Amy Tan

Here's a good start page at Voices From the Gaps, where you'll find a photo, excerpts, a biography, two bibliographies, and some links.

This is the entry on Tan from Encarta Online, with a biography and links. How trustworthy do you consider this source? Why?

Here's a photo of Tan with her mother. Describe the photo in as much detail as you can. Can you relate this picture to your reading?

This is the first chapter of Tan's novel about a Chinese-American woman, The Bonesetter's Daughter. There's also a link there for a New York Times review of the book. (Free registration required.)

Here is Tan's essay "Mother Tongue" in etext. Read a bit of it online. Is the experience different from reading it in your book? If so, how?

Here's an interview from Salon, in which she discusses her novel The Hundred Secret Senses. What did you learn from this interview that other sources didn't mention?

Do you want to know more about Tan's personal history? Here's some info about a rock band Tan plays with. Do you know any of the other authors in the band? Which ones? Does anything here come as a surprise to you?

To help put Tan's work into a historical context, here is some introductory info about Chinese Immigration to the U.S. How can this help you in your writing about Tan?

Did you know that Tan has contributed to films? This is a film review of The Joy Luck Club. Have you seen the movie? Have you read the book? After reading this review, are you interested in either?

To put Tan's work into a literary context, check out these Chinese Mythology links.