Helpful Score: 11
When I finished The Tiger's Wife by Tia Obrecht, I realized that the read was not the one I expected. It's a gentle read about memories, death, and the future. Natalia loves her grandfather dearly. He taught her so much about life and people that when he dies she begins to recall the many incidents that marked his life and hers. She was the only one he told he was so ill. He was her mentor so she, too, became a doctor. One of the stories that is so memorable for the reader are those of the tiger's wife, a deaf-mute woman whose very existence evokes superstition among the village people. The other is that of the mora or deathless man whose encounter highlight her grandfather's life and whom, she, too, gets to meet. The tiger is a thread that winds throughout the book because of her grandfather's love of tigers. If you expected an adventure tale skip this one but if you want one to read, muse about life and death and the tales therein this is a read for yo
Helpful Score: 10
I looked forward to this book after seeing it on the NYT bestseller list for so long. I was disappointed, and felt the book was boring. I had a hard time getting into it, but kept reading until halfway through, and gave up. There is mostly narrative, little dialogue and a story line that I thought hard to follow at times. I also felt the plot and characters were not believable. It is very rare that I leave a book unfinished, even if it is not exactly one I like. But this one was a "tough go" for me, and I sent up the white flag at the halfway mark. It is a mystery to me how it got to the bestseller status, and even more, has stayed there so long.
Helpful Score: 5
While I tried very hard to see the 'stunning, richly textured and searing novel' the cover said it would be, like a lot of others...it just didn't do anything for me. I began to wonder how someone could possibly describe it as stunning and searing. It plods along and manages to confuse you the entire way.
Helpful Score: 4
The book is very well written (which I always love) but the story is like a strung together, and somewhat misjointed, series of village myths. I had a hard time relating to any character or any story line.
Helpful Score: 3
I was disappointed in this book. When all was finished, I appreciated each story that was told, but was frustrated that it was not well tied together. There was a lot of potential in the storytelling and the author could tell really vivid and amazing short stories, but weaving it all together fell quite short. I was left unsatisfied.
Helpful Score: 3
My favorite parts of this novel were the fantastical stories at its core: The Tiger's Wife and The Deathless Man. These stories were told to Natalia, a young doctor in an unnamed Balkan country, by her grandfather. Wrapped around these two stories was Natalia's own story: that of a generation warped by war, of her journey to becoming a doctor like her grandfather, of her mission to inoculate orphans in a neighboring country, and the loss of her grandfather while on this trip.
Although Natalia is the narrator, and I'm sure this part of the story is closest to Obreht's own experiences, I just didn't connect with her story as much as I did the more distanced tales. The stories pieced together from what her grandfather told her and what she was able to glean from the remaining inhabitants of his childhood village were fascinating. I would have been happy to read an entire novel just consisting of those stories (which would have been a 4 or 5 star novel for me), but that's not the bigger story Obreht wanted to tell. I like what she's trying to do -- the layering, the interconnectedness of the stories -- but it didn't quite work for me.
I found it really difficult to keep track of all the characters in the various stories, so when some of the stories began to overlap, it took me a while to figure out the connections. (Or maybe I'm just slow.)
Although Natalia is the narrator, and I'm sure this part of the story is closest to Obreht's own experiences, I just didn't connect with her story as much as I did the more distanced tales. The stories pieced together from what her grandfather told her and what she was able to glean from the remaining inhabitants of his childhood village were fascinating. I would have been happy to read an entire novel just consisting of those stories (which would have been a 4 or 5 star novel for me), but that's not the bigger story Obreht wanted to tell. I like what she's trying to do -- the layering, the interconnectedness of the stories -- but it didn't quite work for me.
I found it really difficult to keep track of all the characters in the various stories, so when some of the stories began to overlap, it took me a while to figure out the connections. (Or maybe I'm just slow.)
Confusing. Scattered. Choppy.
I found it difficult to follow. Maybe I'm the dullard but just not for me.
I found it difficult to follow. Maybe I'm the dullard but just not for me.
Helpful Score: 2
This book did not make any sense at all to me. Glad to hear there are others who feel the same way about it regardless of the great reviews it is getting.
Marty P.
Marty P.
Helpful Score: 2
This is a love story about a girl and her grandfather. She shares her vivid memories of time spent with him, the things he taught her, the life he shared with her -- we learn how he influenced her. While I enjoyed the story, it wasn't what I expected.
Helpful Score: 2
I found this book to be scattered, lacking any clear direction, and although I forced myself to finish it, I never got into the storyline at all. Now that I'm done, I don't think I could even summarize it if I tried.
Helpful Score: 1
The Tiger's Wife has been on my radar for a while now due to its notoriety and near-constant presence on the New York Times Best Seller list for months on end. When it eventually came up on the reading list of the book club I joined earlier this year I was glad to finally read it.
