The Tiger's Wife: A Novel
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST • The instant classic debut novel from the author of Inland and The Morningside, hailed as “a thrilling beginning to what will certainly be a great literary career” (Elle)
“Spectacular . . . [Téa Obreht] spins a tale of such marvel and magic in a literary voice so enchanting that the mesmerized reader wants her never to stop.”—Entertainment Weekly
“Not since Zadie Smith has a young writer arrived with such power and grace.”—Time
ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times; Entertainment Weekly; The Christian Science Monitor; The Kansas City Star; Library Journal
In a Balkan country mending from war, Natalia, a young doctor, is compelled to unravel the mysterious circumstances surrounding her beloved grandfather’s recent death. Searching for clues, she turns to his worn copy of The Jungle Book and the stories he told her of his encounters over the years with “the deathless man.” But most extraordinary of all is the story her grandfather never told her—the legend of the tiger’s wife.
Weaving a brilliant latticework of family legend, loss, and love, Téa Obreht, hailed by Colum McCann as “the most thrilling literary discovery in years,” has spun a timeless novel that will establish her as one of the most vibrant, original authors of her generation.
ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The Wall Street Journal, O: The Oprah Magazine, The Economist, Vogue, Slate, Chicago Tribune, The Seattle Times, Dayton Daily News, Publishers Weekly, Alan Cheuse, NPR’s All Things Considered
“Spectacular . . . [Téa Obreht] spins a tale of such marvel and magic in a literary voice so enchanting that the mesmerized reader wants her never to stop.”—Entertainment Weekly
“Not since Zadie Smith has a young writer arrived with such power and grace.”—Time
ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times; Entertainment Weekly; The Christian Science Monitor; The Kansas City Star; Library Journal
In a Balkan country mending from war, Natalia, a young doctor, is compelled to unravel the mysterious circumstances surrounding her beloved grandfather’s recent death. Searching for clues, she turns to his worn copy of The Jungle Book and the stories he told her of his encounters over the years with “the deathless man.” But most extraordinary of all is the story her grandfather never told her—the legend of the tiger’s wife.
Weaving a brilliant latticework of family legend, loss, and love, Téa Obreht, hailed by Colum McCann as “the most thrilling literary discovery in years,” has spun a timeless novel that will establish her as one of the most vibrant, original authors of her generation.
ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The Wall Street Journal, O: The Oprah Magazine, The Economist, Vogue, Slate, Chicago Tribune, The Seattle Times, Dayton Daily News, Publishers Weekly, Alan Cheuse, NPR’s All Things Considered
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Readers say Téa Obreht’s *The Tiger’s Wife* is beautifully written, with lush, lyrical prose and vivid descriptions that immerse readers in its Balkan...
I am a literary reader, I am an English teacher - I did not "get" this book. Now, before I launch into my assessment of the story, I will say it is beautifully written. The prose is excellent and the descriptive language is amazing. I felt like there were moments I was truly present in Balkan country taking in the scenery, I could feel the heartbeat of the Tiger, his wife, the bear hunter, and grandfather. The characters were fleshed out completely, but even with that said - I wanted more of certain characters and I felt like I was left "hanging" by Obreht in several places throughout the novel. I needed to know more about Grandfather and his association with the tiger's wife, I needed more of the tiger, more of his life, I needed more on the hunter's background and why he lost so much, so quickly. He was accomplished, how did it all fall apart?
The plot line left me going, "What????" In a book that weaves fairy tales and folklore, I feel the author is remiss if they do not explain the connections that drive the plot. The story felt disjointed and slammed in obvious bits and pieces as if was attempting to redirect constantly. No true continuity ever surfaced for me. It took me two weeks to read this book and I normally run through 300+ pages in three days. I kept waiting for it to pick up, to grab me - it never did.
But, then again, I'm 36 and want to write, she's under 30 and published. What do I know? She earns my eternal respect for writing a vividly interesting, albeit difficult to read novel, and it landing on the NYT best-seller list. Kudos.
The plot line left me going, "What????" In a book that weaves fairy tales and folklore, I feel the author is remiss if they do not explain the connections that drive the plot. The story felt disjointed and slammed in obvious bits and pieces as if was attempting to redirect constantly. No true continuity ever surfaced for me. It took me two weeks to read this book and I normally run through 300+ pages in three days. I kept waiting for it to pick up, to grab me - it never did.
But, then again, I'm 36 and want to write, she's under 30 and published. What do I know? She earns my eternal respect for writing a vividly interesting, albeit difficult to read novel, and it landing on the NYT best-seller list. Kudos.
Set against a backdrop of the Balkan wars, it is the story of Natalia Stefanovic, a young doctor from an unnamed Balkan town, and her relationship with her grandfather, also a doctor.
Natalia and her grandfather had always been close, bonding during trips to the local zoo when she was a child. Her grandfather had a special affinity for the tigers, and carried an old copy of The Jungle Book with him wherever he went. She comes to learn of a story from her grandfather's childhood, when a tiger ran loose in his town, and a young deaf-mute woman who tries to protect the tiger becomes known as "the tiger's wife" by the rest of the locals. I loved the way the author told the story of wars and struggles through the eyes and souls of the animals.
Another story her grandfather shared with her was "the deathless man," whom he encountered several times throughout his life. Both of these stories weave through like magical, mythical tales during the harsh realities of war and unrest.
(A bonus to find out later that the author got a little inspiration during trips to Syracuse's Burnet Park Zoo!)
Natalia and her grandfather had always been close, bonding during trips to the local zoo when she was a child. Her grandfather had a special affinity for the tigers, and carried an old copy of The Jungle Book with him wherever he went. She comes to learn of a story from her grandfather's childhood, when a tiger ran loose in his town, and a young deaf-mute woman who tries to protect the tiger becomes known as "the tiger's wife" by the rest of the locals. I loved the way the author told the story of wars and struggles through the eyes and souls of the animals.
Another story her grandfather shared with her was "the deathless man," whom he encountered several times throughout his life. Both of these stories weave through like magical, mythical tales during the harsh realities of war and unrest.
(A bonus to find out later that the author got a little inspiration during trips to Syracuse's Burnet Park Zoo!)
Obreht has a gift with words; her sentences are lush and lyrical and beautiful. The careful way she crafts each paragraph shows an uncommon skill with language and from that I derived great enjoyment. But despite the beauty of how the words were strung together, I never found myself compelled to keep reading. Or to pick it up after I had set it aside. As pretty as the words were, the story they told - or tried to tell - lacked focus and interest. The stories within the story were interesting and had a good narrative, but the main story itself seemed to meander and get lost. And by the end I found that I really didn't care. That is not to say that I did not like the book - I liked it and some parts of it I even liked very much - but when I finished it it felt incomplete and I felt vaguely disappointed. I think I would have enjoyed two novelettes - the Tiger's Wife and The Deathless Man - much more than this shell that was wrapped around them about people I never got to know well enough to care about.
Interesting. A little confusing. This story seems to be about a young doctor discovering truths about her grandfather doctor,and about people's lives in a war; but maybe it's just about the tiger's wife.
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