The New York Times Book Review - Lesley Downer
Written in Tan's characteristically economical and matter-of-fact style, The Valley of Amazement is filled with memorably idiosyncratic characters. And its array of colorful multilayered stories is given further depth by Tan's affecting depictions of mothers and daughters. Here are strong women struggling to survive all that life has to throw at them, created by a writer skilled at evoking the roil of emotions and mad exploits they experience when they follow their hearts.
Publishers Weekly - Audio
02/24/2014
In Tan’s novel, Violet Minturn, the daughter of the American madam of the premiere courtesan house in Shanghai, experiences life quite differently from other children. Her privileged lifestyle provides opportunities, but like her mother before her, Violet must grapple with history, lovers, and family life. In this audio edition, the use of three narrators is well executed. Each reader provides a strong vocal representation of the characters. Although Tan’s performance is solid, she sometimes doesn’t have the skill and flair demonstrated by Wu and Bean, who offer up more nuanced readings. Still, Tan’s performance more than does justice to her novel and its characters. An Ecco hardcover. (Nov.)
Publishers Weekly
In her first novel since 2005’s Saving Fish from Drowning, Tan again explores the complex relationships between mothers and daughters, control and submission, tradition and new beginnings. Jumping from bustling Shanghai to an isolated village in rural China to San Francisco at the turn of the 19th century, the epic story follows three generations of women pulled apart by outside forces. The main focus is Violet, once a virgin courtesan in one of the most reputable houses in Shanghai, who faces a series of crippling setbacks: the death of her first husband from Spanish influenza, a second marriage to an abusive scam artist, and the abduction of her infant daughter, Flora. In a series of flashbacks toward the book’s end, Violet’s American mother, Lulu, is revealed to have suffered a similar and equally disturbing fate two decades earlier. The choice to cram the truth behind Lulu’s sexually promiscuous adolescence in San Francisco, her life as a madam in Shanghai, and Violet’s reunion with a grown Flora into the last 150 pages makes the story unnecessarily confusing. Nonetheless, Tan’s mastery of the lavish world of courtesans and Chinese customs continues to transport. Agent: Sandra Dijkstra, Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency. (Nov.)
From the Publisher
Here are strong women struggling to survive all that life has thrown at them, created by a writer skilled at evoking the roil of emotions and made exploits they experience when they follow their hearts.” — New York Times Book Review
“[A] novel that grabs your soul.” — San Francisco Chronicle
“This utterly engrossing novel is highly recommended to all readers who appreciate an author’s ability to transport them to a new world they will not forget. As a plus, this reviewer sensed the harbinger of a sequel by the last page.” — Library Journal (starred review)
“Tan is a skilled storyteller. . . A satisfyingly complete, expertly paced yarn.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Tan’s prodigious, sumptuously descriptive, historically grounded, sexually candid, and elaborately plotted novel counters violence, exploitation, betrayal, and tragic cultural divides with beauty, wit, and transcendent friendship between women.” — Booklist (starred review)
“The author of The Joy Luck Club and The Hundred Secret Senses can deliver a sweeping family saga like nobody else.” — Newsday (Fall Preview)
“Amy Tan is one of our blackest-belted scriveners, and this is her masterwork.” — Mary Karr, author of the New York Times bestsellers The Liars' Club, Cherry, and Lit
Fans of Tan’s previous works (including The Joy Luck Club) will rejoice when they get their hands on this book. — Real Simple
“[THE VALLEY OF AMAZEMENT is] akin to her earlier work, yet more sophisticated, and a fine reminder that Amy Tan is herself a master of illusion, and one of the best storytellers around.” — NPR
“It’s been a long eight years since Amy Tan’s last novel, but THE VALLEY OF AMAZEMENT proves that good things—breathtaking things—come to those who wait. [...] It’s wonderful to be back in Amy’s magical and amazing world.” — Lisa See, author of international bestsellers Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Peony in Love, and Shanghai Girls
“Tan’s beautiful, seamless prose presents fans with a true sense of time and place, catching them up in the heartbreaking tragedy of the plot… Tan’s creativity is always a force, and in this epic tale her ability to captivate shines.” — Romantic Times
“[Tan] is a gifted storyteller… This is one writer’s particular idiom and vision of the world - and within that she offers us a rich cast of characters who both repel and compel.” — Financial Times
“[Tan’s] fans will appreciate the book’s multigenerational narrative and compelling look at a society in which men held the power but women gave each other strength.” — More magazine
