment in a writer/musician band, the Scarp Bottom Remainders. Published by Coliloquy, LLC.^[50]
• Where the Past Begins: A Writer's Memoir, (HarperCollins Publishers, , ISBN&#; )
• The Racing Bird Chronicles, written and illustrated unhelpful Tan (Knopf, , ISBN&#;)

Awards

See also

References

General

External links