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Amy Tan, “Saving Fish from Drowning: A Novel”, 2005.

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    • Naomi Duguid, “Burma: Rivers of Flavor”, 2012 was the topic of an earlier blog post.
    • Jeffrey Alford & Naomi Duguid, “Seductions of Rice: A Cookbook“, 1998 also was the topic of an earlier blog post.
    • Here I present: Amy Tan, “Saving Fish from Drowning”, 2005 which was “ghost story” written by Chinese-American, Amy Tan.
    • A quote from the book to explain the title is what I will cite now.
 “A pious man explained to his followers: It is evil to take lives and noble to save them.  Each day I pledge to save a hundred lives.  I drop my net in the lake and scoop out a hundred fishes.  I place the fishes on the bank, where they flip and twirl.  Don’t be scared, I tell those fishes.  I am saving you from drowning.  Soon enough, the fishes grow calm and lie still.  Yet, sad to say, I am always too late.  The fishes expire.  And because it is evil to waste anything, I take those dead fishes to market and sell them for a good price.  With the money I receive, I buy more nets so I can save more fishes.” 
    • I cited ABOVE a quote to explain the title of Amy Tan, “Saving Fish from Drowning”, 2005 which was a “ghost story”.  The protagonist is “Bibi Chen” who narrates the story.  “Bibi Chen” planned a trip to the Burma & China region (shown on the Map ABOVE) for a group of friends.   But now is tagging along as a ghost after her sudden, mysterious death. 
    • Naomi Duguid, “Burma Rivers of Flavor“, 2012 was the topic of an earlier blog post.
    •  The Burmese people eat 500 pounds of rice per capita annually.  This is the highest consumption of rice in the world.  However, Myanmar (Burma) is a country of rivers, and freshwater fishes are eaten.  Yes, “saving fish from drowning” is a tongue-in-cheek phrase; but, “fishing” for a Buddhist nation is the issue.
    • Amy Tan is a Chinese-American writer based in California who has many other books on the Burmo-Tibetan (China) region.

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