My writing often contains souvenirs of the day – a song I heard, a bird I saw – which I then put into the novel. Amy Tan Read Quote
At the beginning of my career as a writer, I felt I knew nothing of Chinese culture. I was writing about emotional confusion with my mother related to our different beliefs. Hers was based in family history, which I didn’t know anything about. I always felt hesitant in talking about Chinese culture and American culture. Amy Tan Read Quote
I would find myself laughing and wondering where these ideas came from. You can call it imagination, I suppose. But I was grateful for wherever they came from. Amy Tan Read Quote
My mother believed in curses, karma, good luck, bad luck, feng shui. Her amorphous set of beliefs showed me you can pick and choose the qualities of your philosophy, based on what works for you. Amy Tan Read Quote
I recognise why I have such a strong inability to forgive certain people who betray me. It’s chiselled in, like a name on a tomb stone. Amy Tan Read Quote
Luck is in every part of China. Many Chinese stores and restaurants have the word ‘luck’ in their names. The idea is that, just by using the word ‘luck’ in names of things, you can attract more of it. I think that’s true in my life as well. You attract luck because you go after it. Amy Tan Read Quote
That’s part of the character of Shanghainese people. They’re good negotiators, they’re very persistent, and you grow up in an atmosphere like that – very competitive. That becomes part of your personality: Shanghai personality becomes part of yours. Just like New Yorkers – they’re often like that. Amy Tan Read Quote
Placing on writers the responsibility to represent a culture is an onerous burden. Amy Tan Read Quote
I loved fairy tales when I was a kid. Grimm. The grimmer the better. I loved gruesome gothic tales and, in that respect, I liked Bible stories, because to me they were very gothic. Amy Tan Read Quote
The forbidden things were a great influence on my life. I was forbidden from reading A Catcher in the Rye. Amy Tan Read Quote
