Fish Cheeks

Amy Tan is a Chinese American author, widely recognized for her work in fiction and nonfiction. She is most well known for her 1989 debut novel The Joy Luck Club, which earned critical acclaim and was listed as a finalist for the National Book Award. The novel was adapted as a feature film in 1993. In addition to her novels, Tan has also written a collection of essays, in which “Fish Cheeks” appears, short stories, a memoir, and two children’s books, one of which she later adapted into a television series.

Tan was born and raised chiefly in Oakland, California, though she was temporarily moved by her mother to Switzerland at 15 after both her father and her brother passed away. Before her birth, Tan’s parents had emigrated from China to the United States in order to escape the Chinese Civil War. They settled in California, where her father worked as a Baptist minister. Like in “Fish Cheeks,” Tan often draws on her experience as the daughter of Chinese immigrants to inform her writing. Tan has also talked openly about the contentious relationship she shared with her mother.

While Tan’s work has been mostly acclaimed, it has also amassed some criticism from other Chinese and Chinese American writers and academics.