One of my favorite things about this book is how realism and fantasy are intertwined almost inseparably, how every plot line is tied inextricably to another and how much it reminded me of the story traditions I grew up with. Obreht is from the Balkans, I am from Ukraine, and while there are obviously differences there are also similarities that ring true, a result of our Slavic roots with a patina of the Ottoman invasion centuries ago, thicker for some, more transparent for others. I could also really see and relate to how she described it in an interview for RFERL:
I read the novel very quickly and only when it was finished did a thought form in my mind that the book is ultimately about death. This alone didn't faze me, after all I read The Book Thief earlier this year, and it was narrated by Death. What did surprise me though was finding out how young the author is. I could hardly imagine how a woman in her early 20s could have this kind of darkness in her enough to write a book like this. Don't get me wrong, The Tiger's Wife is not depressing by any means (there are a couple novels I read this year alone that were much more depressing), it is rather a matter-of-fact approach that regards death as part of life, sometimes difficult to reconcile oneself with but always present. The subject however is dark nonetheless.
I also very much enjoyed Obreht's writing style. It was proper without being stuffy and easy without being overly conversational. This is a literary novel that avoids boring the reader to tears and instead pulls one along with it through the many subplots until legends unwind into life and people with secrets, fears and hardships. The historical backdrop and very realistic details of family life, which I now know are autobiographical, give richness to these legends, provide a fertile environment for them, ground them and even help develop them better. I didn't know much about the history or culture of the Balkans before reading this book but now I am curious and will most likely look for more books and folklore of the region.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and if you are intimidated by its fame and international acclaim I urge you to disregard those reservations and give it a chance. It is well worth your time. Just don't expect everything to be presented to you neatly tied with a bow on top, you will be expected to make the leaps necessary to gather all the threads together from time to time, and you may even arrive at conclusions that won't match your fellow readers'. This exact thing happened in our book club and made for an interesting discussion.
One of my favorite things about this book is how realism and fantasy are intertwined almost inseparably, how every plot line is tied inextricably to another and how much it reminded me of the story traditions I grew up with. Obreht is from the Balkans, I am from Ukraine, and while there are obviously differences there are also similarities that ring true, a result of our Slavic roots with a patina of the Ottoman invasion centuries ago, thicker for some, more transparent for others. I could also really see and relate to how she described it in an interview for RFERL:
...there's a concept of "a Balkan story." Even small stories are somehow big, huge. There's a moment in a Balkan story when the line between mythology, legend, and the story become irrelevant. Somehow, that mythology becomes a truth in itself and it becomes a very personal truth. The way in which you receive a story becomes your truth, and then it becomes the truth for the person you're telling the story to. That is very much our way...
I read the novel very quickly and only when it was finished did a thought form in my mind that the book is ultimately about death. This alone didn't faze me, after all I read The Book Thief earlier this year, and it was narrated by Death. What did surprise me though was finding out how young the author is. I could hardly imagine how a woman in her early 20s could have this kind of darkness in her enough to write a book like this. Don't get me wrong, The Tiger's Wife is not depressing by any means (there are a couple novels I read this year alone that were much more depressing), it is rather a matter-of-fact approach that regards death as part of life, sometimes difficult to reconcile oneself with but always present. The subject however is dark nonetheless.
I also very much enjoyed Obreht's writing style. It was proper without being stuffy and easy without being overly conversational. This is a literary novel that avoids boring the reader to tears and instead pulls one along with it through the many subplots until legends unwind into life and people with secrets, fears and hardships. The historical backdrop and very realistic details of family life, which I now know are autobiographical, give richness to these legends, provide a fertile environment for them, ground them and even help develop them better. I didn't know much about the history or culture of the Balkans before reading this book but now I am curious and will most likely look for more books and folklore of the region.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and if you are intimidated by its fame and international acclaim I urge you to disregard those reservations and give it a chance. It is well worth your time. Just don't expect everything to be presented to you neatly tied with a bow on top, you will be expected to make the leaps necessary to gather all the threads together from time to time, and you may even arrive at conclusions that won't match your fellow readers'. This exact thing happened in our book club and made for an interesting discussion.
Helpful Score: 1
This was a pick for my book club, but I stopped after about 50 pages. Just thought it was wierd, and not worth my time.
Helpful Score: 1
This was an overrated book, rather boring and the character development was lacking on the personal level. I didn't relate to any of the characters and had little empathy for them. It may have striven to be allegorical but in my opinion, it failed to engage the reader and make the allegory work. Rather much a disappointment.
Helpful Score: 1
I love to read a variety of books, and even though I had to wait almost a year to finally receive my copy thru paperbackswap.com, it was not worth the wait...at least for me! Part fairy tale, part reality, it kept going back and forth so at times, I wasn't sure where it was happening. Thankfully, someone else requested the book and now at least I'll regain a credit :)
Helpful Score: 1
I enjoyed the book but I didn't actually love it. I did like how everything came together in the end. It is very well written.
Helpful Score: 1
This was the July 2012 pick in my neighborhood book club. It's not my cuppa.
The story opens with the death of Natalia's grandfather, with whom she had a complex relationship. Her interactions with her grandmother in the earliest scenes are emotion-rich and feel heavy with backstory, as there are apparently many things Natalia knows about her grandpa that his wife doesn't....but the book doesn't go down that path.
