Amy Tan's "Where the Past Begins" Book Discussion

***This event occurred on October 25, 2017, from 7:00pm-8:15pm in the Seattle Public Library in Seattle, WA***

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• Amy Tan builds her credibility as a writer from the very beginning (on page 3) of the novel by writing in the novel that the things she may remember may be inaccurate.
• This may seem like we shouldn't read it because it may not be completely true, but she follows what she has written with the fact that we revise how we see things as we get older and change. This is simply a matter of perception and perspective vs. reality.
• To continue to the idea of perception and perspective vs. reality, Tan continues to talk about how photographs also do the same thing. A photograph is indisputable and simply a snapshot of time, but there is no context to the photo. Questions come up: What happened to the photo? Why is the photo really taken? Who requested the photo? If it's posted, what were the feelings of the subjects before and after the picture was taken?
• Amy Tan primarily writes fiction, but Where the Past Begins is her first nonfiction or memoir.
• When asked whether the memoir was easier or harder to write she responds, "Writing this memoir is the hardest thing I have ever written but eventually became natural...it came pouring out of me."
• "This book I started out feeling insane but eventually I went on to enjoy the ride."
• Amy talks about how there is no set Asian American culture because every family is different especially as a different generation of Asian Americans live. She is a first-generation Asian American and remembers how her parents really wanted the best for her by expecting a great future. They wanted her to become a concert pianist or a neurosurgeon. Amy admitted that she didn't measure up in intelligence for being a neurosurgeon and didn't have the skill or passion to be a concert pianist. Her failure to live up to her parents' expectations has followed her in every little failure, even as a writer. I completely understand where Amy Tan is coming from.
• She gives advice to struggling writers:
• "Novelists need to lose their consciousness and write off the top of their heads. Then, they can revise it or toss it."
• Writers have to give 15-30 pages a week of their new work and must arc. The arc means a beginning that leads to a climax eventually ending with a resolution to that chapter or section of what you're writing.

Here are some pictures from the night.

My seat which is a row above the VIP section. I saw a seat empty next to an older couple and asked if it was taken. The man's response was perfect, "Yes, it's yours." Don't be afraid to ask for something like this for a popular event. I've definitely learned that after today.

I am next in line! She looks so happy to be seeing such a large turnout. I think Amy Tan was the perfect author to be my first meet and signing.

She is signing my book. I told her I finished it on Tuesday and thought it was really great. Her response was, "Thank you and that was fast."

Isn't it great?1 It says "Joy and Luck" which is a reference to her book The Joy Luck Club.

I am one happy reader and writer!

New Release Review: Where the Past Begins: A Writer's Memoir by Amy Tan

Title: Where the Past Begins: A Writer's Memoir

Author: Amy Tan
1st Date of Publication: October 17, 2017

ISBN: 9780062319296
# of Pages: 368

Genre: Memoir

Age Rating: 13

 

Book Description:
In Where the Past Begins, bestselling author of The Joy Luck Club and The Valley of Amazement Amy Tan is at her most intimate in revealing the truths and inspirations that underlie her extraordinary fiction. By delving into vivid memories of her traumatic childhood, confessions of self-doubt in her journals, and heartbreaking letters to and from her mother, she gives evidence to all that made it both unlikely and inevitable that she would become a writer. Through spontaneous storytelling, she shows how a fluid fictional state of mind unleashed near-forgotten memories that became the emotional nucleus of her novels.

Tan explores shocking truths uncovered by family memorabilia—the real reason behind an IQ test she took at age six, why her parents lied about their education, mysteries surrounding her maternal grandmother—and, for the first time publicly, writes about her complex relationship with her father, who died when she was fifteen. Supplied with candor and characteristic humor, Where the Past Begins takes readers into the idiosyncratic workings of her writer’s mind, a journey that explores memory, imagination, and truth, with fiction serving as both her divining rod and link to meaning.




Setting: Primarily California
Point of View: 1st person- Amy Tan

Goodreads Rating: 3.55

My Rating: 4.50

 

Part of the Book that Caught My Attention: Both

View on the Cover: It's pretty clear that this book is about Amy Tan because her name consumes most of the cover.
View on Title: It seems kind of interesting. Where does one's past begin? Ourselves? Our parents? Grandparents? It's hard to define the line.

