Where the Past Begins: Memory and Imagination - Softcover

‘Tan writes about her parents with love and frustration and without sentimentality, and some of the book’s most effective sections are the ones that examine how her view of them was affected by discoveries made later in their lives or after their deaths. She also writes with great insight about her own creative process, and how it has been affected by everything from listening to music to chance encounters...This is a compelling exploration of both the personal and creative life of a fascinating woman’ Sunday Business Post

‘Remember Battle Hymn Of The Tiger Mother, the terrifying pushy-mother manifesto written by Chinese-American Amy Chua? Well, this book, by the other famous Chinese-American Amy, bestselling novelist Amy Tan, could be called Post-Battle Hymn Of The Damaged Daughter Of A Tiger Mother. Fascinating’ Daily Mail

‘It is a privilege to be given permission to rummage in any writer’s attic. Where The Past Begins yields treasure under the dust sheets... the introduction is breathtaking – all of Tan’s gifts, the ability to layer images, to command your attention, to shock you with a sudden slipping in of the knife are on display here’ Financial Times

‘She elaborates on the act of writing, the mechanics and results of her own imagination...Tan’s epiphanies and revelations often revive supressed memories...much of her questioning is focused on her mother’s life, parts of which may sound familiar to readers of Tan’s fiction’ Guardian

‘Richly varied, thought-provoking book. Where the Past Begins will surely gratify Tan’s many fans, and likely win her numerous new ones’ US Today

Praise for Amy Tan:

‘Chinese-Americans are among the most dynamic, and socially cohesive, ethnic groups in the US ... Tan is one of their leading voices’ Sunday Times

‘Tan is a prodigal with her talent. She weaves a dazzling web of unfamiliar colours, smells, tastes and landscapes’ Sunday Telegraph

Amy Tan is the author of The Valley of Amazement, The Joy Luck Club, The Kitchen God’s Wife, The Hundred Secret Senses, The Bonesetter’s Daughter, The Opposite of Fate: Memories of a Writing Life, and two children’s books. Tan was also a co-producer and co-screenwriter of the film version of The Joy Luck Club. She lives with her husband and her dogs in California and New York.