“Fans will recognize signature Tan themes: mother-daughter relationships, clashes between cultures… threads of hmor and emotional insight make Violet’s struggle to survive, and ultimately forgive, a journey worth sharing.” — People
“[Tan] still sweeps you up in the wildly changing fortunes of a whip-smart courtesan.” — Entertainment Weekly
“This is an Amy Tan novel, so its heart is the push-pull of mother-daughter relationships… The journey with Violet, her mother and her daughter is one of separate winding paths, each woman struggling to reach the light.” — USA Today
“Amy Tan’s latest novel is an engrossing, multigenerational saga....grounded by Tan’s ability to bring tragically flawed characters and exotic locales to vivid life.” — Parade
“Tan brings to life a world with which few are familiar. And it’s fascinating. Her descriptions of the countryside, of the houses, of the lifestyle and the customers are well-drawn and multi-layered. Her characters are brought to life as three-dimensional, complicated people.” — Lisa Ko, author of The Leavers
“With THE VALLEY OF AMAZEMENT (Ecco), Amy Tan reaffirms her reputation as a master storyteller, creating intriguing settings, unforgettable characters, and twisty plotlines.” — O, the Oprah Magazine
“Amy tan creates another stunning portrait of mothers and daughters.” — St. Paul Pioneer Press
“In her new novel, Tan ditches her magic realist fugues and enters a brutal landscape of Shanghai courtesans, exploring it with new depths of tenderness and pain.” — San Francisco Chronicle
“[Tan is] an accomplished storyteller… the underlying appeal of this book is the weave she makes of the three generations of Minturn women…struggling to accept their fate and each other.” — New York Daily News
“A feast of a novel… Tan deftly draws the reader along as she explores the nature of identity, the joys and pitfalls of love, the ripple effects of the choices we make and the role of fate in our lives.” — Shelf Awareness
“THE VALLEY OF AMAZEMENT is an engrossing read that effortlessly draws you in and captures both the sweet taste of acceptance and the bitter taste of disappointment and resentment with an almost painful accuracy… a compelling and emotional read.” — San Francisco Book Review
“She has created such an enticing portrait of Shanghai that she makes us nostalgic for a city we can never know.” — Boston Globe
“Amy Tan’s new novel THE VALLEY OF AMAZEMENT is a long and luxurious read, offering riches on almost every page… Tan laces her story with colorful characters… a little comedy, enough tragedy, and plenty of passion and historical detail.” — Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“[THE VALLEY OF AMAZEMENT] combines vivid historical details and epic sweep across several decades and two continents with intimate portraits of flawed but engaging women whose resourcefulness and courage are sometimes astounding.” — Tampa Bay Times
“Vivid, compassionate, and expertly done… Tan has crafted characters so realistic they seem to breathe and a tense world that will keep readers on the edge of their seats for all 589 pages.” — Bustle
“Tan hasn’t written a new novel in eight years but THE VALLEY OF AMAZEMENT was worth the wait.” — Miami Herald
“Tan has created a vivid work of literature, full of deftly drawn and colorful characters, exploring the idea that in a world of grief and cruelty, where a woman’s fate is not hers - or her mother’s - to determine, what she can keep is her self.” — Seattle Times
“The deeply evocative narrative about the profound connections between mothers and daughters will return readers to the compelling territory of Tan’s The Joy Luck Club. Tan’s characteristic insight and humor conjures a story of “inherited trauma, desire and deception, and the power and stubbornness of love.” — Northwest Asian Weekly
“Fans who’ve waited eight years for a new novel by Tan (The Joy Luck Club) can look forward to a lengthy, decades-long soak in Violet’s sentimental and erotic education.” — Good Housekeeping (online)
“Those who have been waiting for Tan’s novel, her first in eight years, will not be disappointed.” — International Examiner
Lisa See
It’s been a long eight years since Amy Tan’s last novel, but THE VALLEY OF AMAZEMENT proves that good things—breathtaking things—come to those who wait. [...] It’s wonderful to be back in Amy’s magical and amazing world.
NPR
[THE VALLEY OF AMAZEMENT is] akin to her earlier work, yet more sophisticated, and a fine reminder that Amy Tan is herself a master of illusion, and one of the best storytellers around.
Real Simple
Fans of Tan’s previous works (including The Joy Luck Club) will rejoice when they get their hands on this book.
New York Times Book Review
Here are strong women struggling to survive all that life has thrown at them, created by a writer skilled at evoking the roil of emotions and made exploits they experience when they follow their hearts.
Mary Karr
Amy Tan is one of our blackest-belted scriveners, and this is her masterwork.
San Francisco Chronicle
[A] novel that grabs your soul.
Newsday (Fall Preview)
The author of The Joy Luck Club and The Hundred Secret Senses can deliver a sweeping family saga like nobody else.
