Synopses & Reviews
A provocative new novel from the bestselling author of
The Joy Luck Club and
The Bonesetter's Daughter.
On an ill-fated art expedition into the southern Shan state of Burma, eleven Americans leave their Floating Island Resort for a Christmas-morning tour and disappear. Through twists of fate, curses, and just plain human error, they find themselves deep in the jungle, where they encounter a tribe awaiting the return of the leader and the mythical book of wisdom that will protect them from the ravages and destruction of the Myanmar military regime.
Filled with Amy Tan's signature "idiosyncratic, sympathetic characters, haunting images, historical complexity, significant contemporary themes, and suspenseful mystery" (Los Angeles Times), Saving Fish from Drowning seduces the reader with a façade of Buddhist illusions, magician's tricks, and light comedy, even as the absurd and picaresque spiral into a gripping morality tale about the consequences of intentions-both good and bad and about the shared responsibility that individuals must accept for the actions of others.
A pious man explained to his followers: "It is evil to take lives and noble to save them. Each day I pledge to save a hundred lives. I drop my net in the lake and scoop out a hundred fishes. I place the fishes on the bank, where they flop and twirl. 'Don't be scared,' I tell those fishes. 'I am saving you from drowning.' Soon enough, the fishes grow calm and lie still. Yet, sad to say, I am always too late. The fishes expire. And because it is evil to waste anything,
I take those dead fishes to market and I sell them for a good price. With the money I receive, I buy more nets so I can save more fishes."
Review
"[Tan's] most politically astute and shrewdly satirical tale to date..." Booklist (Starred Review)
Review
"An extremely funny novel with serious undercurrents." School Library Journal
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"The author's research ultimately smothers her story and characters. A pity, because this vividly imagined tale might very well have been her best yet." Kirkus Reviews
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"[A] strange and fascinating trip..." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
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"This is the perfect winter book....Rich with mystery and culture, this is a novel that will put you under its spell under Tan's spell and entertain you through a blizzard, a post-holiday escape, or just a long night of R and R." Providence Journal
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"The novel...lacks the tender, intergenerational wisdom and delicate East-West insights of Tan's earlier work....Tan is a prodigious talent, but Saving Fish From Drowning needs its own search and rescue team." Cleveland Plain Dealer
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"Tan's new book poses many of her familiar questions, but in unfamiliar ways." Houston Chronicle
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"[A]ll Tan's trademark strengths her lush language, her memorable characters, her wide-ranging curiosity about people and history quickly come to the fore." Baltimore Sun
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"Saving Fish from Drowning is a new sort of adventure for Tan, an assured step in a thrilling new direction....[A] grand comic novel...sharp and droll..." Miami Herald
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"A hilarious yet politically charged tale....[A] rollicking, adventure-filled story." USA Today
Synopsis
On an ill-fated art expedition into Burma, 11 Americans leave their Floating Island Resort for a Christmas-morning tour and disappear. Through twists of fate, they encounter a tribe awaiting the return of a leader and the mythical book of wisdom that will protect them from the ravages of the Myanmar military regime.
About the Author
Amy Tan is the author of The Joy Luck Club, The Kitchen God's Wife, The Hundred Secret Senses, The Bonesetter's Daughter, The Opposite of Fate: Memories of a Writing Life, and two children's books, The Moon Lady and Sagwa: the Chinese Siamese Cat. Her work has been translated into thirty-six languages.