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Novelist Amy Tan on Mothers and Daughters

Tan's first novel is called The Joy Luck Club, which is about a group of Chinese mothers who try to understand their American-born daughters. She joins Fresh Air to discuss her relationship with her own mother, and her mother's home country.

09:52
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Other segments from the episode on March 27, 1989

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, March 27, 1989: Interview with Carl Bernstein; Review of Artie Shaw's album "The Complete Gramercy Five Sessions"; Interview with Amy Tan; Review of the television show …
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06:43

A Big Band Leader in a Smaller Ensemble

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews a new reissue of recordings by Artie Shaw's quintet, the Grammercy Five, which went through a lineup changes over the years. He says it reveals the seriousness of Shaw's search for greatness.

Review
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03:27

A Canadian Cartoon Comes Stateside

HBO will soon air the animated show Babar, about an elephant and his family. TV critic David Bianculli says the program joins the ranks of other recent, excellent children's programming like Shining Time Station and the Peter Pan musical. More importantly, his kids love it too.

Review

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16:22

The Writing of "The Joy Luck Club" Screenplay.

Novelist Amy Tan. Her debut novel, "The Joy Luck Club," was a huge critical and commercial success, and it earned Tan a nomination for the National Book Award. It's now been made into a movie. Tan and Ron Bass wrote the screenplay. Marty will talk with Tan and Bass about making "The Joy Luck Club" into a movie. Ron Bass also wrote the screenplay for "Rain Man" for which he won an Academy Award. (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)

Interview
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21:50

Novelist Amy Tan Discusses Ghosts and Her Latest Novel.

Novelist Amy Tan. Her best-selling books include The Joy Luck Club, and The Kitchen God's Wife. Her newest novel is The Hundred Secret Senses (Putnam's), about two half-sisters. One is Chinese-American, the other is Chinese, and has the ability to see ghosts.

Interview

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