The Hundred Secret Senses is a novel that was written in 1995 by Chinese-American author Amy Tan. The novel focuses on various themes, including cultural transition, love, loyalty, sisterhood, reincarnation, and the development of one's identity as a Chinese-American.
In her novel, Amy Tan focuses on the relationship between two sisters: Chinese-born Kwan and her American half-sister, Olivia Bishop. The majority of the story is told from the perspective of Olivia. Their relationship begins in earnest after the death of their father when Kwan, the older of the two half-siblings, is sent to live with Olivia.
Despite being her senior by 12 years, Olivia is embarrassed by her older sister's eccentricities, poor English, and nativity of Western culture. Olivia, aged four, is teased by other children for having a "retarded sister". Kwan attempts to connect with her little sister by sharing the tales of Chinese folklore with her. Shortly thereafter, Olivia begins to learn the Chinese language from her older sister. Kwan believes herself to have "yin eyes" and is thus able to see "those who have died and now dwell in the World of Yin", going as far as holding conversations with these ghosts. Unfortunately for Kwan, her sightings and conversations with dead lead to her being committed to a mental institution not long after arriving in America.
Twenty-odd years later, Olivia, now a grown woman, has become a commercial photographer struggling with her marriage to her husband Simon. As an adult, Olivia has become self-righteous and cynical. Although still embarrassed by Kwan's behavior, Olivia is now guilt-ridden for her negative feelings towards her sister. "She's like an orphan cat, kneading on my heart," states Olivia regarding her sister, Kwan.
Despite Olivia's shame for her sister, she cannot grasp why Kwan still treats with her such respect, loyalty, and love. She plans on reuniting Olivia with her estranged husband, Simon, by attempting to get the couple to visit Changmian, China, Kwan's native village. It is also revealed that Kwan's more lofty ambitions are to convince her sister to recognize the existence of the World of Yin (the spiritual realm) and the reality of reincarnation . In this way, the novel is interspersed with Kwan's narrative of her former life as a one-eyed servant girl named Nunumu.
Nunumu was employed by a group of missionaries from the Western World who lived in Changmian during the 19th century. Specifically, Kwan's narrative of Nunumu focuses on Nunumu's relationship with Miss Nelly Banner, an American-born woman with a complex romantic life. It is in this way that Kwan compares her loyalty to her sister and Nunumu's friendship with Miss Banner.
Upon receiving a work-assignment from a travel magazine, Olivia, Simon, and Kwan make the trek to Changmian. During their trip, Olivia's cynicism and priggish attitude begin to melt away and are replaced by tenderness and Kwan's faith in the "world of secret senses". The novel concludes with Olivia's thoughts being that
The world is not a place but the vastness of the soul. And the soul is nothing more than love, limitless, endless, all that moves us toward knowing what is true. . . . And believing in ghosts -- that's believing that love never dies.
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