Pros:

• This novel is very different from her other books (because it is a memoir rather than fiction), but this novel has similar writing aspects to her fictional pieces.
• The book has a structure but a different kind of structure than all her other books. This novel is more fluid in the way that it goes from one idea to the next. Amy Tan makes reading this novel feel like it is like you're in a really nice dream and you're going for the ride.
• The writing reminds me of concocting a chemistry experiment because this book is part journal, part diary, and part genealogy. The reader gets to be in the mind of Amy Tan as she writes with less restraint as she discovers more of her past and better understands both her life and family.
• The way the parts are organized are creative and unexpected. Instead of titling for family or herself, she titles them with what people encourage others to do.
• It's really interesting because you get a glimpse of how her characters in her books relate to people in her life, such as Amy Tan's mother as June's mother in The Joy Luck Club.
• This memoir gives the reader an idea of what  Asian American culture is like in some aspects because not every Asian American family is the same, especially in different generations. Academics and music become emphasized on perfection and nothing short of it because Asian parents want only the best for their children through achievement.

Cons:

• There is very little that I disliked about this book. The only thing I wish Amy Tan explored more is her relationships with her brothers, particularly her younger one. Her older brother is written a little more than her younger brother.

Critics' Reviews:
“Any book by best-selling Tan is cause for excitement, and this surprising and gripping memoir will be zealously promoted and discussed.” -Booklist

Amy Tan's Website:
http://www.amytan.net/

Other Recommendations:

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
On Writing: Memoir of Craft by Stephen King
Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury

Author Spotlight: Amy Tan

Birthday: February 19, 1952 (65)
From: Oakland, California
Currently Living: San Francisco, California
Family: Lou DeMattei  (Husband) and 2 dogs
Education: BA and MA in English and Linguistics from San Jose University

Books:
The Valley of Amazement (Buy on Amazon)
The Joy Luck Club (Buy on Amazon)
The Kitchen God's Wife (Buy on Amazon)
The Hundred Secret Senses (Buy on Amazon)
The Bonesetter's Daughter (Buy on Amazon)
The Opposite of Fate (Buy on Amazon)
Saving Fish from Drowning (Buy on Amazon)
Where the Past Begins: A Writer's Memoir (Buy on Amazon)
The Moon Lady (Children's) (Buy on Amazon)
Sagwa the Chinese Siamese Cat (Children's) (Buy on Amazon)

Other Interests:
Nature Journal Writing

Where to Find Her Social Media:
Personal Website- https://www.amytan.net/

Anticipation Friday: Where the Past Begins by Amy Tan

Goodreads Description
In Where the Past Begins, bestselling author of The Joy Luck Club and The Valley of Amazement Amy Tan is at her most intimate in revealing the truths and inspirations that underlie her extraordinary fiction. By delving into vivid memories of her traumatic childhood, confessions of self-doubt in her journals, and heartbreaking letters to and from her mother, she gives evidence to all that made it both unlikely and inevitable that she would become a writer. Through spontaneous storytelling, she shows how a fluid fictional state of mind unleashed near-forgotten memories that became the emotional nucleus of her novels.

Tan explores shocking truths uncovered by family memorabilia—the real reason behind an IQ test she took at age six, why her parents lied about their education, mysteries surrounding her maternal grandmother—and, for the first time publicly, writes about her complex relationship with her father, who died when she was fifteen. Supplied with candor and characteristic humor, Where the Past Begins takes readers into the idiosyncratic workings of her writer’s mind, a journey that explores memory, imagination, and truth, with fiction serving as both her divining rod and link to meaning.

Preorder on Amazon

Other info
Expected Date of Publication: October 17, 2017
Stand-Alone or Series/Companion: Stand-Alone
Genre: Memoir

Why Am I Anticipating This Book?

• I have read one of Amy Tan's other books, Joy Luck Club, for school twice and I really liked it. All of her books are full of symbolism and themes, which makes it fun to read and find them all.
• She writes a lot of historical fiction pieces about Chinese immigration to the United States. Her books have a lot of Chinese-American culture in them, which I find interesting. There's often flashbacks of what it was like in China and how different life is as Chinese in the United States.
• I am actually going to meet her at the library in a week and a half where she will be discussing her newest book, Where the Past Begins.