Saving Fish From Drowning
Registered by 
cestmoi
of Hamilton, Ontario Canada on 6/23/2007
This book is in a Controlled Release!
cestmoi of Hamilton, Ontario Canada on 6/23/2007 This book is in a Controlled Release!
4 journalers for this copy...
MP3 format only.
Amazon.com
Amy Tan, who has an unerring eye for relationships between mothers and daughters, especially Chinese-American, has departed from her well-known genre in Saving Fish From Drowning. She would be well advised to revisit that theme which she writes about so well.
The title of the book is derived from the practice of Myanmar fishermen who "scoop up the fish and bring them to shore. They say they are saving the fish from drowning. Unfortunately... the fish do not recover," This kind of magical thinking or hypocrisy or mystical attitude or sheer stupidity is a fair metaphor for the entire book. It may be read as a satire, a political statement, a picaresque tale with several "picaros" or simply a story about a tour gone wrong.
Bibi Chen, San Francisco socialite and art vendor to the stars, plans to lead a trip for 12 friends: "My friends, those lovers of art, most of them rich, intelligent, and spoiled, would spend a week in China and arrive in Burma on Christmas Day." Unfortunately, Bibi dies, in very strange circumstances, before the tour begins. After wrangling about it, the group decides to go after all. The leader they choose is indecisive and epileptic, a dangerous combo. Bibi goes along as the disembodied voice-over.
Once in Myanmar, finally, they are noticed by a group of Karen tribesmen who decide that Rupert, the 15-year-old son of a bamboo grower is, in fact, Younger White Brother, or The Lord of the Nats. He can do card tricks and is carrying a Stephen King paperback. These are adjudged to be signs of his deity and ability to save them from marauding soldiers. The group is "kidnapped," although they think they are setting out for a Christmas Day surprise, and taken deep into the jungle where they languish, develop malaria, learn to eat slimy things and wait to be rescued. Nats are "believed to be the spirits of nature--the lake, the trees, the mountains, the snakes and birds. They were numberless ... They were everywhere, as were bad luck and the need to find reasons for it." Philosophy or cynicism? This elusive point of view is found throughout the novel--a bald statement is made and then Tan pulls her punches as if she is unwilling to make a statement that might set a more serious tone.
There are some goofy parts about Harry, the member of the group who is left behind, and his encounter with two newswomen from Global News Network, some slapstick sex scenes and a great deal of dog-loving dialogue. These all contribute to a novel that is silly but not really funny, could have an occasionally serious theme which suddenly disappears, and is about a group of stereotypical characters that it's hard to care about. It was time for Amy Tan to write another book; too bad this was it. --Valerie Ryan --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Amazon.com
Amy Tan, who has an unerring eye for relationships between mothers and daughters, especially Chinese-American, has departed from her well-known genre in Saving Fish From Drowning. She would be well advised to revisit that theme which she writes about so well.
The title of the book is derived from the practice of Myanmar fishermen who "scoop up the fish and bring them to shore. They say they are saving the fish from drowning. Unfortunately... the fish do not recover," This kind of magical thinking or hypocrisy or mystical attitude or sheer stupidity is a fair metaphor for the entire book. It may be read as a satire, a political statement, a picaresque tale with several "picaros" or simply a story about a tour gone wrong.
Bibi Chen, San Francisco socialite and art vendor to the stars, plans to lead a trip for 12 friends: "My friends, those lovers of art, most of them rich, intelligent, and spoiled, would spend a week in China and arrive in Burma on Christmas Day." Unfortunately, Bibi dies, in very strange circumstances, before the tour begins. After wrangling about it, the group decides to go after all. The leader they choose is indecisive and epileptic, a dangerous combo. Bibi goes along as the disembodied voice-over.
Once in Myanmar, finally, they are noticed by a group of Karen tribesmen who decide that Rupert, the 15-year-old son of a bamboo grower is, in fact, Younger White Brother, or The Lord of the Nats. He can do card tricks and is carrying a Stephen King paperback. These are adjudged to be signs of his deity and ability to save them from marauding soldiers. The group is "kidnapped," although they think they are setting out for a Christmas Day surprise, and taken deep into the jungle where they languish, develop malaria, learn to eat slimy things and wait to be rescued. Nats are "believed to be the spirits of nature--the lake, the trees, the mountains, the snakes and birds. They were numberless ... They were everywhere, as were bad luck and the need to find reasons for it." Philosophy or cynicism? This elusive point of view is found throughout the novel--a bald statement is made and then Tan pulls her punches as if she is unwilling to make a statement that might set a more serious tone.