Booklist (starred review)
Tan’s prodigious, sumptuously descriptive, historically grounded, sexually candid, and elaborately plotted novel counters violence, exploitation, betrayal, and tragic cultural divides with beauty, wit, and transcendent friendship between women.
Good Housekeeping (online)
Fans who’ve waited eight years for a new novel by Tan (The Joy Luck Club) can look forward to a lengthy, decades-long soak in Violet’s sentimental and erotic education.
Northwest Asian Weekly
The deeply evocative narrative about the profound connections between mothers and daughters will return readers to the compelling territory of Tan’s The Joy Luck Club. Tan’s characteristic insight and humor conjures a story of “inherited trauma, desire and deception, and the power and stubbornness of love.
Boston Globe
She has created such an enticing portrait of Shanghai that she makes us nostalgic for a city we can never know.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Amy Tan’s new novel THE VALLEY OF AMAZEMENT is a long and luxurious read, offering riches on almost every page… Tan laces her story with colorful characters… a little comedy, enough tragedy, and plenty of passion and historical detail.
Tampa Bay Times
[THE VALLEY OF AMAZEMENT] combines vivid historical details and epic sweep across several decades and two continents with intimate portraits of flawed but engaging women whose resourcefulness and courage are sometimes astounding.
USA Today
This is an Amy Tan novel, so its heart is the push-pull of mother-daughter relationships… The journey with Violet, her mother and her daughter is one of separate winding paths, each woman struggling to reach the light.
Seattle Times
Tan has created a vivid work of literature, full of deftly drawn and colorful characters, exploring the idea that in a world of grief and cruelty, where a woman’s fate is not hers - or her mother’s - to determine, what she can keep is her self.
the Oprah Magazine O
With THE VALLEY OF AMAZEMENT (Ecco), Amy Tan reaffirms her reputation as a master storyteller, creating intriguing settings, unforgettable characters, and twisty plotlines.
Shelf Awareness
A feast of a novel… Tan deftly draws the reader along as she explores the nature of identity, the joys and pitfalls of love, the ripple effects of the choices we make and the role of fate in our lives.
St. Paul Pioneer Press
Amy tan creates another stunning portrait of mothers and daughters.
San Francisco Book Review
THE VALLEY OF AMAZEMENT is an engrossing read that effortlessly draws you in and captures both the sweet taste of acceptance and the bitter taste of disappointment and resentment with an almost painful accuracy… a compelling and emotional read.
Miami Herald
Tan hasn’t written a new novel in eight years but THE VALLEY OF AMAZEMENT was worth the wait.
Parade
Amy Tan’s latest novel is an engrossing, multigenerational saga....grounded by Tan’s ability to bring tragically flawed characters and exotic locales to vivid life.
New York Daily News
[Tan is] an accomplished storyteller… the underlying appeal of this book is the weave she makes of the three generations of Minturn women…struggling to accept their fate and each other.
Entertainment Weekly
[Tan] still sweeps you up in the wildly changing fortunes of a whip-smart courtesan.
Financial Times
[Tan] is a gifted storyteller… This is one writer’s particular idiom and vision of the world - and within that she offers us a rich cast of characters who both repel and compel.
Romantic Times
Tan’s beautiful, seamless prose presents fans with a true sense of time and place, catching them up in the heartbreaking tragedy of the plot… Tan’s creativity is always a force, and in this epic tale her ability to captivate shines.
International Examiner
Those who have been waiting for Tan’s novel, her first in eight years, will not be disappointed.
More magazine
[Tan’s] fans will appreciate the book’s multigenerational narrative and compelling look at a society in which men held the power but women gave each other strength.
Bustle
Vivid, compassionate, and expertly done… Tan has crafted characters so realistic they seem to breathe and a tense world that will keep readers on the edge of their seats for all 589 pages.
Lisa Ko
Tan brings to life a world with which few are familiar. And it’s fascinating. Her descriptions of the countryside, of the houses, of the lifestyle and the customers are well-drawn and multi-layered. Her characters are brought to life as three-dimensional, complicated people.
People
Fans will recognize signature Tan themes: mother-daughter relationships, clashes between cultures… threads of hmor and emotional insight make Violet’s struggle to survive, and ultimately forgive, a journey worth sharing.
San Francisco Chronicle
[A] novel that grabs your soul.
USA Today
This is an Amy Tan novel, so its heart is the push-pull of mother-daughter relationships… The journey with Violet, her mother and her daughter is one of separate winding paths, each woman struggling to reach the light.
Financial Times
[Tan] is a gifted storyteller… This is one writer’s particular idiom and vision of the world - and within that she offers us a rich cast of characters who both repel and compel.
