Book Description
Fun with Chinese Characters (in three volumes) makes learning Chinese characters entertaining and memorable! Every page contains all the information you need to learn a Chinese character: the origin (etymology) of a character, its description and an entertaining illustration by cartoonist Tan Huay Peng. Knowing the origin greatly simplify the recognition the characters. The cartoons which accompany each character are often comical and clever. Examples of how the character is used in compound phrases are offered. First volume contains an in-depth introduction on the genesis of the characters. The third volume contains index of all 480 characters and their location.
The characters are written in traditional and simplified characters and has romanized pinyin pronunciation. Stroke orders, definition and example sentence make this book a valuable resource. Learning Chinese characters has never been so much fun!
Customer Reviews:
great for beginners.......2007-03-09
Very accessable. Shows line by line how the character is drawn with a dozen or so examples of the character along with another forming words. There is also a cartoon showing how the character has changed over centuries or why the character is shaped the way it is. It's the perfect book for someone like me, trying to begin on their own.
Not Just For Fun.......2006-09-19
I found 'Fun With Chinese Characters', as well as the rest of Tan's work, easy to read, informative, and very helpful in learning Chinese.
After a brief introdouction to the Chinese language each page deals with one character, providing examples of older forms, a story behind the character, which sometimes gived insight into Chinese culture or proverbs (A word of warning should be given that not all of his explanations are genuine, some are purely mnemonic. However, he never claims anything more.), a cartoon to illustrate the point, several compound words and a simple example sentence.
Strong/helpful points are the mnemonic focus of the book (illustraions, stories, historical development, etc.), pinyin, the breaking down of some of the characters into primary components.
Weaknesses are that not all of his explanations are genuine and their is nothing to tell you when they are genuine and when they are not, which is the only reason why I only gave it 3 stars. Also I found the referencing to characters to be wanting.
If you're a visual learner and you are in it for ease of learning and memory aid then you will probably enjoy this book.
However, if you are after a historical/scholarly work on Chinese characters then you will likely be disappointed. (McNaughton's 'Reading and Writing Chinese: A Comprehensive Guide to the Chinese Writing System' available in both simplified and traditional characters and Harbaugh's 'Chinese Characters: A Genealogy and Dictionary' might be better for you.)
Remember, the book is called, 'FUN With Chinese Characters'
Outstanding Work for a Number of Reasons.......2006-03-16
This book (with its two companion volumes) is a wonderful work for a number of reasons. Its introductory essay (a nine page historical overview of Chinese characters, emphasizing their phonetic-radical structure) is worth the price of the book all by itself. The cartoon drawings are artful and evocative. The generative and mnemonic entries are informative, historically based, and sublimely written. The work emphasizes simplified characters but supports traditional characters as well. It has examples of modern usage.
I have only a few caveats: The handwritten characters for given names (e.g., those for Cang Ji) in the introductory essay are virtually indecipherable. There are unfortunately no examples from literary Chinese (wen yan wen). Many proverbs (cheng yu)occur only in English translation, not in the original Chinese.
Nevertheless, I highly recommend this work for beginners and intermediate Chinese readers. Advanced Chinese readers will appreciate it for its colloquial and artistic qualities--and may find amusing or enlightening tidbits within.
Awsome as a study aid!.......2006-01-24
This is a really fun book. I'm currently in my first year of chinese and really enjoy using this book outside of school. My teacher recommended it to me. It illustrates characters that normally seem difficult in a fun way. This isn't the best choice for someone who is not taking chinese in a class but independantly. It doesn't give much detail on how to use the words. It's just like an interactive dictionary. I absolutely love it.
Great for What it Is!.......2005-03-16
This series is a great aid to memorizing characters. There is one character per page, and for each character there is an accompanying illustration, along with a selection of words and phrases that feature the character, the pin-yin pronunciation and the traditional character, if applicable. In addition, there is an illustration of the evolution of the character over time, from the most ancient form found on the tortoise shells, to the modern form.
It is not a scholarly reference book, and is not organized as such. It is meant to be flipped through casually and enjoyed. This series has been in print since the 1970s, so the illustrations ARE dated, as one reviewer points out below. Often the illustrations are of people in traditional costume, but one shouldn't take offense because of this! It wouldn't make any sense to see a pig, for example, hanging out in the house of a Beijinger with a bike parked out back; but the pig does make sense in an old farmer's house. Furthermore there is intelligent irony to be found in the illustrations that is sensitive to women's history and other issues. So, if you take offense with illustrations of people in traditional Chinese costume or of silk worms, lanterns, etc., this book is not for you. I say, lighten up and enjoy this wonderful book!
Book Description
The Chinese believe an unseen red thread joins those in this life who are destined to connect. For photographer Richard Bowen, that thread led him to China's state-run welfare institutions, where there are thousands of children, primarily girls, growing up without families to take care of them. Mei Mei presents a poignant glimpse of just a few of these remarkable children. Composed against neutral backgrounds, these portraits capture the girls inner lives, away from their often bleak surroundings. The images show an almost endless range of expressions: small faces filled with longing and hope, joy and sadness, humor and mischief, defiance and despair. Through the camera's eye these young children are no longer orphans, but individuals whose personalities are as vital, distinct, and beautiful as any mother's child. When that unique human being comes into focus, the connection is made and the red thread becomes visible. And once seen, the bond can never be broken.
Customer Reviews:
Touching.......2007-06-08
This book touches my soul every time I open it. I have adopted two girls from China and I see their reflections on every page.
Wonderful book!.......2007-01-25
We are in the process of adopting a baby from China, and this book just made my heart break. The images are so beautiful, and the children are so precious! In my mind, they seem to be simply be waiting... We can't wait to give one of them a home.
