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The Valley of Amazement Amy Tan Books

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The Valley of Amazement Amy Tan Books

I too am an Amy Tan fan and I too am very disappointed by this tediously long book. As I trudged through it, I kept wondering if Ms Tan had begun it before she hit her stride as a writer. It is romance novel, with all of the swooning and silly rescues and ill fated silliness of that genre. I wanted to smack Violet frequently, especially when she lost Little Flora and then hardly bothered to mention her lost child again. When things seemed to finally be winding up with Violet climbing that mysterious mountain (which, sorry to say, seemed like an incredibly contrived device that I never could quite understand), the blasted book didn't end but started a whole new episode of the boring Lucia and her love nest in the turret and her over wrought reaction to the painting of that other contrived device, The Valley of Amazement. I am so sorry that I disliked this endless book so much and that I finally gave up about the time Lucia was traveling to Shanghai. I simply couldn't read any more and I suggest you skip this one altogether and hope for something better next time from this usually wonderful author.


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The Valley of Amazement Amy Tan Books Reviews

I have no idea why I slogged my way through this book. I have enjoyed other books by Amy Tan but this one never ended! I didn't care about any of the characters. Memoirs of a Geisha is one of my favorite books and I had high hopes that this book would reveal what the courtesan life was like. There is an entire chapter of the rules of the courtesan and it read like a high school student handbook. Dull. The long and boring descriptions took up more time than was needed. I ended up skimming the last one third of the book. The poetry was the worst! Pages and pages of bad poetry that had nothing to do with the story. The entire plot of Violet and Perpetual was a waste of time. The book should have been a third of the length. There were times when I thought the story was wrapping up but then the next chapter would start another long and tedious trip through the Valley of Boredom. I don't understand why the author felt that so much detail and repetition had to go into this book. The story was contrived and lacked any emotional impact. Don't waste your time.
**Whiners beware of Major Spoilers**
I was expecting more from Amy Tan since she figures among my favorite writers. This book started out promising but once Violet was sold into the world of courtesans (a fancy word for Prostitutes) the book started going downhill. She meets an American man whom she has a child with, a girl named Flora. Flora is taken away from her and once more she is left with nothing and goes back into the tawdry world of courtesans. This time she meets a creepy man named Perpetual who fools her into thinking he comes from a wealthy family of scholars and takes her to a backwater village in the middle of nowhere called Moon Pond. Turns out Perpetual was a conniving liar and cruel abuser. The story then changes to the time when Violet's mother met her father Lu Shing and what let her to leave San Francisco for Shanghai. The ending was disappointing and I'm truly sorry I wasted two weeks reading this book. I could have finished the book a lot sooner but I could not keep myself interested enough to read for long periods. I love Amy Tan's old books but I DO NOT recommend this one.
I started this book over 3 years ago and put it aside as I found it too slow going and not nearly as captivating as Amy Tan's earlier books. I finally decided to finish it (I had read about 40% of it) and pushed through the final 60%. Amy's female characters seems so smart but their total trust in male characters makes the plot seem weak and unbelievable. Fortunately the final 10% seem to go by quickly as Amy seems in a rush to finish up this book. Too bad she didn't edit a bit better in other stages of the book where things dragged on way too slowly.

By the way, didn't like how the story of Teddy is left hanging . . . that was confusing.
Amy Tan's "The Valley of Amazement" was written in a style similar to her International Best Seller "The Joy Luck Club." The story is set in the early 1900's in Shanghai, China and follows the lives of an American mother, Lulu, and her half American- half Chinese daughter, Violet. Tan, as always writes with a keen descriptive flare, making even the most ordinary come alive. Lulu is the madam of the Hidden Jade Path, a first class courtesan house. The narrator is Violet, an eight year old American, or so she thinks, growing up in this unusual world. It's a world of insincerity, deception, and selfishness. A world where everyone is doing whatever they can to survive. Violets only friends are her cherished cat, Carlotta; a courtesan, Magic Gourd; and her mother's business partner, Golden Dove. Violet is sold to be a courtesan, when her selfish mother, Lulu, is tricked by her lover Fairweather. His name seemed to be a pun, like a fair weather sports fan. I too, find myself as a fair weather fan of Tan's "Amazement." I enjoyed Tan's ability to create believable and lively characters. I also saw a deeper message about the abuse of women and the sex trade that is still happening today. The story development was slow, and the bawdy language Tan uses to describe the lives of the courtesans, was to me distasteful and didn't add any depth to the story. While this wasn't her best work of fiction, if you like Amy Tan's other books, you'll enjoy this one as well.
Tan writes exquisite books about the Chinese life and culture, but this book went into explicit detail and then quickly ended and attempted to tie loose ends, but left many strands floating in the breeze. Tan spends numerous pages on Violet, a sizable time on Lulu, and a fleeting conversation on Flora. I felt stranded in thought about the outcomes of various characters in the story. The hardships constantly plagued Violet, and just when the route seems even, another boulder lands in her path. Lulu and Flora retreat to the background and only reappear towards the end of the saga. Rich language and colorful descriptions enhance the story about the life of a courtesan in China in the 1910's. I enjoyed the book, but found the book contains too little narrative on Lulu and Flora and other minor characters.
I too am an Amy Tan fan and I too am very disappointed by this tediously long book. As I trudged through it, I kept wondering if Ms Tan had begun it before she hit her stride as a writer. It is romance novel, with all of the swooning and silly rescues and ill fated silliness of that genre. I wanted to smack Violet frequently, especially when she lost Little Flora and then hardly bothered to mention her lost child again. When things seemed to finally be winding up with Violet climbing that mysterious mountain (which, sorry to say, seemed like an incredibly contrived device that I never could quite understand), the blasted book didn't end but started a whole new episode of the boring Lucia and her love nest in the turret and her over wrought reaction to the painting of that other contrived device, The Valley of Amazement. I am so sorry that I disliked this endless book so much and that I finally gave up about the time Lucia was traveling to Shanghai. I simply couldn't read any more and I suggest you skip this one altogether and hope for something better next time from this usually wonderful author.