There are some goofy parts about Harry, the member of the group who is left behind, and his encounter with two newswomen from Global News Network, some slapstick sex scenes and a great deal of dog-loving dialogue. These all contribute to a novel that is silly but not really funny, could have an occasionally serious theme which suddenly disappears, and is about a group of stereotypical characters that it's hard to care about. It was time for Amy Tan to write another book; too bad this was it. --Valerie Ryan --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Sending to carlissa in a trade. Enjoy.
Thank you, cestmoi! I look forward to listening to this story! And thank you for Echoes, too!
I put this in my CD only bookbox.
Pulled out of Carlissa's Audio CD-only BookBox.
This was almost 15 hours, and took me forever to get through! Although the story line was not a bad one, it just kind of dragged on. If I hadn't recently had an ESL subbing gig where I came into contact with students who spoke Karen, I wouldn't have understood some of the nuances about the ethnic tribespeople.
Journal Entry 7 by BigJohnLefty at BigJohnLefty's CD-only AudioBookBox, A Bookbox -- Controlled Releases on Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Released 15 yrs ago (1/7/2009 UTC) at BigJohnLefty's CD-only AudioBookBox, A Bookbox -- Controlled Releases
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
Putting this into my CD-only AudioBookBox. Bon Voyage!
Putting this into my CD-only AudioBookBox. Bon Voyage!
I'm not totally sure about compatibility with this (re: mp3 format), but I should hopefully be able to get it to play somewhere, since I would like to read this one. So I'm removing it from the box!
I seem to only be able to listen to this through my computer, & I don't have the patience (or time, for that matter) to do so when I'm used to listening in the car. Which is a shame, because one of my book clubs is reading this for next month & I was rather excited because I knew I already had it on audio in Mt. TBR. But since I can't play it in the car I drive, I'm going to pass it along to a PBS member who has it (in this format) on their wishlist.
2/27/10 -- (I ended up reading this on an audio I borrowed from the library. Thought I'd leave my review here.)
Not having read a lot of Amy Tan, I can't honestly compare this to her other novels. It has an interesting premise: narrator telling the story, after her death, of her friends' decision to continue with their original plans for a tour of China & then Burma/Myanmar, without the previously planned narrator's leadership as tour guide. Throughout the whole story, she (the narrator) alludes to impending disaster & the reader is left with a yearning to know what's going to happen.
And for me, that was the problem. The story seemed to drag on too long, but I kept going because I had to know what happened, and then I felt disappointed by the time I did finally get to the conclusion. I felt like Tan tried to wrap up the ending too neatly, & it just didn't seem to fit with the rest of the novel. Granted, you find out exactly what caused the narrator's death, & that was fairly satisfying, but despite the length Tan went to to describe the rest of her characters, they were never very likeable & I just didn't care at that point. Had this novel been shorter & more concise, I may have enjoyed it more.
As a side note, this is an audio (with Amy Tan as the reader), & although she's well-spoken, Tan is not my first choice as reader on an audiobook. She has a soft-spoken voice & it tends to fluctuate, making it hard to follow, especially when listening in a car. A more "dynamic" reader might make this more enjoyable.
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
Sending to PBS member. Enjoy! :')
You have found a BookCrossing book! Please take a brief moment to journal your thoughts upon reading this book. Then, if you'd like, re-release the book (to a friend, a stranger, or back out into the wild). That way you can track its travels & its readers throughout the world!
2/27/10 -- (I ended up reading this on an audio I borrowed from the library. Thought I'd leave my review here.)
Not having read a lot of Amy Tan, I can't honestly compare this to her other novels. It has an interesting premise: narrator telling the story, after her death, of her friends' decision to continue with their original plans for a tour of China & then Burma/Myanmar, without the previously planned narrator's leadership as tour guide. Throughout the whole story, she (the narrator) alludes to impending disaster & the reader is left with a yearning to know what's going to happen.
And for me, that was the problem. The story seemed to drag on too long, but I kept going because I had to know what happened, and then I felt disappointed by the time I did finally get to the conclusion. I felt like Tan tried to wrap up the ending too neatly, & it just didn't seem to fit with the rest of the novel. Granted, you find out exactly what caused the narrator's death, & that was fairly satisfying, but despite the length Tan went to to describe the rest of her characters, they were never very likeable & I just didn't care at that point. Had this novel been shorter & more concise, I may have enjoyed it more.
As a side note, this is an audio (with Amy Tan as the reader), & although she's well-spoken, Tan is not my first choice as reader on an audiobook. She has a soft-spoken voice & it tends to fluctuate, making it hard to follow, especially when listening in a car. A more "dynamic" reader might make this more enjoyable.
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
Sending to PBS member. Enjoy! :')
You have found a BookCrossing book! Please take a brief moment to journal your thoughts upon reading this book. Then, if you'd like, re-release the book (to a friend, a stranger, or back out into the wild). That way you can track its travels & its readers throughout the world!