Heartbreaking.......2007-01-06
As an adoptive parent of a beautiful Chinese girl, I became extremely upset when I viewed these pictures. But by the grace of God, my daughter could have been featured in this book. That thought and the pictures of these children absolutely broke my heart. The pictures are beautiful but left me with a sense of helplessness because you can't save them all....although you want to. I returned the book because it was just too upsetting. I was torn between giving the book 5 stars because of the impact it has, but gave it 3 so someone might read this review and think twice about viewing it. It was not worth it for me.
From a parent.......2006-08-05
I purchased this book for my wife as we have adopted a baby girl from China. While these photos are from a different orphanage, the impact is the same. We did not get to see all the children at our daughter's orphanage, and they don't allow photos of the kids anyway. I recommend this book for any adoptive parents of children from China, or those looking into it. I will warn you, you will want to go back for more.
Beautiful & Touching.......2006-04-18
Words can't describe this beautiful little book, filled with beautiful little girls. I especially love the list of their names at the back, as they translate into English, things like Literary Excellence & Radiant Jade. The children do seem sad or at least suspicious of the photographer, and why not? It's probably not every day that some Westerner visits to take pictures. But there is mischief & hope in these little girls' faces, & just affirms my ambition for half my life to adopt from China.
Average customer rating:
- That rare book I can recommend to any would-be writer
- I had no idea.
- Serendipity in Essay Form
- Disbelief
- Story of Serendipity
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The Opposite of Fate
Amy Tan
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ASIN: 0399150749
Release Date: 2003-10-27 |
Amazon.com
Amy Tan begins The Opposite of Fate: A Book of Musings, a collection of essays that spans her literary career, on a humorous note; she is troubled that her life and novels have become the subject of a "Cliff's Notes" abridgement. Reading the little yellow booklet, she discovers that her work is seen as complex and rich with symbolism. However, Tan assures her readers that she has no lofty, literary intentions in writing her novels--she writes for herself, and insists that the recurring patterns and themes that critics find in them are entirely their own making. This self-deprecating stance, coupled with Tan's own clarification of her intentions, makes The Opposite of Fate feel like an extended, private conversation with the author.
Tan manages to find grace and frequent comedy in her sometimes painful life, and she takes great pleasure in being a celebrity. "Midlife Confidential" brings readers on tour with Tan and the rest of the leather-clad writers' rock band, the Rock-Bottom Remainders. And "Angst and the Second Book" is a brutally honest, frequently hysterical reflection on Tan's self-conscious attempts to follow the success of The Joy Luck Club.
In a collection so diverse and spanning such a long period of time, inevitably some of the pieces feel dated or repetitious. Yet, Tan comes off as a remarkably humble and sane woman, and the book works well both to fill in her biography and to clarify the boundaries between her life and her fiction. In her final, title essay, Tan juxtaposes her personal struggles against a persistent disease with the nation's struggles against terrorism in the aftermath of 9/11. She declares her transformative, artistic power over tragedy, reflecting: "As a storyteller, I know that if I don't like the ending, I can write a better one." --Patrick O'Kelley
Book Description
In her first book of nonfiction, bestselling novelist Amy Tan shares her personal philosophy of fate.
Amy Tan was born into a family that believed in fate. In The Opposite of Fate: A Book of Musings, she explores this legacy, as well as American circumstances, and finds ways to honor the past while creating her own brand of destiny. She discovers answers in everyday actions and attitudes-from writing stories, decorating her house with charms, learning to ski, and living with squirrels, to dealing with three members of her family afflicted with brain disease, surviving natural disasters, and shaking off both family curses and the expectations that she should become a doctor and a concert pianist.
With the same spirit, humor, and magic that characterize her beloved novels, Amy Tan presents a refreshing antidote to the world-weariness and uncertainties we face today, contemplating how things happen-in her own life and beyond-but always returning to the question of fate and its opposites: the choices, charms, influences, attitudes, and lucky accidents that shape us all.
Customer Reviews:
That rare book I can recommend to any would-be writer.......2007-06-17
The first Amy Tan book I read was THE KITCHEN GOD'S WIFE, and it blew me away. It did what a really fine literary novel ought to do, in my opinion: it spoke the truth about human beings. While I enjoyed Tan's use of her own Chinese American background to give the book its setting, and her sharing of her heritage with its characters, I took those things as judicious use of the oldest and best advice given to fiction writers: "Write what you know." I was surprised, therefore, to read in this memoir about Tan's amazement when she began hearing herself declared a "minority" writer. A "writer of color," and so on. With each of those labels came a heavy load of expectations, of responsibilities (as perceived by those applying the label) to which she must rise. What didn't surprise me one bit, though, was the resentment that followed Tan's initial consternation. Labels that seem perfectly logical, and therefore helpful, to someone else can be limiting and hurtful to the person slapped with them. To put it another way, being pigeonholed pinches. And attempting to live up to the expectations of readers, reviewers, etc. as one writes a second novel after producing a wildly successful first book has got to be the most creativity-stifling exercise in this world.
I remember something else about THE KITCHEN GOD'S WIFE. I'd never heard of Amy Tan when I happened to pick it up, scan it, and decide to take it home. I sought out THE JOY LUCK CLUB, therefore, only after getting to know Tan's writing from her second book; and although I enjoyed her first, I thought (and still think) that her second novel is better by far. What I loved about both books was the universality of their themes, and of the characters I met in their pages. I'm not Chinese American (I'm a Down East Yankee, thank you very much, with Maine coastal roots three centuries deep). But I recognized the women she wrote about just the same! And despite cultural differences, I also recognized their joys and their sorrows; their dilemmas, and the ways in which they resolved them.
People are people everywhere, and writing is something writers do in order to stay sane. That's what Tan's work tells me. Both her novels, and this memoir that will be joining Stephen King's ON WRITING as that rare book I can recommend to any would-be writer. "Read this first, and then decide whether or not you're really cut out for this life," I can say. "This writer tells it like it is, and you need to know what you're getting into."
