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A pious man explained to his followers: "It is evil to take lives and noble to save them. Each day I pledge to save a hundred lives. I drop my net in the lake and scoop out a hundred fishes. I place the fishes on the bank, where they flop and twirl. 'Don't be scared,' I tell those fishes. 'I am saving you from drowning.' Soon enough, the fishes grow calm and lie still. Yet, sad to say, I am always too late. The fishes expire. And because it is evil to waste anything, I take those dead fishes to market and I sell them for a good price. With the money I receive, I buy more nets so I can save more fishes." - Anonymous 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. And 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?… (more)
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The titular phrase Saving Fish From Drowning describes a Buddhist belief, encountered by the story's tourists, about how fisherman are not doing harm to their targets but rather are trying to help their catches by preventing them from drowning. The paradox becomes a theme of the book of how good intentions do not always cross cultures well and the story proceeds with many instances of the Easterners and Westerners trying to "save" each other.
The characters and plot line are instantly captivating and Tan is a masterful storyteller. Her cultural research and creative dialog make for a unique and interesting book however, as she plays with flashbacks and multiple points of view the pacing at times feels rather sluggish. A few of the characters seem pointless and their perspectives add little to the story, but their inclusion does provide a depth of realism and shows the scope of personalities Tan is able to capture in her writing. Overall this was not Tan's best work but deserves sincere applause for her first foray into a new genre.
The group blunders its way through China, altering the course that Bibi had set for them, at times acting the ugly American, as Bibi watches, frustrated.
On Christmas, on their way to a promised Christmas surprise as they are crossing a misty lake in Burma, the group disappears.
This was a wonderful, fascinating, adventurous book, with Tan's usual themes of relationships woven subtly throughout. I really, really loved this book. I think it's Tan's best work yet! It does start a tad bit slowly, but after about 20 pages or so it picks up beautifully and doesn't leave off. This was an extremely satisfying read!
The book contains much that is factual about recent Burmese history, and it’s certainly interesting, and disturbing, to learn about the indigenous Karen people and the horrific ways in which they’ve been treated by the Burmese military. But as a novel, the book is seriously flawed. It’s packed with too many characters who at best are flat and at worst are pure stereotypes: a hypochondriac who travels with a nearly complete medicine chest, an empty-headed, self-important television star (who hosts a popular show on dog training), a churlish teenager, and so on. The writing is often clunky, and the attempts at humor often fall flat: for example, a visit to “The Grotto of Female Genitalia” just isn’t on its own as funny as the author would like it to be. It’s not a terrible book, but it’s well below what one would expect from an author with Tan’s talents.
This story takes place in Burma / Myanmar and Amy Tan uses China, a fixture in most of her stories, as an entry point into the country and as a way of introducing our cast of characters. The story is true to life in that the experiences these people have on their journey, changes each of them. We also view the all too common faults of American culture through the eyes of the inhabitants of these far away countries.
Often, when an author tries to give us too many messages, tries to have too many plot lines working, the storyline fails miserably. “Saving Fish” succeeds on all levels because of the complexity of the plot. The travelogue portion is very entertaining and written so well, the armchair traveler will have no trouble seeing the sights described. The interpersonal relationships are also well played out and at times, very entertaining. You really develop feelings for these characters. The message of political oppression is delivered very forcefully, but it in no way interferes with the rest of the story. If you are following the people story, not the political story, the politics sits in the background as part of the overall scenery. If you concentrate on the political aspects, the characters become something like a classical Greek chorus reminding in the audience what is going in the people’s lives. As I said, very well done all around.
Because of the scope of the work, you can read this as an adventure story and not be disappointed. You can also read this as something of a detective novel and find it very fulfilling. Satirists will find some hilarious scenes in the book as well. However you choose to read it, you should enjoy it this story immensely.
It is always sad when what would have been a five star read eventually and slowly deteriorates into a absurd and preposterous collection of explanations to wrap up a story. The first third of [Saving Fish from Drowning] would have been, hands down, a five star read with its host of captivating and engaging characters. The last third was filled with ridiculous turn of events that bordered on being ludicrous. Tan is talented with her ability to pen the life stories of the people who hold the crux of her narrative without sacrificing the story itself, but at the point where I was completely and utterly at her mercy, she left me incredulous and indignant at what was justified as the ending. Despite my lack of love for the conclusion of the book, her strength in story telling and magical touch in transforming black and white characters into flesh and blood was enough to save a book that lost its lustre and lure when it should have only gotten better.
Amy Tan's decision to tell the story from a ghost's point of view was curious.
Let me say one thing before I tell you a little about the book. Far and away, the biggest complaint from readers is that this book is not like Amy Tan's other works. In fact, to be brutally honest, I wasn't going to buy this book because I thought it was going to be another story like Amy Tan usually writes, but I needed a book on CD to listen to. I was so blown away by this story, and in my opinion, this work is her best. Undoubtedly. So if you're looking for the Joy Luck Club, you're not going to find it here. This is a really different scenario altogether and I'm telling you, if you want Joy Luck Club go read that again instead. And that goes for the rest of the people on Amazon. I don't understand why people get so disappointed when an author takes a different tack with his or her writing. Jeez, people, grow UP! Appreciate this book for what it is, NOT for what it isn't or for what the author did not give you. This is a fine book and I know I will reread it again.
Saving Fish from Drowning is told from the perspective of Bibi Chen, who is now dead and telling the story of 12 tourists who were supposed to have gone with her (she would have been the tour guide except that she died) to China and Burma (now called Myanmar) on an art tour. The tourists decided to go on the tour anyway, and got a new tour guide to take them. From the beginning, things started to go wrong, mostly based on misunderstandings between cultures & local traditions that were not understood. But the crux of the story really begins once the tourists cross from China into Myanmar. There more misunderstandings ensue and eleven of the 12 mysteriously disappear on Christmas day, and become involved in the lives of a small tribal group, the Karen. I won't say what happens, because this is the best part, but the way Amy Tan writes the history of this tribe you just want to cry.
The last chapter, imho, could have been left out and it wouldn't have detracted from the story. In fact, leaving off the last chapter may have made the story better. However, the rest of the novel was so incredibly good and had me listening and picturing Buddhas and grottos in China, jungles in Myanmar, the gnats, and hanging on to each word to find out the plight of the tourists.
The story is told by the spirit of Bibi Chen, a San Francisco art dealer who died suddenly just before she was supposed to lead a tour of a group into China and Myanmar. The tour picks up an alternate guide but they go badly off the beaten track and end up in trouble. Bibi's ghost/spirit now sees and knows all, what each character is thinking and feeling. She's appalled at the turn that the tour has taken but cannot do anything about it, obviously. At one point, the tourists take a boat trip out on a lake and disappear but we are taken along with them to what happens to them while they are gone while the media picks up on the missing tourists.
The country itself (Myanmar/Burma more than China) is a political hotbed and the plight of the regular people is often tragic but instead of weaving the atrocities they suffer in with the tourists and having the tourists become more involved in helping, they pretty much stay self absorbed in their own little world for the most part. I expect that's supposed to make them seem shallow amid the political environment but the in-detail descriptions and background just dragged the rest of the story down. I did give the book 2 stars because some of it i did enjoy, focussing on the tourist characters and their adventures and personalities but the book couldn't seem to decide whether it was a light and funny story or a political statement.