Miami Herald
Tan hasn’t written a new novel in eight years but THE VALLEY OF AMAZEMENT was worth the wait.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Amy Tan’s new novel THE VALLEY OF AMAZEMENT is a long and luxurious read, offering riches on almost every page… Tan laces her story with colorful characters… a little comedy, enough tragedy, and plenty of passion and historical detail.
New York Daily News
[Tan is] an accomplished storyteller… the underlying appeal of this book is the weave she makes of the three generations of Minturn women…struggling to accept their fate and each other.
O: the Oprah Magazine
With THE VALLEY OF AMAZEMENT (Ecco), Amy Tan reaffirms her reputation as a master storyteller, creating intriguing settings, unforgettable characters, and twisty plotlines.
Associated Press Staff
Tan brings to life a world with which few are familiar. And it’s fascinating. Her descriptions of the countryside, of the houses, of the lifestyle and the customers are well-drawn and multi-layered. Her characters are brought to life as three-dimensional, complicated people.
Mary Pearson
Amy Tan is one of our blackest-belted scriveners, and this is her masterwork.
Library Journal - Audio
06/01/2014
Tan (The Joy Luck Club) is in familiar territory here as a mother and daughter must battle others—and sometimes each other—to survive and prosper. The story starts in 1897, and the setting shifts between San Francisco and Shanghai. Lucia was born in America and has a daughter, Violet, with a Chinese man. Later, she becomes the owner of a high-end establishment in Shanghai that supplies courtesans to wealthy Easterners and Westerners. Violet is abandoned by her mother and becomes a courtesan herself, though her quest for love seems doomed. The overly detailed descriptions of everything from furniture to clothing to sex acts bogs down the story. Unfortunately, character development is also poorly executed. The multiple narrators—Nancy Wu, Joyce Bean, and Tan—skillfully present the characters as they age and their situations change. VERDICT Those who favor in-depth description and international settings will particularly enjoy. ["This utterly engrossing novel is highly recommended to all readers who appreciate an author's ability to transport them to a new world they will not forget," read the more positive starred review of the Ecco: HarperCollins hc, LJ 8/13.]—Susan G. Baird, formerly with Oak Lawn P.L., IL
NOVEMBER 2013 - AudioFile
Nancy Wu is the principal narrator of this story about Chinese-American Violet Minturn, who was forced into a courtesan's life when she was separated from her American mother (also a courtesan) as she fled politically unstable Shanghai in the early 1900s. Wu excels at pronouncing the Chinese words and allowing Violet's voice to mature as she grows from a scared girl to a capable, strong woman. Wu is less successful, however, with male dialogue and is inconsistent with some of the non-Chinese accents. Author Amy Tan reads the chapters told by Magic Gourd, Violet's mentor. Swallowing noises and a slightly flat tone detract from Tan's performance. Joyce Bean delivers Violet's mother's perspective, capturing her personality and conflicted emotions. C.B.L. © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
Tan, who made her name with The Joy Luck Club (1989), blends two favorite settings, Shanghai and San Francisco, in a tale that spans generations. Granted that courtesans and the places that sheltered them were (and in some places still are) culturally significant in East Asia, Tan takes what might seem an unnecessary risk by setting her latest novel in that too-familiar demimonde (Miss Saigon, Memoirs of a Geisha, etc.). Tan is a skilled storyteller, capable of working her way into and out of most fictional problems, but the reader will be forgiven a sinking feeling at the scenario with which she opens, featuring "the only white woman who owned a first-class courtesan house in Shanghai." Where are the Boxers when you need them? Said white woman, Lulu Minturn, aka Lulu Mimi, is in Shanghai for a reason--and on that reason hinges a larger conceit, the one embodied by the book's title. She has a daughter, and the daughter, naturally enough, has cause to wonder about her ancestry, if little time to worry overmuch about some of the details, since her mom leaves her to fend for herself, not entirely willingly. The chinoiserie and exoticism aside, Violet makes a tough and compelling character, a sort of female equivalent to Yul Brynner as played by Lucy Liu. The members of the "Cloud Beauties," who give Violet her sentimental education, make an interesting lot themselves, but most of the attention is on Violet and the narrative track that finds her on a parallel journey, literally and figuratively, always haunted by "those damned paintings that had belonged to my mother" and that will eventually reveal their secrets. Tan's story sometimes suffers from longueurs, but the occasional breathless, steamy scene evens the score: "He lifted my hips and my head soared and I lost all my senses except for the one that bound us and could not be pulled apart." A satisfyingly complete, expertly paced yarn.