I had no idea........2007-05-14
I finised this book several weeks ago and still can't get it out of my mind. That last chapter was brutal. This book was also responsible for me hunting down a copy of "The Best American Short Stories - 1999". Thanks Amy, I've read all your (adult) books and have enjoyed them all.
Serendipity in Essay Form.......2007-04-05
Tan gives the reader a glimpse into her life with this collection of essays covering everything from a China trip with her mother to a childhood crush.
Disbelief.......2007-01-29
I enjoyed the style of Amy Tan's writing in this collection of essays, which span a broad range of topics: a China trip with her mother, a childhood crush, and the violent death of a friend, to name a few. I enjoyed the glimpse Tan was able to give the reader into her real life, and the contrasts between her reality and the fiction she writes. I liked reading about how she writes her novels, where her ideas originate and how she sometimes struggles to keep a book going when her inspiration seems to have failed her. Tan jumped off of the pages as a real, three-dimensional person, and one that I liked.
I was uncomfortable with one aspect of the book, though. Tan writes at one point that she realized as a child that memory was highly suggestible. She reveals that when she writes something, sometimes what she's written becomes confused with the actual truth. She presents two meetings with writer Vladimir Nabokov, then reveals that she never actually met him, that these were fictional constructions based on wishful thinking.
This seeming willingness to be foggy about the truth made me a bit suspicious about much of the book. Tan writes in many of her essays about the overwhelming string of coincidences she's noticed in her life. She writes of her friend predicting the circumstances of his death, which then come to pass almost exactly as he'd thought. She describes being worried about an unforseen bill for her cat's medical care, then being involved in a fender-bender with the man at fault offering to pay her, in cash, the exact amount of the worrisome bill. This focus on coincidences and also on proving the existence of ghosts or other friendly spirits that inhabit Tan's life, made me feel she was not a reliable narrator and perhaps I shouldn't take what she had written to heart.
Rather than simply appreciating her writing and the stories of her life, I found myself pulling back from Tan frequently with disbelief, which weakened my enjoyment of her book.
Story of Serendipity.......2006-12-13
Time and time again as children, we are told to do our best to accomplish our goals. We have it reinforced in us by parents, teachers, religious, and other community leaders. It's inbred in us that it is our greatest opportunity and privilege as citizens of the United States of America to do our best to accomplish our dreams. Some people do succeed, some don't, and sometimes people end up involved or doing something that they never thought or even considered being a part of or thought that they would get into. All things are possible, but sometimes our path in life takes unexpected turns for whatever reason because of the people we are close with.
Even before graduation, high school students typically decide in their senior year that they are going to college to further their education. Then somewhere along the line, they may end up doing something different: they may change a major, change universities or colleges, instead of college, they may decide that they should drop out to become a mechanic because it's a skilled trade, or maybe they decide that instead of art school they want to pursue a career in medicine. Maybe, like Bill Gates, they don't even finish high school and drop out to program computers that end up being the next big thing. There is the occasion that students stick with their original plans, and there are times where something happens to change it all.
Now imagine that you're in your senior year at Berkley at the University of California. You are on your way to getting your doctorates in linguistics and aren't really sure what you're going to do with the rest of you life after that point. Then something drastic happens. One of your good friends and roommates is murdered the night that he moves into his brand new apartment. In Amy Tan's case, the entire course of her life changed with the event of that friend's death and with influence of her mother upon her own life.
Throughout our lives we come across people who make a great impact upon us that later comes back to aide or hinder us somehow in the most difficult times we experience, like in a traumatic time as Amy experienced with the death of her friend, the trial of the murders of her friend, and the passing of her mother. The life of Amy Tan is a great example of how relationships can truly influence and change our fate, as she writes about her experiences in her book, The Opposite of Fate: Memoirs of a Writing Life. The book offers a look into her life as she deals with the struggles of so much tragedy and recalls each as an important step in her life as a writer. Chopped full of humor, touching moments, and sadness Opposite is an emotional journey that shows the human part behind the writer that typically is only revealed a little in her fiction. She writes for herself and to preserve her memories and the memories of others that were close to her. Tan has never forgotten her roots or those who influenced her life in such a way that made her become a writer. The Opposite of Fate gives evidence to readers that much of our fate is influenced upon the relationships we develop with others and the events that happen with those people in our lives
By taking a look at Tan's biography, we can also learn a little bit about her that will already be discussed in the book, although it isn't necessarily covered in the book itself. Amy was born on February 19th, 1952 in Oakland, California. She lived there with her mother, and her younger brother until 1966 when her mother uprooted them and insisted they move to Switzerland after both her father and second brother died from brain tumors. She went to high school in Switzerland and later came back to the United States to go to college. Tan went to five colleges: The Linfield College in Oregon, San Jose City College, San Jose State University, the University of California in Santa Cruz, and finally The University of California at Berkley. She became a freelance writer after she graduated college with her linguistics doctorate and became a language development consultant mainly working with children, although she never wanted anything to do with children except to be studied as subjects. She's written many books, her most popular novel that was published, The Joy Luck Club, was later turned into a movie. As for family life, Tan and her husband Lou DeMattei don't have any children but have been married since 1974. Tan does have two half sisters and an uncle who live in China, and an older brother who lives in Vancouver, Canada. Tan and her husband have two homes, one in New York and another in San Francisco. The house in San Francisco was close where her mother lived before she died in the year 2000 from a combination of old age and the later stages of Alzheimer's disease. Tan was her mother's care giver for a great deal of the rest of her mother's life and her mother, in turn was then revealed to be Tan's most influential ties according to Opposite.
