A Pair of Tickets

Amy Ruth Tan (born 1952) is a first-generation Chinese American writer. Her parents immigrated to the United States in the 1940s; her mother was a refugee of war, and her father worked as an engineer. Tan, who was born in Oakland, California, grew up multi-lingual, speaking both English and Cantonese. After the deaths of her father and older brother, Tan’s mother moved Tan and her younger brother to Europe for a period. Tan returned to California where she attended various universities and earned her BA in English and Linguistics, followed by an MA in Linguistics from San Jose State University.

Tan’s best-known work is her 1989 novel, The Joy Luck Club, a collection of 16 linked chapters about two generations of Chinese American women. “A Pair of Tickets” is based, in part, on real-life experiences. Tan’s mother, Daisy, had left her children behind in Shanghai when she fled as a refugee. After Daisy experienced a period of illness, Tan resolved to bring her mother back to China to meet the long-lost children. This experience inspired The Joy Luck Club and many of the events in “A Pair of Tickets.” The Joy Luck Club became a New York Times bestseller and was both nominated for a National Book Award and made into a major motion picture.