Amy Tan - Saving Fish From Drowning
Jan. 7th, 2006 11:31 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
khiemtranSome thoughts about Amy Tan's novel, _Saving Fish From Drowning_.
I like the way the narrator, Bibi Chen, establishes herself as an Interesting Person right from the start. From the first paragraph, you know she's going to have stories to tell and that they're not going to be dull stories. On a larger scale, the same principle applies to the rest of the book. The characters are all Interesting People. The dynamics of the book mirror those of a tour group. If you get a group full of interesting people, you'll have a good time even if the tour is boring. If the tour is good, you'll have a great time.
I especially like the speed with which things get set up. By the first page, I know Bibi Chen and I want to know what happens next. By the first chapter, I'm dying to know what happens next. These are the sorts of openings I'd like to learn how to write.
I like the way the characters are all protrayed sympathetically, even as they're being skewered. In fact, in the first few chapters, they seem to be getting skewered pretty much all the time (but in an endearing way). There's a nice balance in there somewhere. None of them are insufferable. They come across instead as fellow sufferers.
I think I need to watch out for portraying my own characters too positively (especially those I like). They could stand to have their flaws and foibles shown up a little more.
I like the way the narrator, Bibi Chen, establishes herself as an Interesting Person right from the start. From the first paragraph, you know she's going to have stories to tell and that they're not going to be dull stories. On a larger scale, the same principle applies to the rest of the book. The characters are all Interesting People. The dynamics of the book mirror those of a tour group. If you get a group full of interesting people, you'll have a good time even if the tour is boring. If the tour is good, you'll have a great time.
I especially like the speed with which things get set up. By the first page, I know Bibi Chen and I want to know what happens next. By the first chapter, I'm dying to know what happens next. These are the sorts of openings I'd like to learn how to write.
I like the way the characters are all protrayed sympathetically, even as they're being skewered. In fact, in the first few chapters, they seem to be getting skewered pretty much all the time (but in an endearing way). There's a nice balance in there somewhere. None of them are insufferable. They come across instead as fellow sufferers.
I think I need to watch out for portraying my own characters too positively (especially those I like). They could stand to have their flaws and foibles shown up a little more.
