Hundred Secret Senses

Summary Section

Pages 1 - 50

We start off learning about a Chinese American family by the eyes of Olivia, the main character. She talks about her full-blood family, and then she transits to her half-sister, Kwan. According to Kwan, she had "yin eyes"; she was able to see the dead. Olivia also talks about how her husband, Simon, is getting divorced, while Kwan tries to stop the divorce. Kwan also tells a story about a girl in China named Nunumu, describing her encounters and such.

Pages 51 - 100

As the story transits into a faster pace, we see some of the beginnings of Olivia and Simon's relationship, all the discussions and such. We also see Olivia's reaction to a girl that was Simon's ex, making Olivia insecure about the relationship. Kwan, on the other hand, continues with her story. The girl runs into General Cape, which is her friend Miss Banner's lover, and suddenly remembers all the bad things that she heard about him. She tells her friend about these things, which upsets her and causes a small breach in the relationship.

Pages 101 - 150

After learning of the death of Simon's ex almost 15 years ago, a dinner is planned to change the course of Olivia and Simon's relationship. After thinking about the dinner, we also see into Olivia's trouble in the marriage. The two sisters also get closer through this dinner, strengthening the relationship. We also find out more about Kwan's story, and what General Cap's true colors are.

Pages 151 - 200

After the dinner goes successfully, yet the marriage still seems corrupted, Kwan attempts another desperate measure. After wanting to visit her relatives for some time, she offers a trip to China to both Olivia and Simon, which took some debating over to make their decision, but ended up going. We also get to see their first day in China, and how their lives are so much more different than Americans. We also learn of some of the conflict in Kwan's story, which I believe is man vs. man.

Pages 201 - 250

After a few days in China, they all decide to go Changmian to see a woman named Big Ma. After arriving, they find out Ma passed on, letting us see some of Kwan's other emotions. Kwan is also obliged to host a funeral service for Ma, letting us see a wiser Kwan, and some Chinese traditions. We also learn of the relationship between Miss Banner and Nunumu, and the reactions we get from the actions Miss Banner tells Nunumu to do.

Pages 251 - 300

We get flashbacks of Kwan's story that relates to something that happened earlier to the story. A girl that Olivia encountered is mentioned in her story, making some parts more comprehendible. Kwan's attempt to heal the relationship is slowly working, as we see more communication, and a rekindling curiosity rising in each other. They also go exploring with each other, and find something so radical, they thought they were dreaming.

Pages 301 - 358

We get to the resolution of the story, which is really dramatic. We see Simon mad at Olivia, and possibly breaking through all the ropes they retied. We see Kwan and Olivia searching high and low in this radical place, until Simon reappears; yet Kwan does not. In the end, Olivia wonders why Kwan was involved in her life.

Formal Report

Time and Setting

The story is set in both present day and 1800's China and San Francisco. The first half of the story was in modern day San Francisco, while the ending part was modern day China. There was also something like a mini-story that took place in 1800 China.

Point of View

This story is mainly told in a first person point of view.

Major two Characters

Olivia is a more self-centered person in this story as a protagonist. She's motivated by her thoughts of her sister, wanting to get rid of her. "She's not my sister! I hate her! I wish she'd go back to China!" (Tan 12) She's more independent, insecure, and sometimes conniving. Her independent attitude toward life really changes during the course of the China trip, and her insecurity about her family is really starting to cool down, which brings her character into a whole new person. She also at first didn't embrace her Chinese culture, but as the story progresses, she starts to open up, and she starts