Middlesex

Saving Fish from Drowning

by Amy Tan / Review by Dan O'Connor

. . . . . I was deeply disappointed by this novel. I bought it on the strength of "Amy Tan," but my expectations were not met.

. . . . Because I did not read this novel in its entirety, I will not proceed to the particulars of my report card, but I will comment on why it was that I put it down.

...........First the novel's (and the writer's) greatest strength: Amy Tan has, as most of you probably already recognize, a very soothing and compelling voice. This was present. Unfortunately, garbage wrapped in tissue paper is still garbage. I'm not intending to imply that this book was garbage, only that it was a major disappointment, relative to the voice.

...........Here's the great weakness that caused me to put it down. There's a saying in writing, to wit, "Show, don't tell." After nearly one-hundred pages of pure telling, I couldn't stand it anymore and cast it aside. My objections in this regard are not just technical, but visceral as well. This flaw, translated, means in effect that with little or no dialogue and little or no giving one the feeling that we're not in the cheap seats, high in the stands, but, rather, right on the fifty yard line in the middle of the pile up, the book lacks flavor and drama.

...........Add to this the fact that I never developed any real empathy for the story, which was a bit far-fetched (not a fatal flaw; I recognize and enjoy a fictive experience as much as other novel readers) and that, at least insofar as the first 100 pages divulged, there was little or no plot development, the book simmered to a cold stew. The mystery surrounding the opening event and premise, substantially undeveloped for so many pages to follow, was not enough of a hook to pull me along.

...........In the end, it seemed like a not so interesting travelogue to me. I certainly never got the feeling that I was engaged in the characters' collective experiences and they were not all that interesting to me, if I had been.

..........Lesson learned: Don't ever assume that there's a 1:1 correlation between the reputation of the author and the quality of the work.