As a child, Amy often listened to her mother lament over the tragedy of the same kind of death happening in the same family twice. Both Tan's brother and father died within a year of each other from brain tumors. As a teenager, like most, Amy dreaded hearing her mother's nagging. More than that, she despised hear her mother's hysterical ravings, suicidal threats, and the attempts that the entire family witnessed time and again from the time she was a little girl and even into her mother's old age. Although Tan has no real qualms about this happening now that she's older, as a teenager she would ignore her mother's suicide threats in the open, but deep down she was "terrified that one day my mother would carry out one of those empty threats" (Tan 130). She admits to having let her eyes glaze over and act as if the verbal threats were just dead noise then later would find herself staring into the bathroom mirror feeling ill and scared at the thought of her mother carrying out some plan to kill herself. Now as an older adult, she has come to accept the idea that if her mother had been completely happy and well adjusted earlier in her life, she would not have become the writer that she is today.
As many parents would have great hopes for their children, Amy's mother and father wanted Amy to become a doctor or a concert pianist even though she showed no interesting in actually playing the piano. As a little girl, the typical motherly anecdotes of "don't cross the street without looking," came as absolutes of impending death, "if you don't look, you get smashed" (Tan 33). However if her mother had been like most simply saying," it's alright honey, you don't have to practice, go outside and play," it's questionable whether or not Tan would have chosen the same path. Perhaps, if her and her mother had not had such tragic lives, she would have become the doctor or concert pianist that her parents wanted her to be. Instead, she went to college to get a doctorates in linguistics, then chose a different path because of a tragedy that hit very close to her with the death of a room mate that she and her husband had lived, worked, and studied with for the better half of a year or so.
Pete was an engineering student at Berkley and worked along side Amy and her husband at The Round Table pizza parlor in San Jose. They often shared late nights of political, religious, and philosophical discussions over drinks and became close friends, even enough to start renting a new apartment together. Unfortunately the celebration of their friendship and their new apartment together was cut short the night that they had moved into the new apartment. Pete was murdered in his sleep by two burglars who had hog-tied him and left him for dead on the floor. After that, Pete starts to come to Amy in her dreams and through the dreams Pete delivers advice as life became harder and more complicated with the start of the trial that would decide the fate of one of his syndicates. About a month before Pete died, Amy had been trying to decide what she was going to do with her degree after she graduated but couldn't think of anything. Pete suggested that she start working with children in language development. After his death, Amy took Pete's suggestion and ran with it, in a direction that before hand she had never really intended to get involved.
As the trial came to a close, Pete told Amy that she should talk to one of his friends who come help her later when she became a writer. Tan automatically dismissed the idea until later when she received a letter from Rose, Pete's friend, thanking her for telling her about Pete's death. At that point, her fate was set in motion to bring her to being the woman and the writer that she is today. Pete stopped visiting in dreams but a new relationship blossomed with Rose as a result. Rose and Amy kept in contact through letters and eventually Rose became Amy's first writing mentor.
During the time of her mother's death, Tan came to realize how much of an influence her mother actually had on her. After dementia set in, her mother was no longer the unhappy person she had seen before. Instead of bad memories, her mother became to remember the memories she shared with Amy, going on trips and the happier times in their lives. Her mother wasn't the same person that she had grown up with before. Tan came to the cruel realization that for most of their lives, she had not been approaching her mother's needs the right way. She had missed the concept that her mother wanted to be depended on before her mother became ill as much as after the illness struck. For example, instead of scowling at her mother as a teenager, she should have acknowledged and appreciated what her mother was trying to do for her, and then she would have been able to get away with doing different things as well. She began to think that she could have solve so many problems by learning this earlier in life, and they could have had happier lives if she had only realized this earlier. During the time of the illness, Amy became much closer with her other and after her mother's death, started writing a new book, The Bonesetter's Daughter with the renewed appreciation she had for her mother.
Whether it is a friend, a parent, sibling, husband, wife, boyfriend girlfriend or any other type of relationship, these entities set up our lives in such ways that create a domino effect to get us to the point we are at or the point which we wish to achieve. It is an act of conscious choice at which we decide who we are, whom we will be with, and what we wish to be. Our parents may effect us on some level as to instilling in us what types of values we wish to make a part of our lives, but our decisions are still solely our own. Every once in a while, we have someone who comes into our lives and after meeting them everything falls in place whether or not we admit it, remember it, or even think about it. After that point, whatever happens in our life that involves them may change what we decide to do.
The book, The Opposite of Fate: Memoirs of a Writing Life brings readers to believe that fate is not only left up to us as individuals, but to the influences of people around us who are important to us that impact our lives. Tan's humorous writing makes the book a quick read, and also helps the reader to stay interested, even though it isn't necessarily in chronological order. Tan slipped in a lot of very emotional memoirs in the book that are both happy and sad. The tone of Opposite in comparison to Tan's other work is far less serious than that of The Joy Luck Club, or The Kitchen God's Wife, but does have a lot of very serious memoirs in it dealing with loss and the role of hope in people's lives. Opposite is a wonderful book and an exceptional choice to read if a reader enjoys Tan's style, and remains to be enlightening, interesting, and causes the reader to think about fate and who and how it is effected by the people we know and care about.
Fate is not entirely dependent on the people we are around, those we hand around or those we are friends with, but that is just a slice of the pie of things that influence us. In Tan's life, many different played a part in her success as a writer, but only one event led to the point where she made the conscious decision to take a step towards becoming a writer. Her Success after that came from what inspiration she got mostly by spending time and caring for her mother, and other writers she was close to like Stephen King, or her editor Faith Sale, her mentors, and close friends like Pete. Without these influences, there may not have been a chance to read any of her work, including this book.
[...].
Average customer rating:
- Both Wheat and Chaff....
