Saving Fish from Drowning

By: Amy Tan

Narrated by: Amy Tan

Length: 17 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

Twelve American tourists join an art expedition that begins in the Himalayan foothills of China - dubbed the true Shangri-La - and heads south into the jungles of Burma.

But after the mysterious death of their tour leader, the carefully laid plans fall apart, and disharmony breaks out among the pleasure-seekers as they come to discover that the Burma Road is paved with less-than-honorable intentions, questionable food, and tribal curses. Then, on Christmas morning, eleven of the travelers boat across a misty lake for a sunrise cruise - and disappear.

Drawing from the current political reality in Burma and woven with pure confabulation, Amy Tan's picaresque novel poses the question: How can we discern what is real and what is fiction, in everything we see? How do we know what to believe?

Saving Fish from Drowning finds sly truth in the absurd: a reality TV show called Darwin's Fittest, a repressive regime known as SLORC, two cheroot-smoking twin children hailed as divinities, and a ragtag tribe hiding in the jungle - where the sprites of disaster known as Nats lurk, as do the specters of the fabled Younger White Brother and a British illusionist who was not who he was worshipped to be.

With her signature "idiosyncratic, sympathetic characters, haunting images, historical complexity, significant contemporary themes, and suspenseful mystery" (Los Angeles Times), Amy Tan spins a provocative and mesmerizing tale about the mind and the heart of the individual, the actions we choose, the moral questions we might ask ourselves, and above all, the deeply personal answers we seek when happy endings are seemingly impossible.

©2005 Amy Tan (P)2005 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"A superbly executed, good-hearted farce that is part romance and part mystery....With Tan's many talents on display, it's her idiosyncratic wit and sly observations...that make this book pure pleasure." ( San Francisco Chronicle)

Interesting read

Great story and telling of story. I would recommend this to be read by others.

The Other side of the DaVinci Code

A posthumous narrator weaves a tale of art collector intrigue and trophy collecting from beyond the grave. A guided tour of Burma and other Khmer dynasty (sic?) locales that I can't remember are part of an art tour that goes wrong.

While this book passes the both the Bechdel test and the readability index, I blanked during it a few times. What I tend to remember are insights about this previous mysterious social set, Chinese ladies of leisure. This is mostly satire as passages here and there describe a vapid, if charmingly snarky group and their gatherings.

I found the sibilant mewling of the reader pretty grating, but appropriate to the gestalt of the woman in question. I preferred Tan's crisp, well-paced style when she covered sympathetic characters. It's been twenty years but I thought the "Kitchen God's Wife" was quite affecting from what I can recall.

You definitely wouldn't want to read this book while frying.

Wonderful voice

I'll admit I had to fight the instinct to skip over all of Amy Tan's work as being "chick fiction," but I'm glad I didn't. The characterization and storytelling is rich and developed. The story is amusing and it truly does feel as if the reader is being told a story. As for Amy Tan's voice, the Asian and California accents are spot on and I found her tone conversational, which made the novel more enjoyable ... as if I were being told a story by someone who had been there.

She had me BEFORE page one

Years ago I worked at Barnes & Noble and used to suggest to customers that they SHOULD choose books by the covers! I've rarely been disappointed in a book I chose because I loved the cover. This book has a GREAT cover, which is why I bought a copy when I found it on sale recently at B&N. I was fascinated by the introduction, then by the story, and the characters. I bought the audible version because it was just taking me too long to READ the book (my reading time is the 15 minutes before I fall asleep each night. It took me two weeks to get through Kafka's "The Metamorphosis"!) Also, I got a bit confused by the action once the group got "lost"; I needed to concentrate on it a bit more, I thought. Listening to it turned out to be a great way to finish it, and I'll be able to listen again in a couple of years and enjoy it all over again.

Amy Tan excels at character development, and her stories are always interesting, well researched and plausible - I could easily believe they are non-fiction. And this book was, at times, REALLY funny! I laughed out loud several times - always at something Bibi said - she was a delightful character! I didn't love all the characters, which I prefer; all I need is ONE to root for, and at least one to dislike.

Unlike some other reviewers, I really liked Amy Tan's narration. Some of the accents she used were not very good - but I forgave that immediately. After all, she is a WRITER, not an actor.

one of my favorites

This is a keeper! I'm on my second listen, and I am enjoying it even more than the first time. I am now playing it for my husband, and he likes it too.

Love it

If you like Amy Tan books you should get this one. I dont think the publishers summary was the best for this particular book. Though this book has a different flavor than most of Amy Tans other books it is still just as good. She is such a good story teller and I thought she was wonderfull narrating this book. It is a good one

One of her best

I love Amy Tan and this one is excellent. Kinda different but really well done.

Disappointed

I normally love Amy Tan books this one was not easy to get through.
The audio was very poor at the beginning of this book but improves later on