The Valley of Amazement

It's the usual sob-eliciting mother/daughter Chinese-American cross cultural story that Amy Tan could probably write in her sleep. This is not to say I didn't enjoy it, because of course I did, Tan is very good in her niche. However, I don't know if I didn't notice it before in other books of hers (it's been a while), but woah, I was not feeling the whole Chinese=Bad; White=Good thing.
** spoilers from here on out.

At first, it was wholly within the book, and it was valuable and important subtext. I loved Tan's unflinching look at how Violet – a half Caucasian, half Chinese girl in the last imperial days in Shanghai – has such a racial complex about herself that with everything, from her looks to her personality. For the most part, she ascribes the “good” to her American side, and the “bad” to her Chinese side. As someone who stands at the intersection of different cultural and racial groups, I very much identify with longing to be fully part of the “better” culture. I wish I didn't, but I'm not sure it's possible to grow up as a racial or cultural minority and remain wholly unscathed by these sorts of insecurities. (Semi-related anecdote: as a child, my mom caught me tying socks to my afro puffs and telling her to look at “my long blonde hair”!)

Tan lost me, however, because the novel's internal value system seemed to seep into Tan's portrayal of the characters. White characters, for the most part, turn out to be redeemable, while the Chinese characters – even those who at first seemed pretty decent – turn out to be scum.

The white characters do harm, but are ultimately forgiven. Why were the Minturns (Lulu and her parents) absolved of their cruelties towards their children and each other? Why was Edward THAT perfect? I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop on him; even after he died, I thought, well, Violet's surely going to learn something about him that calls everything into question: but no, his posthumously discovered letters make him out to be even more saintly than he was. A character like Danner, for example, could have easily been an evil exploiter like Perpetual. In fact, I think that would have made more sense in terms of how/why Lulu was forced into becoming the owner of a courtesan house.

As for the Chinese characters, I was disappointed in how Perpetual turns about to be so evil it verges on cartoon-level super-villainy. Abusers rarely flip switches so thoroughly: I thought his characterization was the laziest part of the book: initially, he is 100% wonderful (albeit a bit boring), and he becomes 100% evil, with no redeeming qualities whatsoever. And why is Lu Sheng unable to be anything but mediocre and an object of scorn? There's no effort by Tan to establish that his obsequiousness to his family is just as valid a reaction as Lulu's wild rebellion against hers.

The only exceptions are Edward's wife, and (sorta) Loyalty. The final verdict on Loyalty seemed to be that he was kind of a douche, but hey, he's as close as anyone could get to being a ‘good Chinese'.

I also found myself missing the perspectives of the Chinese courtesans who were critical to the narrative, Golden Dove and Magic Gourd. It was never really clear why they latched onto Violet and Lulu so loyally. What in their past motivated them to reach outside their own cultures and attach themselves so devotedly to these women? There's one chapter from Magic Gourd's perspective that I really liked: as much as it was ostensibly about preparing Violet for life as a courtesan, I also got a decent sense of what her early years as a courtesan must have been like. But what about her life before? What about Golden Dove's life? A few sentences here and there aren't enough for such important characters.

Good, well written. It is obvious Amy Tan did her research on Chinese customs and courtesan houses. A story of trial and triumph. Very well written.