- Black sheep of the family
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- A fine collection
- A diverse collection of voices and stories
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The Best American Short Stories 1999
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin Company
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ASIN: 039592684X |
Amazon.com
A great story gets its hooks into you right from the start; you know you're in the hands of a good writer when the very first sentence transports you wholly into another world. "Mother preferred Zulu servants." "It must be, Ruth thought, that she was going to die in the spring." "Who would have thought that a war of such proportions would bother to turn in its fury against the fools of Chelm?"
The 21 fictions featured in The Best American Short Stories 1999 have very little in common--but whether they're about ranchers or commuters, romantic seekers or New Age pilgrims, what they do share is a sense of urgency. In each of them, there's a kind of voice that announces its need to be heard. "I'm not a bad guy," pleads the narrator of "The Sun, the Moon, the Stars," and even though he cheats on his girlfriend, by the end of Junot Díaz's story you might be tempted to agree anyway. (Especially considering the charming way he turns Melville's Bartleby the Scrivener into a verb--as in, "A lot of the time she Bartlebys me, says, 'No, I'd rather not.'") "Real Estate," by that master of bittersweet comedy Lorrie Moore, starts by repeating "Ha! Ha! Ha!" for two solid pages but becomes a rueful take on marriage, house-hunting, and even death: "The body, hauling sadnesses, pursued the soul, hobbled after. The body was like a sweet dim dog trotting lamely toward the gate as you tried slowly to drive off, out the long driveway. Take me, take me too, barked the dog."
Other standouts in this collection include Alice Munro's "Save the Reaper," a kind of "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" where no one is killed or saved; Rick Bass's haunting evocation of winter in the north country, "The Hermit's Story"; and Tim Gautreax's "The Piano Tuner," about a manic-depressive Creole princess playing cocktail piano in a motel lounge. (This is one tale that truly does end with a bang, not a whimper.) Taken together, they are ample evidence that the American short story is alive, well, and eminently able to--in the words of guest editor Amy Tan--"help us live interesting lives." --Chloe Byrne
Book Description
In choosing this year's best American short stories, guest editor Amy Tan found herself drawn to fiction that satisfied her appetite for the magic and mystery she once loved as a child, when she was addicted to fairy tales. The result is a vibrant collection in which truth and fantasy coexist in new works by writers such as Rick Bass, Annie Proulx, Lorrie Moore, and Pam Houston, as well as in startlingly accomplished stories by new writers. The Best American Short Stories is the only volume that annually offers the finest works chosen by a distinguished best-selling author.
Customer Reviews:
Both Wheat and Chaff...........2004-07-30
It's probably not good for the anthology that the piece I most enjoyed was Amy Tan's introduction; I thought that by itself was worth checking the book out. The actual stories left me wanting something more, with the exception of "The Sun, The Moon, The Stars" by Junot Diaz, "Real Estate" by Lorrie Moore, "The 5:22" by George Harrar, and an honorable mention to Heidi Julavits' "Marry the One Who Gets There First". These stories all combined great writing with great insight, all in the framework of good narrative flow. The others--and I confess to not reading several--lacked something. Annie Proulx's piece sucked me in, and had vivid, sparkling dialogue and great writing. However, it failed to deliver on story. When I came to the end, enchanted by all the previous elements, I felt cheated and angry at it's sloppy conclusion. Even Stephen Dobyns' "Kansas" left me flat, and Dobyns never fails to impress me. Overall, this is a good collection, just not a great one by any means.
Black sheep of the family.......2002-06-19
Every year I anxiously look forward to the arrival of the newest addition to my favorite book series, and every year my patience is rewarded and my appetite for a wonderful collection of short stories is entirely satisfied... that is until this 1999 edition of The Best American Short Stories. The compilation of short stories selected by Amy Tan this year has sadly disappointed me. Furthermore, my disappointment is escalated when one must consider the fact that Amy Tan is among my favorite authors. The combination of my favorite book series and one of my favorite author would presumingly produce a definite great edition yet sometimes the surest things are the most unforeseen.
The Best American Short Stories has always been a reliable and constant supplier of great contemporary work and uniquely distinctive tales. Stories that are far from typical but pleasantly uncanny and sometimes pleasingly bizarre. Stories that do not have a simple introduction, climax, and then resolution but stories that create their own course. Stories that you find yourself still thinking about days later in the shower, still trying to understand what exactly you comprehended. Yet instead what I found was a pretty traditional and conventional assortment of stories. I am not saying that these stories are particularly bad stories because they are not, it is just the straightforward fact that they are not as daring or come near to being as refreshing as their predecessors. I found many of her selections boringly light even when dealing with subject matters that are all but light. They tell their story and that is all. Everything felt so laid out and revealed that there was no room for analyzing or dissecting. Many of the stories were exactly as what appeared and nothing else, nothing left underneath to discover. They reminded me of the stories the entire class would read as one in the eighth grade and everyone would reach the same obvious conclusion of what the moral and purpose of the story was as the teacher nods her head to provide assurance.
There is still a couple of decent stories in this entire book (such as Pam Huston's The Best Girlfriend You Never Had) that renders the two stars given but in no way is that an endorsement to spend your money on two short stories. Instead, I recommend you simply visit you nearest bookstore, lean against a bookshelf and spend 15 minutes reading those two stories. Once you are done, place that book back on the self because that is where it belongs. I never thought I would be saying that about a book from this series but hopefully this is the first and last time I will have to. And hopefully this is just the black sheep in this family of over-achievers.
P.S.
In the end, I simply realized that perhaps a great novel writer should stick to novels and not picking short stories.
Did I miss something?.......2001-02-19
I am a big fan of the Best American Short Stories series, but this one was a huge diappointment. I like stories that have some meat; they should resonate with depth a long time after being read. This collection offers few such stories. Then again, I wasn't expecting much more from Amy Tan. Try '98 or '00 instead.