While journeying with a friend to deliver medicine in war-torn Serbia, Natalia begins taking the reader through the stories that shaped her grandfather's life, which he had shared with her. His experience as a younger doctor with a deathless man, and also the story of the tiger's wife. For pages and pages, we follow a tiger roaming the streets....if there is allegorical substance here, it is completely lost on me.
There was nothing here that held my interest and I had to give up after 100 or so pages. Perhaps if this were the only book I owned, I'd make myself read more, but considering there are over 200 books waiting TBR in my pile, life is just too short to be bored to sleep.
If you like engaging writing, slow pace notwithstanding, just skip this one.
The story opens with the death of Natalia's grandfather, with whom she had a complex relationship. Her interactions with her grandmother in the earliest scenes are emotion-rich and feel heavy with backstory, as there are apparently many things Natalia knows about her grandpa that his wife doesn't....but the book doesn't go down that path.
While journeying with a friend to deliver medicine in war-torn Serbia, Natalia begins taking the reader through the stories that shaped her grandfather's life, which he had shared with her. His experience as a younger doctor with a deathless man, and also the story of the tiger's wife. For pages and pages, we follow a tiger roaming the streets....if there is allegorical substance here, it is completely lost on me.
There was nothing here that held my interest and I had to give up after 100 or so pages. Perhaps if this were the only book I owned, I'd make myself read more, but considering there are over 200 books waiting TBR in my pile, life is just too short to be bored to sleep.
If you like engaging writing, slow pace notwithstanding, just skip this one.
Helpful Score: 1
I found this book a bit disappointing based on all of the hype/awards. However, it is worth a read. It is kind of a fable, magical story, which I guess I didn't realize when I started.
Interesting, stream of consciousness mixed with folk lore and fantasy.
I finished the book but I can't tell you really what happened. Family history strung together with town myths and it made it difficult to follow. I am not even sure what area of the world they were in.
I guess this book is just not my cup of tea. I've only read about half of it and I don't think that I'll finish it. It is very well written but i just can't connect with it or any characters. It skips back and forth in time and is I guess in some ways a fantasy. I can't even figure out where it takes place. I hardly ever don't finish a book, even if I don't like it, but I'm not sure about this one.
I had a bit of trouble getting into this novel. I liked her writing style, but not necessarily the "plot". I use the quotes because it is no means a straight forward plot as the blurb might lead you to think. Natalia is on a medical run to an orphange when she learns that her grandfather died, supposedly on his way to meet her. Interspersed between the present day accounts of the aid trip and recovering her grandfather's belongings, she tells the readers various stories. Growing up during the civil war. A tiger escaping the City Zoo during World War II, who made its way to the village Natalia's grandfather grew up in and met the woman who would be known as the Tiger's Wife. Her grandfather's repeated encounters with the deathless man.
I didn't find these stories terribly interesting at first (probably due to my lack of interest in contemporary set novels), but then a quote on the back of the book caught my eye. This quote from the Washington Post reviewer mentioned magical realism in the novel, and that gave me a bit of an 'A-ha!' moment. Once as I started to think of it more like a magical realism novel, I enjoyed the story a little bit better. Don't expect to find the kind of magical realism in this like in an Alice Hoffman novel, or in a Sarah Addison Allen novel. Only really one of the story lines can really be said to have magical elements to it. But its not a strong enough magical element to balance out my feelings towards contemporary set novels.
Being a contemporary novel aside, one thing that didn't work for me was all of the stories feel disjointed. The Red Garden is made up of a collection of stories centered around the garden. The stories in The Tiger's Wife either happened to or had a minor involvement of Natalia's grandfather. It was rather like when my grandmother starts telling stories from her youth- they could include her, ones she saw or ones she was told, but they bounce around at will, drop off at any time, and she picks them back up later. The stories might be interesting, but they kind of lose me being broken up so much.
I would definitely try more from Obreht, especially if she ventures into the historic period.
I didn't find these stories terribly interesting at first (probably due to my lack of interest in contemporary set novels), but then a quote on the back of the book caught my eye. This quote from the Washington Post reviewer mentioned magical realism in the novel, and that gave me a bit of an 'A-ha!' moment. Once as I started to think of it more like a magical realism novel, I enjoyed the story a little bit better. Don't expect to find the kind of magical realism in this like in an Alice Hoffman novel, or in a Sarah Addison Allen novel. Only really one of the story lines can really be said to have magical elements to it. But its not a strong enough magical element to balance out my feelings towards contemporary set novels.
Being a contemporary novel aside, one thing that didn't work for me was all of the stories feel disjointed. The Red Garden is made up of a collection of stories centered around the garden. The stories in The Tiger's Wife either happened to or had a minor involvement of Natalia's grandfather. It was rather like when my grandmother starts telling stories from her youth- they could include her, ones she saw or ones she was told, but they bounce around at will, drop off at any time, and she picks them back up later. The stories might be interesting, but they kind of lose me being broken up so much.
I would definitely try more from Obreht, especially if she ventures into the historic period.
AMAZING author! Attended a reading/meet and greet with her. Wonderful book, very insightful.
