The Opposite of Fate: A Book of Musings Book

Amy Tan is one of the finest American writers we have. I am making it a point not to call her one of our finest women writers or Chinese-American writers or a writer of color, an issue which is explored in this memoir. This book may be a special taste -- you might need to be someone who loves her work and is interested in writing to fully appreciate it. Amy tells her stories with certainty and elegance and never overstates anything. I listened to this book which was all the better for having the author as the narrator as she imbues her prose with subtle inflections, careful pauses, rises and falls of volume. One particular instance comes to mind when she very carefully uses the word "racist". She also changes her voice when she reads words that came from her mother, an effect both humorous and touching. It was fascinating to learn what the true stories are that inspired her fiction as well as her surprisingly pleasant experience in Hollywood while making the film version of the Joy Luck Club.

What a pleasure to read prose with such a refreshing perspective. To paraphrase Amy, she works so hard at making her work easy to read -- and listen to.