A fine collection.......2000-10-20
I found this to be an excellent, thoughtfully assembled collection of stories. I must especially disagree with the reviewer who felt that having a b writer like Pam Houston in a collection with Rick Bass ammounts to a literary injustice. Quite to the contrary, Houston's story is the best in the book and bears re-reading. (And, if you've checked out John Updike's Best Short Stories of the Century, you'll note that her story was one of the few tales from the nineties to be included.) This is a slow, collection, certainly, which may turn off some readers. But I've thoroughly enjoyed it.
A diverse collection of voices and stories.......2000-09-08
Amy Tan has done a good job selecting 1999's batch of stories for "Best American Short Stories"; I've read better volumes, but I've also read worse. My favorite story was Tim Gautreaux's "The Piano Tuner," a hilarious, unnerving tale about the advantages and disadvanages of "fine-tuning" another person's character through the use of drugs or other modern methods. The next-best story, in my opinion, was Chitra Divakaruni's delightful and wistful "Mrs. Dutta Writes a Letter," another story about trying to change one's character in order to fit in with difficult surroundings, and the limits on one's ability to do so. Finally, my third-favorite selection was Rick Bass's "The Hermit's Story," a tale of rugged individualism and survival in a winter setting that ends with a wonderful image involving fire and a frozen lake, an image I won't spoil for you here.
This volume is certainly the most diverse edition of the series so far in terms of its authors' racial and cultural backgrounds--at least a third of the stories are by non-white authors or have non-white main characters. As Amy Tan notes, however, what matters more than racial or cultural diversity is diversity of voice and experience. I found more in common, for example, between "The Piano Tuner" and "Mrs. Dutta Writes a Letter," in both stories' focus on the theme of changing one's character and learning to adapt to unfamiliar surroundings, than I did between "The Piano Tuner" and, say, Annie Proulx's more impressionistic "The Bunchgrass Edge of the World" (another story about rural Americans); or between "Mrs. Dutta Writes a Letter" and Jhumpa Lahiri's ominous "The Interpreter of Maladies" (another story about Indian families). In any event, this year's edition provides plenty of diversity of both background and voice, and is a solid addition to the "Best American Short Stories" series.
Book Description
Featuring sold out issues of the most talked about Spawn story arc in years! Finally, after all these years, the war Al Simmons was created to fight is here... but which side will he choose? Join David Hine and Philip Tan on the beginning of their historic Spawn run!
Book Description
This one-of-a-kind collection reminds weary adults not to lose sight of the values and virtues they learned as kids. Here are over three hundred quotations from over two hundred well-loved children's books, such as Charlotte's Web, Peter Pan, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Eloise, Sounder, Number the Stars, and Goodnight Moon, organized by topic, among them Acceptance, Goodness, Family Woes, and Growing Old. On Silence: "I assure you that you can pick up more information when you are listening than when you are talking."--E. B.White, The Trumpet of the Swan. On Reverence: "Dying's part of the wheel, right there next to being born. . . . Being part of the whole thing, that's the blessing."--Natalie Babbitt, Tuck Everlasting.
With clever illustrations from Pierre Le-Tan, here is a book to share with a friend or keep by your own bedside. It's the perfect gift for your sister, your mother, your brother, your nephew, your kid's teacher, your daughter away at college, your son in the Navy, your mailman, your priest, for the old lady next door, or for the baby just born. Most importantly, give it to yourself. It will help you remember why you loved reading in the first place.
Customer Reviews:
Heart to soul...good snippets of thoughts........2005-08-29
Yes, you can go back home. Most of these quotes come from books that either I remember reading as a young girl or that I read to my sons when they were growing up. As an adult/grown-up they have an entirely new meaning and perception that is heartrendering at times and at others very up lifting. I liked it and have purchased another to pass along.
treasure this.......2005-05-26
this is a book to treasure. Ms. Gash has done a remarkable job compiling it. I've purchased this book for at least a dozen of my male friends, and they're not even gay. Don't let this one fall between the cracks. The lessons are inspirational on many levels; Gash's selections, geared to adults, from the greatest children's books are consistently entertaining and thought-provoking, no small feat in these crazy, meaning-challenged times. I can't say enough about this unique, compelling book, unless I already have.
Excellent!.......2004-10-04
This is a really awesome idea. There are truly so many gems out there. Most of them you will remember reading too. I would like to see an even more indepth version with more children's books. But, what an awesome start. This could start the next great "Chicken Soup..." or "...for Dummies" movement in books.
A Nice Little Book.......2003-07-13
A good concept & a nice little book. I'd like to see this idea expanded into a larger work, with more children's books used as sources, & with subject & title indices. It'd be even better then!
A Nice Little Book.......2003-07-13
A good concept & a nice little book. I'd like to see this idea expanded into a larger work, with more children's books used as sources, & with subject & title indices. It'd be even better then!
Average customer rating:
- Thats the way it was
- War Stories for Non-Warriors
- Was it four months or was it six?
- Excellent short stories from the men who served in silence
- TANS still the way it was..
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Tans: The Tans Collection
John Klawitter ,
Jack Waer , and
Harlan Olson
Manufacturer: Writer's Showcase Press
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ASIN: 059521729X |
Book Description
True stories from real-life spies
Customer Reviews:
Thats the way it was.......2007-09-22
This is a great collection of short stories about the "enjoyable" part of being involved in the war in VietNam. ASA and Non-ASA people alike will identify with the people in this book. I know I did and hopefully my story will be in the next edition of TANS.
War Stories for Non-Warriors.......2007-03-12
This is an interesting collection of stories about Vietnam as seen and experienced by Army Security Agency analysts and technicians. I enjoyed the stories and many of my memories of Nam were pleasantly refreshed. I reccomend this book to ASA and non-ASA veterans alike.
Thank you to the authors and editor for this collection.
