January 2019 Bookclub Newsletter

Amy Tan

Dear Bookclub,
Confusion seems to rise to the surface more frequently as one ages. At first glance, our next read, something, something Amy Tan, had me reminiscing about “Joy Luck Club” and “The Bonesetter’s Daughter”. Researching “What We Were Promised” stopped me short with the first phrase of the first review: ‘debut novel’. Closer inspection and a head scratch cleared up the matter and I discovered Lucy Tan.

Amy vs. Lucy
Amy - born February 19, 1952, Oakland, CA
Lucy - born in the United States (could not find her age or birth date but imagine she is about 30)

Amy - attended Linfield College, UC Santa Cruz, UC Berkeley, San Jose State University
Lucy - attended NYU and University of Wisconsin Madison(MFA).

Amy - works explore mother/daughter relationships and the Chinese/American experience
Lucy - her one novel explores an expat family returning to China, wealth and poverty, rural and modern Shanghai, perceptions and misperceptions

Amy - life experience includes: born to Chinese immigrants, Amy’s older brother and father both died of brain tumors within 6 months of each other when Amy was 15; she learns her mother, Daisy. had a previous marriage with four children (one died as a toddler) in Shanghai, that she left behind when coming to the USA. Amy travels to China  with Daisy to meet three half-sisters in 1987; from here on, there is much more to tell beyond paraphrasing, I will just acquiesce to Wikipedia:

“Tan had a difficult relationship with her mother. At one point, Daisy held a knife to her throat and threatened to kill her while the two were arguing over Amy's new boyfriend. Her mother wanted Tan to be independent, stressing that Tan needed to make sure she was self-sufficient. Tan later found out that her mother had three abortions while in China. Daisy often threatened to kill herself, saying that she wanted to join her mother (Tan's grandmother, who also committed suicide).^[9] She attempted suicide but never succeeded.^[9] Daisy died in 1999.^[10]

Tan and her mother did not speak for six months after Tan dropped out of the Baptist college her mother had selected for her, Linfield College in Oregon, to follow her boyfriend to San Jose City College in California.^[5][11][12] Tan met him on a blind date and married him in 1974.^[6][11][12] Tan later received bachelor's and master's degrees in English and linguistics from San Jose State University. She also participated in doctoral studies in linguistics at UC Santa Cruz and UC Berkeley but abandoned her doctoral studies in 1976.^[13]

While in school, Tan worked odd jobs—serving as a switchboard operator, carhop, bartender, and pizza maker—before starting a writing career. As a freelance business writer, she worked on projects for AT&T, IBM, Bank of America, and Pacific Bell, writing under non-Chinese-sounding pseudonyms.^[6]

While Tan was studying at Berkeley, her roommate was murdered, and Tan had to identify the body. The incident left her temporarily mute. She claimed that every year for ten years, on the day she identified the body, she lost her voice.^[14]

In 1998, Tan contracted Lyme disease, which went misdiagnosed for a few years. As a result, she suffers complications like epileptic seizures. Tan co-founded LymeAid 4 Kids, which helps uninsured children pay for treatment.^[15] She wrote about her life with Lyme disease in The New York Times.^[16]

Tan also suffers from depression, for which she takes antidepressants. Part of the reason that Tan chose not to have children was a fear that she would pass on a genetic legacy of mental instability - her maternal grandmother committed suicide, her mother threatened suicide often, and she herself has struggled with suicidal ideation.^[14]

Tan resides in San Francisco, California, with her husband in a house they designed "to feel open and airy, like a tree house, but also to be a place where we could live comfortably into old age" with accessibility features.^[17] Tan has recently taken up drawing and has shared her art on social media.

Tan sang with the Rock Bottom Remainders before they retired from touring.”

Lucy Tan

I could not locate a Wikipedia page for Lucy Tan, if one even exists. From her website's bio, I can only surmise that she had a privileged upbringing, with a distinguishing experience of spending the last ten years in NYC and Shanghai.


Lucy and Amy are both gifted writers each having distinct styles and inspirations. Looking forward to discussing Lucy's work and appreciating the depth and breadth of both of the Tan writers' cultural viewpoints. 

Lynne's suggestions for an upcoming read:

"Nine Perfect Strangers" Liane Moriarty
"Elinor Oliphant is Completely Fine" Gail Honeyman
"The Library Book" Susan Orlean

(She also recommends these runner-ups:  "Dear Hamilton" Laura Kamore {excellent historical fiction but very long, Lynne said} and "Robin" Dave Itzoff)

Happy Reading!
LK