Saving a concept from drowning...

Just finished this month's book club selection, Saving Fish from Drowning, by Amy Tan who is best known for another novel, The Joy Luck Club. As I worked my way through chapter after chapter I found myself feeling very small, very naive and quite disconnected from the ways of rural Asians living on the other side of the world. It was quite the opposite of what I often experience when reading. Most of the time, I am able to find a point of connection, certain qualities that endear me to a character, or help me place myself inside the story. It did not happen in this novel. But it was still worth reading.

I was intrigued with the premise behind this book, from the start. Amy Tan bases her story upon the automatic writings of a certain prominent San Francisco icon and socialite who has died a mysterious death. Automatic writing might be considered a paranormal occurrence. The spirit of a dead person produces written messages through the subconscious of a living person, sometimes in a trance-like state. There are documented instances of this throughout history. Automatic writings reflect the time period, the language, the dialect and personality of the one who "dictated" them. At times even the handwriting matches, indistinguishable to experts from actual documents written during the person's lifetime!

In Saving Fish from Drowning, the writings expose the untold story of 11 travelers who disappear without a trace in Burma. The book is based upon a true event. Amy Tan was so impressed by what she discovered in her research, she built her novel around it. The book might have captured more of my interest had it explored more deeply, this phenomenon called "automatic writing". I wanted the author to explore the motives of the story teller. What was so urgent, so essential, that she had to use such unconvential methods to tell the story of what happened to the travelers? Who was this woman, and what did she believe and why did it matter now to her that the story be told?

Instead, the novel really was a book about the travelers. They do find themselves in some incredibly complicated situations, where cultures clash and the world as we know it ceases to exist. In my mind, as fascinating as the story was, it still left me wanting something different.

It's like going to a wonderful restaurant, ordering a dish that sounded so unique and delicious, only to be served something else instead. It was tasty, just not what I expected.