Was it four months or was it six?.......2006-06-20
November 20, 1953 to May 7, 1954. 13 days short of six months and Beatrice is shown on a French map circa December, 1953. I seriously doubt Jack would have made it up - and he may have even been there before construction of Beatrice was complete. It wasn't uncommon for ASA to begin operating in an area before it was actually occupied by troops in order to determine the location, readiness and strength of enemy forces. If Jack Waer said he was there for six months, I'd believe it.
Excellent short stories from the men who served in silence.......2003-04-24
The book in written by the people who have been there, done that.
Most could not say what they were doing or did and after some 40 years it is leaking out. These men were the top 10 percent of the US Military. That is a fact and not a TANS.
Written by men for men.
Now children, parents, wives and others get a view of what these men did while in Vietnam and around the world.
George T
"TAM"
TANS still the way it was.........2003-03-08
The book is offered as a collection of reminisces of events that occurred nearly 40 years ago, the stories are anecdotal in nature, meant for entertainment and information not to be taken as academic reference. I served with Jack Waer in the time periods of the early sixties and despite his "larcenous spirit" he has no need to prevaricate to impress any whom served with him. Mr Moises' dismissal of his work because of perceived inaccuracies is patently unfair as well as petty. The very fact there are no documented references to our mission or us attests to the level of secrecy we working under during those times.
Average customer rating:
- WoW
- Fine poetry; vivid images raw and aching
- thought-provoking stories, not your typical "porn"
- A decent book with a ridiculous title
|
Queer Papi Porn: Gay Asian Erotica
Manufacturer: Cleis Press
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ASIN: 1573440388 |
Amazon.com
Gay male erotica--or, more forthrightly, porn--used to be defined largely by sloppy writing, homogenized fantasies, and a lack of cultural and racial diversity. The quality of erotica is getting better (check out the Best Gay Erotica series by Cleis Press for proof), and there's a wealth of new diversity out there as well. Joel Tan's Queer PAPI Porn is a groundbreaking anthology of contemporary porn written by men of Philippine, Asian, and Pacific Island decent (PAPI) that stimulates our libido, invigorates our sense of art, and challenges our notions of what porn and literature might be. Tan has collected stories by 19 of the most noted gay PAPI writers--including Lawrence Chua, Justin Chin, R. Zamora Linmark, and Allen de Souza--to produce an anthology shockingly good and always sexually stimulating. Not one piece here trades on cliché or formula, with originality showing throughout. Jason Guillermo Luz's "Scherzo for Cunanan" is a meditation on cross-country killer Andrew Cunanan that explores a fantasy sexual and national connection between the author and the killer. "Bite," by Justin Chin, is a surrealistic sex-speed rap that shocks with its explicit coprophiliac images as it examines how gender and race are constructed in sex and desire. Nino Alvarez's "True Love" is a lovely, troubling, and hypnotic story of a Chinese American gay man who dotes on his 300-pound African American lover as they both work to increase his weight to 600 pounds. Surprising and masterfully written, Queer PAPI Porn is one of the best literary and erotic books in years. --Michael Bronski
Customer Reviews:
WoW.......2006-04-19
I cannot beleeve it. I have looked for this type thing forever. If I had not sold my soul for a bowl of rice already, I would sell it for this! 5 stairs!!!
Fine poetry; vivid images raw and aching.......1999-09-10
That Joel's compilation is a stroke of mastery is the message of my review. Joel promises a presentation of good stroke fiction about queer men from diverse communities and experiences. What do you get? All that AND a stimulating, nay intoxicating collection of vivid images and tangible moments. (Come on Mr. Tan, brag a little).
Some of my thoughts on the individual pieces of work- "True Love" immediately evokes thoughts of Williams and the story about the masseur who broke his clients bones and eventually ate him. Total consumption of desire... I hate it when people compare smut to art (skill in fact) when there is no resemblance at all. This is not the case with QPP. There are stories of raw libido and sex, rife with symbolism while others are tame reflections of an erotic innocence. There are Vidal like glimpses of time, space, and light and total control of rhythm with a bit of Mamet or Rabe tingeing the moody edges. Then there's Justin Chin, with no environment, seemingly at all. He just punks you and pushses you around with themes and images. My mind was racing so that I was paranoid. I just love when Chin takes control- he's compelling to say the least; I love his writing and can't wait to get more. What about Chua with King Rubber (presumably a building block for Gold by the Inch?). The story is a journey, but the bus driver has no clue where he is going (he thinks he knows and there all the difference lies). And I very much enjoyed, "So That's What Girls Do" I haven't seen in that closet 'till now. Looks pretty much like mine! Joel Tan can lay down an honest heart rendering story without letting confrontation and blame in the way. His work feels mature and authentic.
Fantasy. While reading, I experienced fantastic pleasures pushing and pulling my libido against these PAPI men. Not only did I get exited while reading, but I genuinely enjoy the quality and heft of the stories. Is the quality uneven? Sure it is. That makes it a rare good read because you can feel the contours and topography of the collection. It is still like old stucco on my mind; rough here, gritty there, worn to a polish in another place. It makes it realistic and human. I felt like I was reading the stories about nineteen different queer men from diverse communities and experiences. And man, there is some real amorous scenes tucked away in there. One last bit of praise. Mr. Tan, or any of the authors, if you happen to read this, you have my gratitude for the pleasure wrought with your words. I would be delighted and thrilled to make contact with any of you.
thought-provoking stories, not your typical "porn".......1998-12-10
I read this book after hearing its editor speak, and he convinced me to give it a try. I found most the stories thought-provoking and interesting, yet earthily sexy. The authors explore all sorts of interracial gay sexuality. Of course, the quality is a little uneven, but overall, it is an excellent collection. It's sure to disappoint one looking to get off on formulaic PORN, though!
