The Hundred Secret Senses

Published in 1995, The Hundred Secret Senses is a work of literary fiction by Amy Tan, a celebrated American author known for her explorations of Chinese American identity, family dynamics, and the complexities of mother-daughter relationships. Tan’s debut novel, The Joy Luck Club (1989), established her as a major voice in contemporary literature, a reputation solidified by subsequent bestsellers including The Kitchen God’s Wife and The Bonesetter’s Daughter. Drawing on elements of magical realism, The Hundred Secret Senses centers on the complex relationship between two half-sisters, Olivia Yee, a Chinese American woman, and Kwan, whose lives are shaped by cultural difference, memory, and belief in the supernatural. When Kwan immigrates from China to the US, her stories of past lives and ghosts both unsettle and transform Olivia’s understanding of reality. Through their shared journey into family history and ancient memory, the novel explores how love, identity, and truth can exist beyond what can be seen.

This guide refers to the 2010 Penguin Books e-book edition.

Content Warning: The source text and guide feature depictions of death, mental illness, pregnancy termination, sexual content, and graphic violence.

Plot Summary

The novel intertwines Olivia’s present-day narrative in San Francisco with Kwan’s stories of what she claims is her past life as a Hakka girl named Nunumu during the Taiping Rebellion (1850-1864), a devastating civil war in 19th-century China.

In the present-day narrative, Olivia Bishop introduces her older half-sister, Kwan Li, who claims to have “yin eyes,” allowing her to see and communicate with ghosts, or “yin people.” Olivia explains their family history: She and Kwan share a father, Jack Yee, but have different mothers. Kwan was born in China, while Olivia and her brothers were born in the US. On his deathbed, Jack revealed Kwan’s existence to his American wife, Louise, stating that the ghost of his first wife demanded he bring his daughter to the US. After his death, Louise sponsored Kwan’s immigration, a prospect that terrified the young Olivia, who feared being replaced.

Kwan arrives at age 18, when Olivia is nearly six. She is boisterous and strange, becoming a de facto nanny to the children while their mother remarries. Olivia grows to resent Kwan, feeling ashamed of her social awkwardness. At night, Kwan tells Olivia stories in Chinese, causing Olivia to become fluent in the language. When Olivia is seven, Kwan confides that she has yin eyes. Frightened, Olivia tells her mother, leading to Kwan’s institutionalization and electroshock treatments. Kwan never blames Olivia, but Olivia is left with deep, lasting guilt. As an adult, Kwan is married to George Lew, works in a drugstore, and is known for her healing touch.

In the present, Olivia, now 38, is divorcing her husband of 17 years, Simon Bishop. Kwan refuses to accept the separation and actively interferes, insisting that Olivia and Simon still love each other. She claims a ghost named Lao Lu has told her that the three of them must travel to China together to repair the marriage. Interspersed with these events are Kwan’s stories of what she claims is her past life in 1864 as a one-eyed Hakka girl named Nunumu from a village near Changmian, where she becomes a companion to a foreign woman, Miss Banner.

Olivia also recalls her past, flashing back to meeting Simon at UC Berkeley. She is immediately infatuated, but he constantly speaks of his girlfriend, Elza, leading her to believe that he is unavailable. After three months, Simon reveals the truth: Elza died in an avalanche while pregnant with his child. Their relationship begins under the shadow of this ghost. Frustrated by Elza’s lingering presence, Olivia asks Kwan to conduct a séance meant to help Simon move on. During the séance, Olivia unexpectedly experiences her own vision of Elza as a desperate spirit begging Simon not to forget her, leaving her unsettled and unsure of what is real.

Although Olivia and Simon eventually marry, their relationship becomes strained. They are unable to have children, and later, Elza becomes posthumously famous for her music, causing her memory to resurface. The breaking point comes when Olivia discovers that Simon has been secretly writing a novel based on Elza’s life, and they agree to divorce.

Six months after their separation, a travel magazine accepts a proposal for a photo-essay on Chinese village cuisine that Olivia and Simon wrote years earlier. Kwan insists they all go to China together. She reveals a family secret: Their father’s real name was not Jack Yee—he stole someone else’s identity to immigrate, and only Kwan’s great-aunt, Li Bin-bin (“Big Ma”), knows the truth.

In China, they pass by the scene of a bus accident and later learn that Big Ma was among those killed. While staying in Changmian, Kwan tells Olivia a childhood story: She and her friend Buncake drowned, but Kwan’s spirit entered Buncake’s body to fulfill a promise to meet Olivia, implying that the woman Olivia knows as Kwan is not the original girl. As villagers prepare for Big Ma’s funeral, Simon and Olivia explore a neighboring valley, where a furious argument erupts. Olivia confesses her role in the séance and admits her own vision of Elza. They separate, and when Simon does not return, Olivia and Kwan go back to find him.

Believing Simon is trapped inside a cave, Kwan enters to find him. Moments later, Simon arrives safely, but Kwan has vanished into the cave system. A massive search uncovers an ancient dwelling matching her stories, but no trace of her is found.

Two years later, Kwan is declared legally dead. Olivia reveals that she became pregnant after their last night in Changmian and now has a daughter, Samantha Li. Slowly rebuilding their relationship, Olivia and Simon raise their child, and Olivia comes to accept the “hundred secret senses,” believing that those who have died are never truly lost.