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Amy Tan Quotes


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Quotes by Amy Tan

Showing 41-50 of 83 Quotes by Amy Tan

Until the age of five, my parents spoke to me in Chinese or a combination of Chinese and English, but they didn't force me to speak Mandarin. In retrospect, this was sad, because they believed that my chance of doing well in America hinged on my fluency in English. Later, as an adult, I wanted to learn Chinese.

~Amy Tan

Topics: Adult Age America Because Believed Chance Chinese Combination Doing English Five Fluency Force Later Learn Me Parents Retrospect Sad Speak Spoke Until Wanted Well

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I also thought of playing improvisational jazz and I did take lessons for a while. At first I tried to write fiction by making up things that were completely alien to my life.

~Amy Tan

Topics: Alien Also Did Fiction First Improvisational Jazz Lessons Life Making Making Up My Life Playing Take Things Thought Tried Up Were While Write I Tried

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I have a writer's memory which makes everything worse than maybe it actually was.

~Amy Tan

Topics: Actually Everything Makes Maybe Memory Than Which Worse Writer

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I learned to forgive myself, and that enabled me to forgive my mother as a person.

~Amy Tan

Topics: Forgive Learned Me Mother Myself Person

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I loved fairy tales when I was a kid. Grimm. The grimmer the better. I loved gruesome gothic tales and, in that respect, I liked Bible stories, because to me they were very gothic.

~Amy Tan

Topics: Because Better Bible Fairy Fairy Tales Gothic Kid Liked Loved Me Respect Stories Tales Very Were

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I read a book a day when I was a kid. My family was not literary; we did not have any books in the house.

~Amy Tan

Topics: Any Book Books Day Did Family House Kid Literary Read

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I think I've always been somebody, since the deaths of my father and brother, who was afraid to hope. So, I was more prepared for failure and for rejection than for success.

~Amy Tan

Topics: Afraid Always Been Brother Deaths Failure Father Hope More Prepared Rejection Since Somebody Success Than Think Who I Think

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I wanted to write stories for myself. At first it was purely an aesthetic thing about craft. I just wanted to become good at the art of something. And writing was very private.

~Amy Tan

Topics: About Aesthetic Art Become Craft First Good Just Myself Private Purely Something Stories Thing Very Wanted Write Writing

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I would find myself laughing and wondering where these ideas came from. You can call it imagination, I suppose. But I was grateful for wherever they came from.

~Amy Tan

Topics: Call Came Find Grateful Ideas Imagination Laughing Myself Suppose Where Wherever Wondering Would You

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I would still like to have that luxury, to be able to just sit and draw for hours and hours and hours. In a way, that's what I do as a writer.

~Amy Tan

Topics: Able Draw Hours Hours And Hours Just Like Luxury Sit Still Way Would Writer

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Biography

Nationality: American

Type: Novelist

Born: February 19th, 1952

Links

Find Amy Tan on Amazon

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