Born in the US to immigrant parents from China, Amy Tan failed her mother's expectations that she become a doctor and concert pianist. She settled on writing fiction.

Her novels are ‘The Joy Luck Club’, ‘The Kitchen God's Wife’, ‘The Hundred Secret Senses’, ‘The Bonesetter's Daughter’, and ‘Saving Fish from Drowning’, all New York Times bestsellers and the recipient of various awards.

She is also the author of a memoir, ‘The Opposite of Fate’, two children's books, The Moon Lady and Sagwa, and numerous articles for magazines, including The New Yorker, Harper’s Bazar. Her work has been translated into 35 languages, from Spanish, French, and Finnish to Chinese, Arabic, and Hebrew.