American author, whose novels depict the tension between mothers and daughters as well as the conflicts experienced by Chinese immigrants to the United States. Influenced by the style of American author Louise Erdrich, Tan's work has become emblematic of other American works of fiction that give particular attention to ethnicity, family history, and the articulation of female voices.
Born in Oakland, California, to parents who immigrated to the United States from China, Tan was educated at San Jose State University and the University of California at Berkeley. She worked as a consultant to programs for disabled children from 1976 to 1981 and as a reporter, editor, and freelance technical writer from 1981 to 1987.
Tan's first novel, The Joy Luck Club (1989), examines the relationships between four Chinese-born women and their American-born daughters. Narrated in 16 stories, the book alternates the voices of the mothers with those of the daughters. The mothers' stories, tinged with ghosts and superstitions, describe the women's struggles in China against traditional female roles and family domination. The daughters' tales are those of young professional women in the United States who strive for equality in their personal relationships and careers. The novel portrays the Chinese mothers' difficulties in sharing their wisdom and experiences with their American daughters. The Joy Luck Club was made into a motion picture in 1993.
Tan's second novel, The Kitchen God's Wife (1991), focuses on a single mother-daughter relationship and describes the mother's efforts to survive in China before and during World War II (1939-1945). Tan's other works include the children's books The Moon Lady (1992) and The Chinese Siamese Cat (1994) and the novel The Hundred Secret Senses (1995).