The setting is 1930's Colonial Malaysia, a world of servants and masters.There is a lot going on in this novel. Men who turn into tigers, age-old superstitions, modern idealism, sibling rivalry and forbidden love. 11 year-old, Ren, must fulfill his dead master's last request of finding his severed finger and bury it with his body. Ji Lin is a dance-hall girl who came upon the gruesome souvenir from one of her dance partner. How the finger finally gets to the grave is one of the plots in this complicated story. I found that I had to suspend my beliefs in order to get through this book. Basically, you just need to read the book and find out in the end what is really going on. The characters were well-developed and the plot was suspenseful. I would love to read the first novel of Yangsze Choo because I find the Chinese authors with all the superstitions fascinating. I would recommend this novel to those who love mystical realism.
