Saving Fish from Drowning

I finished Amy Tan's most recent (I can't say "new" because I think it's been out for quite a while now) book, Saving Fish From Drowning a few weeks ago.

Told from the perspective of a ghost, it's a contemporary adventure, mystery, political novel... while actually truly being none of the above. What I mean is that the story incorporates elements of an adventure tale; the book is somewhat structured around a mystery (although not really), and you can't miss the political/cultural... well, not message, but attempt at education. At the same time, none of these are really the style or structure of the book.

It's just eminently readable and interesting, even if I could not for the life of me keep many of the characters straight. While I have found some of Tan's books to be a bit trite, this one was fresh. I think I enjoy her contemporary stories -- that is, the ones that don't rely on the ancient traditions behind and personal histories of her characters but rather focus on and follow their lives as they are living it (not through flashbacks) -- more.

So that's a recommendation for Saving Fish from Drowning from me.