Saving Fish from Drowning

Amy Tan

9/16/2008

Bibi Chen, an art dealer who's store was in San Francisco's Chinatown, arranged for a trip to Myanmar/Burma for a group of friends over Christmas. But Bibi died under mysterious circumstances. She was apparently murdered while putting up the Christmas lights in her shop window. After her funeral the eleven decided to still take the trip. It was all paid for and she had left instructions for each stop in China and Burma. They pulled in a young man who had worked with Bibi in the past to be their leader in her place.

The trip has problems almost from the start. They have to cut their time short in China. They have to find a new hotel in Burma to stay until they can resume their trip. Then eleven of the twelve people disappear in Burma.

The first line of chapter one of the novel is "It was not my fault." From then on the novel is narrated by the dead Bibi. She watches over the travelers and bemoans each mistake they make. She also gives the reader portraits of each person on the trip. There are ten adults and two younger teens. They have come with their own baggage that affects how they interact and react to their situations.

In the questions and answers in the back of the paperback copy of Saving Fish from Drowning, Amy Tan says one of her goals was a Canterbury Tales type story telling. Unfortunately, it doesn't work in this book. The stories are tangled and the characters never come to life. They are naive (or stupid at times) and become typical "Ugly Americans" who don't try to understand the culture or the people around them.

Saving Fish from Drowning has a few moments that help redeem it from being bad. Instead it is mediocre. Bibi's coffin is one of those redeeming moments. Tan finishes off all the characters' stories. The amorous meeting under the mosquito netting is worth some chuckles. There are other occasional scenes to keep the book flowing.

It was a struggle for me to keep going. This was my book club's read for this month so I was determined to finish it. Again, it's all right. But if you haven't read any of Amy Tan's work, read The Joy Luck Club - it's excellent.

You can find more about this book at .