Amy Tan (born February 19, 1952) is an American writer whose works explore mother-daughter relationships. In 1993, Tan's adaptation of her most popular fiction work, The Joy Luck Club, became a commercially successful film.
Tan has written several other books, including The Kitchen God's Wife, The Hundred Secret Senses, and The Bonesetter's Daughter, and a collection of non-fiction essays entitled The Opposite of Fate: A Book of Musings. Her most recent book, Saving Fish From Drowning, explores the tribulations experienced by a group of people who disappear while on an art expedition in the jungles of Burma. In addition, Tan has written two children's books: The Moon Lady (1992) and Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat (1994), which was turned into an animated series airing on PBS. She has also appeared on PBS in a short spot encouraging children to write.
Easton Press Amy Tan books
The Joy Luck Club - signed modern Classic - 2000Saving Fish From Drowning - signed first edition (limited to 1450 copies) - 2005
The Valley of Amazement - signed first edition (limited to 600 copies) - 2013
Franklin Library Amy Tan books
The Kitchen God's Wife - signed first edition - 1991
The Hundred Secret Senses - signed first edition - 1995
(This page contains affiliate links for which we may be compensated.)
Author Amy Tan
Tan was born in Oakland, California. She is the second of three children born to Chinese immigrants Daisy (née Li), who was forced to leave her three daughters from a previous marriage behind in Shanghai, and John Tan, an electrical engineer and Baptist minister. This incident provided the basis for Tan's first novel, 1989 New York Times bestseller The Joy Luck Club. When Tan was 15 years old, her older brother Peter and father both died of brain tumors within a year of each other. Daisy moved Amy and her younger brother John Jr. to Switzerland, where Amy finished high school. During this period, Amy learned about her mother's former marriage to an abusive man in China, and of their four children, including three daughters and a son who died as a toddler. In 1987 Amy traveled with Daisy to China. There, Amy met her three half-sisters.Tan received her bachelor's and master's degrees in English and linguistics from San José State University, and later did doctoral linguistics studies at UC Santa Cruz and UC Berkeley.
She has been a member of the Rock Bottom Remainders, a rock band consisting of published writers, including Barbara Kingsolver, Matt Groening, Dave Barry and Stephen King, among others.
Writing
Tan's first novel was The Joy Luck Club, published in 1989, which became a best-seller. The novel consists of sixteen related stories about the experiences of four Chinese-American mother-daughter pairs.In 1991, The Kitchen God's Wife was published. Tan's second novel was critically acclaimed and also focuses on the relationship between an immigrant Chinese mother and her American-born daughter.
The Hundred Secret Senses, published in 1995, was a departure from the first two novels, in focusing on the relationships between sisters. The Bonesetter's Daughter, Tan's fourth novel, tells the story of an immigrant Chinese woman and her American-born daughter.
Tan's work has been adapted into films and other media. The Joy Luck Club was adapted into a both a play and a film in 1993. The Bonesetter's Daughter was adapted into an opera in 2008. Tan's children's book Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat was adapted into a PBS animated television show.
Amy Tan books in order
The Joy Luck Club (1989)The Kitchen God's Wife (1991)
The Hundred Secret Senses (1995)
The Bonesetter's Daughter (2001)
Saving Fish from Drowning (2005)
The Valley of Amazement (2013)
Children's books
The Moon Lady, illustrated by Gretchen Schields (1992)The Chinese Siamese Cat, illustrated by Gretchen Schields (1994)
Nonfiction
Mid-Life Confidential: The Rock Bottom Remainders Tour America With Three Chords and an Attitude (with Dave Barry, Stephen King, Tabitha King, Barbara Kingsolver) (1994)Mother (with Maya Angelou, Mary Higgins Clark) (1996)
The Best American Short Stories 1999 (Editor, with Katrina Kenison) (1999)
The Opposite of Fate: A Book of Musings (2003)
Hard Listening: The Greatest Rock Band Ever, (of Authors) Tells All (with Mitch Albom, Dave Barry, Sam Barry, Roy Blount Jr., Matt Groening, Ted Habte-Gabr, Greg Iles, Stephen King, James McBride, Roger McGuinn, Ridley Pearson, Scott Turow), an interactive ebook about her participation in a writer/musician band, the Rock Bottom Remainders (2013)
Where the Past Begins: A Writer's Memoir (2017)
The Backyard Bird Chronicles, written and illustrated by Tan (2024)
Source and additional information: Amy Tan