A decent book with a ridiculous title.......1998-10-31
Though worth buying for the handful of excellent stories, the reader will still have to wade through some rather unpolished work. The ones that shine, shine. Then again, most of those are available elsewhere and are only excerpted here. And as for the dreadful stories, well they're undergrad bad.
Average customer rating:
- The Game Of Friendship
- OnE oF Da BeSt BoOkS!
- I Loved This Book!
- Very good book for minority women
- Great insight into human nature, yet often overly confusing
|
Amy Tan's the Joy Luck Club (Cliffs Notes)
Laurie Neu Rozakis
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The Joy Luck Club
ASIN: 0822006855 |
Book Description
The original CliffsNotes study guides offer expert commentary on major themes, plots, characters, literary devices, and historical background. The latest generation of titles in this series also feature glossaries and visual elements that complement the classic, familiar format.
Explore how generational and cultural differences can divide — and then unite — immigrant mothers and their American-born daughters as you study CliffsNotes on The Joy Luck Club.
This novel describes the lives of four women, who fled
China in the 1940s, and their contentious relationships with their four very Americanized daughters. Through the love of their mothers, each of these young women learns about her heritage and so is able to deal more effectively with her life.
CliffsNotes provides detailed plot summaries, critical commentaries, and a helpful character list to help you uncover all the insight this novel has to offer. Make studying easier with CliffsNotes on The Joy Luck Club. Other features include
- Critical essays
- A review section that tests your knowledge
- Background on the author, including career highlights
Classic literature or modern modern-day treasure — you'll understand it all with expert information and insight from CliffsNotes study guides.
Customer Reviews:
The Game Of Friendship.......2003-04-02
The four winds may change direction, and histories may shift at any given moment, but Amy Tan's, `The Joy Luck Club' remains a captivating tale about four mothers and their four daughters.
The Chinese game Mah-jong works to join the mother's together as they form the club and share the secrets and tragedies of their lives as well as their hopes and dreams for their daughters. The women in this novel struggle to bestow their daughters with the virtues of Chinese traditions and at points seem to go too far-pitting their daughters against each other and sadly living their lives through them.
Tan writes both honestly and sensitively examining the generation gap between mothers and their daughters as well as the struggles migrants face when joining other countries. `The Joy Luck Club' belongs to a genre which can only be described as realistic with characters which are both three dimensional and relatable.
The story is written through defined chapters-each dedicated to either a mother or a daughter; as they weave their histories and spin their stories.
The novel, through this chapter fragmentation allows each character to develop, with an emphasis on the main narrative- the death of one of the members of the club. The death of Suyuan Woo results in the incorporation of her daughter Jung Mei `June' Woo into the group. June realises her mother- who died suddenly of a cerebral aneurysm - had unfinished business which leads June to face one of the biggest tragedies in her mother's life. `The Joy Luck Club' is an inspiring novel which is moving both moving and courageous-a definite pleasure to read.
OnE oF Da BeSt BoOkS!.......2002-01-16
As I wAs ReAdInG tHiS bOoK, I rEaLiZeD hOw MuCh I wAs GeTtInG iNtO iT...iT's AlMoSt As If YoU aRe ThErE eXpErIeNcInG wHaT tHeY wErE. I sTaRtEd ThInKiNg AbOuT mY gRaNdMa WhO wAs AlSo In A wAr, aNd It ReAlLy GoT mE tHiNkInG...So, I wOuLd ReCoMmEnD tHiS bOoK tO eVeRyOnE...
I Loved This Book!.......2000-12-02
I had to read this book for school this year and I was one of the only people in the class that really enjoyed it. It is hard to understand the different stories, but if you just take out a piece of paper and chart what is happening with each person, you can really enjoy the book without becoming confused. DON'T BUY THE CLIFFS NOTES becuase you really won't get the experience that you would with the real book! Just take some effort and read the book, and take time to chart the stories and I guarantee that you will LOVE it as well!
Very good book for minority women.......2000-07-17
Although the book was somewhat confusing to follow, the excellent stories and the manner in which they were told were very real. I really enjoyed relating to each character because I too am a minority woman and I know how important it is to hold on to tradition, yet learn new ways of living. I recommend this book to any woman who is curious about the Chinese-American woman.
Great insight into human nature, yet often overly confusing.......1999-10-03
The Joy Luck Club has its moments of excellent drama, where you become so entranced in its interpretation of human nature that you almost can't put it down. However, Amy Tan could have excluded some of the characters. Although they all complimented the novel in different ways, they essentially provided the same theme, and only made the book very confusing to follow. I had to go over the chapters several times and I even rented the movie before I was finally able to envision the novel as a whole. I am not one who can concentrate very well with such in-depth books, and I only recommend it for those people. Too bad, though, it was an excellent concept overall.
Average customer rating:
|
Best Gay Asian Erotica
Manufacturer: Cleis Press
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ASIN: 1573441848 |
Book Description
Go beyond the locker room in this playful, imaginative, and lushly written collection of gay Asian erotica, with settings as diverse as a bamboo grove in China and a sleepy crank caller's Los Angeles apartment. Best Gay Asian Erotica brings together stories of lust and adventure—each with a queer Asian man as the focus of desire.
In Virgil Vang's "Mimesis," a newly deaf man discovers ritualistic sexual theater under the tutelage of a charismatic teacher. S.S. Bider's "The Chair" describes a Malay tribe whose beautiful boys have a second, hidden tongue awaiting the explorer. And "True Love," according to author Nino Alvarez, involves ordering-in from seven Chinese restaurants and feeding your lover with your hands. For die-hard traditionalists, there is even a locker room story. Chile-hot literary porn from writers like Noël Alumit, Jason Guillermo Luz, R. Zamora Linmark, Andy Quan, Allan deSouza, Sandip Roy, and more.
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