"Evocative Family Epics"
In partnership with the Crow Collection of Asian Art
Born in the U.S. to immigrant parents from China, Amy Tan rejected her mother’s expectations that she become a doctor and concert pianist; she chose to write fiction instead. Her novels include The Joy Luck Club, The Kitchen God’s Wife, The Hundred Secret Senses, and The Bonesetter’s Daughter, all New York Times bestsellers and recipients of various awards. She is also the author of a memoir, The Opposite of Fate. Louise Erdrich said of her work, “Amy Tan effortlessly mixes tenderness and bitter irony, sorrow, and slicing wit.”
Tan is intimately involved in translating her works into other art forms. Her work has found its way to the big screen with the film version of The Joy Luck Club and to the opera stage with her libretto for The Bonesetter’s Daughter.
At this event, she will discuss her latest novel, The Valley of Amazement, a sweeping epic spanning from San Francisco to Shanghai in the years 1890–1940. A painting called The Valley of Amazement is passed along through three generations of women of the same family. Despite vast differences in their upbringing, culture, and circumstances, each of the women is drawn to discover the meaning of the painting and the unknown histories of their mothers.
“Fiction and museums both provoke memories, taking people back in time. . . . That’s also what I want to do with my stories.” —Amy Tan