Reviews
The author of The Joy Luck Club and The Hundred Secret Senses can deliver a sweeping family saga like nobody else., [THE VALLEY OF AMAZEMENT] combines vivid historical details and epic sweep across several decades and two continents with intimate portraits of flawed but engaging women whose resourcefulness and courage are sometimes astounding., In her new novel, Tan ditches her magic realist fugues and enters a brutal landscape of Shanghai courtesans, exploring it with new depths of tenderness and pain., Fans who've waited eight years for a new novel by Tan ( The Joy Luck Club ) can look forward to a lengthy, decades-long soak in Violet's sentimental and erotic education., Tan's beautiful, seamless prose presents fans with a true sense of time and place, catching them up in the heartbreaking tragedy of the plot... Tan's creativity is always a force, and in this epic tale her ability to captivate shines., Fans of Tan's previous works (including The Joy Luck Club) will rejoice when they get their hands on this book., [Tan] is a gifted storyteller... This is one writer's particular idiom and vision of the world - and within that she offers us a rich cast of characters who both repel and compel., Tan brings to life a world with which few are familiar. And it's fascinating. Her descriptions of the countryside, of the houses, of the lifestyle and the customers are well-drawn and multi-layered. Her characters are brought to life as three-dimensional, complicated people., With THE VALLEY OF AMAZEMENT (Ecco), Amy Tan reaffirms her reputation as a master storyteller, creating intriguing settings, unforgettable characters, and twisty plotlines., [Tan's] fans will appreciate the book's multigenerational narrative and compelling look at a society in which men held the power but women gave each other strength., It's been a long eight years since Amy Tan's last novel, but THE VALLEY OF AMAZEMENT proves that good things--breathtaking things--come to those who wait. [...] It's wonderful to be back in Amy's magical and amazing world., Fans will recognize signature Tan themes: mother-daughter relationships, clashes between cultures... threads of hmor and emotional insight make Violet's struggle to survive, and ultimately forgive, a journey worth sharing., Amy Tan's new novel THE VALLEY OF AMAZEMENT is a long and luxurious read, offering riches on almost every page... Tan laces her story with colorful characters... a little comedy, enough tragedy, and plenty of passion and historical detail., Here are strong women struggling to survive all that life has thrown at them, created by a writer skilled at evoking the roil of emotions and made exploits they experience when they follow their hearts., Tan's beautiful, seamless prose presents fans with a true sense of time and place, catching them up in the heartbreaking tragedy of the plot… Tan's creativity is always a force, and in this epic tale her ability to captivate shines., She has created such an enticing portrait of Shanghai that she makes us nostalgic for a city we can never know., A feast of a novel… Tan deftly draws the reader along as she explores the nature of identity, the joys and pitfalls of love, the ripple effects of the choices we make and the role of fate in our lives., [Tan is] an accomplished storyteller… the underlying appeal of this book is the weave she makes of the three generations of Minturn women…struggling to accept their fate and each other., Tan's prodigious, sumptuously descriptive, historically grounded, sexually candid, and elaborately plotted novel counters violence, exploitation, betrayal, and tragic cultural divides with beauty, wit, and transcendent friendship between women., This is an Amy Tan novel, so its heart is the push-pull of mother-daughter relationships… The journey with Violet, her mother and her daughter is one of separate winding paths, each woman struggling to reach the light., This utterly engrossing novel is highly recommended to all readers who appreciate an author's ability to transport them to a new world they will not forget. As a plus, this reviewer sensed the harbinger of a sequel by the last page., [Tan is] an accomplished storyteller... the underlying appeal of this book is the weave she makes of the three generations of Minturn women...struggling to accept their fate and each other., [Tan] is a gifted storyteller… This is one writer's particular idiom and vision of the world - and within that she offers us a rich cast of characters who both repel and compel., Vivid, compassionate, and expertly done... Tan has crafted characters so realistic they seem to breathe and a tense world that will keep readers on the edge of their seats for all 589 pages., THE VALLEY OF AMAZEMENT is an engrossing read that effortlessly draws you in and captures both the sweet taste of acceptance and the bitter taste of disappointment and resentment with an almost painful accuracy... a compelling and emotional read., Fans will recognize signature Tan themes: mother-daughter relationships, clashes between cultures… threads of hmor and emotional insight make Violet's struggle to survive, and ultimately forgive, a journey worth sharing., A feast of a novel... Tan deftly draws the reader along as she explores the nature of identity, the joys and pitfalls of love, the ripple effects of the choices we make and the role of fate in our lives., "The deeply evocative narrative about the profound connections between mothers and daughters will return readers to the compelling territory of Tan's The Joy Luck Club . Tan's characteristic insight and humor conjures a story of "inherited trauma, desire and deception, and the power and stubbornness of love.", [THE VALLEY OF AMAZEMENT is] akin to her earlier work, yet more sophisticated, and a fine reminder that Amy Tan is herself a master of illusion, and one of the best storytellers around., This is an Amy Tan novel, so its heart is the push-pull of mother-daughter relationships... The journey with Violet, her mother and her daughter is one of separate winding paths, each woman struggling to reach the light., Vivid, compassionate, and expertly done… Tan has crafted characters so realistic they seem to breathe and a tense world that will keep readers on the edge of their seats for all 589 pages., Amy Tan's latest novel is an engrossing, multigenerational saga....grounded by Tan's ability to bring tragically flawed characters and exotic locales to vivid life., Tan has created a vivid work of literature, full of deftly drawn and colorful characters, exploring the idea that in a world of grief and cruelty, where a woman's fate is not hers - or her mother's - to determine, what she can keep is her self., THE VALLEY OF AMAZEMENT is an engrossing read that effortlessly draws you in and captures both the sweet taste of acceptance and the bitter taste of disappointment and resentment with an almost painful accuracy… a compelling and emotional read., Amy Tan's new novel THE VALLEY OF AMAZEMENT is a long and luxurious read, offering riches on almost every page… Tan laces her story with colorful characters… a little comedy, enough tragedy, and plenty of passion and historical detail.