The Hundred Secret Senses
Encyclopedia
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
.
1995 in literature
The year 1995 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*The Dylan Thomas Centre in Swansea is opened by Jimmy Carter....
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by Amy Tan
Amy Tan
Amy Tan is an American writer whose works explore mother-daughter relationships. Her most well-known work is The Joy Luck Club, which has been translated into 35 languages...
, focusing on the relationship between Chinese
Chinese people
The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....
-born Kwan and her younger, Chinese American
Chinese American
Chinese Americans represent Americans of Chinese descent. Chinese Americans constitute one group of overseas Chinese and also a subgroup of East Asian Americans, which is further a subgroup of Asian Americans...
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
Orange Prize for Fiction
The Orange Prize for Fiction is one of the United Kingdom's most prestigious literary prizes, annually awarded to a female author of any nationality for the best original full-length novel written in English, and published in the United Kingdom in the preceding year...
.
External links
- Ghost Story, book review by Claire Messud in The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
- Salon interview with Amy Tan at the time of publication