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thebookdreamersalley's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
gemeyers's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
erintowner's review against another edition
4.0
Beautiful writing. I liked learning more about this part of the world.
enorr592's review against another edition
2.0
A massive disappointment. The author's technically proficient writing on a sentence-to-sentence level can't make up for her poor storytelling skills; multiple plotlines emerge and then are dropped suddenly, and the story itself is unpleasantly choppy and disorganized. The characters are ciphers, and an emotional hollowness pervades the text, keeping the reader at a distance. I would ordinarily applaud a publishing company for taking a chance on a young, unproven writer, but I'm very sorry to say that I ultimately shrugged my shoulders at the close of this perplexing literary hodgepodge.
book_concierge's review against another edition
3.0
3.5***
In an unnamed Balkan country, a young woman tries to find answers to her grandfather’s death. She knew he was ill, but not why he was in a small town far from home when he died. As she searches for answers she recalls stories he had told her over the years of his own youth, and of the tiger’s wife.
When I was a little girl I was frequently mesmerized by the stories my grandmother and her cousin Maria would tell about our family history. They were full of interesting people, foreign (to me) locations and unexplainable magic. Some of these stories were cautionary tales, meant to teach me important lessons. All were told as factual recollections. This book reminded me of those stories, and I think it is what attracts me to magical realism in literature.
Olbreht’s writing is beautifully evocative. I can feel the bitter winds, relish the warmth of a fire, smell the musky scent of the tiger, and taste the bile of fear. If I have a complaint about the book it was that the constant jumping around in time and place made me lose focus. I appreciate that it made the book read much more like the oral traditional stories I heard as a child, but as an adult reader I would be frustrated when I was caught up in one story only to be yanked back (or forward) to a different tale. As a result I was captivated by certain sections, but not by the book as a whole.
In an unnamed Balkan country, a young woman tries to find answers to her grandfather’s death. She knew he was ill, but not why he was in a small town far from home when he died. As she searches for answers she recalls stories he had told her over the years of his own youth, and of the tiger’s wife.
When I was a little girl I was frequently mesmerized by the stories my grandmother and her cousin Maria would tell about our family history. They were full of interesting people, foreign (to me) locations and unexplainable magic. Some of these stories were cautionary tales, meant to teach me important lessons. All were told as factual recollections. This book reminded me of those stories, and I think it is what attracts me to magical realism in literature.
Olbreht’s writing is beautifully evocative. I can feel the bitter winds, relish the warmth of a fire, smell the musky scent of the tiger, and taste the bile of fear. If I have a complaint about the book it was that the constant jumping around in time and place made me lose focus. I appreciate that it made the book read much more like the oral traditional stories I heard as a child, but as an adult reader I would be frustrated when I was caught up in one story only to be yanked back (or forward) to a different tale. As a result I was captivated by certain sections, but not by the book as a whole.
cabbage_patch's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
readingspells's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I am read this as part of the Women's Prize for Fiction Challenge; to read all the books that have won the prize over the years. The Tiger's Wife won in 2011 and this was my first time reading it.
I knew absolutely nothing about this book going in and the blurb is fairly vague and having read that I can understand why because I am not sure what those book is but do not let that put you off, far from it, I found it a consuming and captivating read.
It is set in an unnamed Balkan country although at one point there is a reference to an airport which definitely places it is in Serbia. It tells the story of Natalia and her Grandfather mostly through stories that he imparted to her over the years most notably the story of The Deathless man and The Tiger's Wife. Both of them have strong elements of magical realism to them so if that is not your thing this book is not for you but I loved the fairy tale, myth, folk tale type vibe that was threaded through this book.
Yes it does jump about a bit in parts from the now back to various times in Granddad's life but once you got a paragraph or two into a chapter it was easy to work out where you were in the time line of things.
I was so pleasantly surprised by this book. I had never heard of it before taking on this challenging and considering how many of the winners I have read so far that I never heard of before and turned out to be disappointing I was delighted to find this one bucked the tread and was a really excellent read.
I knew absolutely nothing about this book going in and the blurb is fairly vague and having read that I can understand why because I am not sure what those book is but do not let that put you off, far from it, I found it a consuming and captivating read.
It is set in an unnamed Balkan country although at one point there is a reference to an airport which definitely places it is in Serbia. It tells the story of Natalia and her Grandfather mostly through stories that he imparted to her over the years most notably the story of The Deathless man and The Tiger's Wife. Both of them have strong elements of magical realism to them so if that is not your thing this book is not for you but I loved the fairy tale, myth, folk tale type vibe that was threaded through this book.
Yes it does jump about a bit in parts from the now back to various times in Granddad's life but once you got a paragraph or two into a chapter it was easy to work out where you were in the time line of things.
I was so pleasantly surprised by this book. I had never heard of it before taking on this challenging and considering how many of the winners I have read so far that I never heard of before and turned out to be disappointing I was delighted to find this one bucked the tread and was a really excellent read.
mrs_bonaventure's review against another edition
4.0
I loved this. Loved the writing, the fables, the vividness. However the end felt a bit rushed and flat compared to the grand sweep of the rest of the narrative. The reader is left to draw conclusions - which is fine - but they needed to be richer, heavier, more resonant, more satisfying.
cnapple's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
A youg doctor in an unnamed Balkan country travels across the war-ravaged countryaide on a humanitarian mission. Along the way she learns of the death of her grandfather, also a doctor, with whom she share an extremely close relationship. As she remembers his life, and her childhood, she pieces together the stories he told her with the stories she learned after his death, and even the stories they created together.
Through this composite narrative, the reader learns how a people scarred by war and loss find meaning in life and death. Tea Obrecht weaves a winding, mystical tale, blending harsh reality with folkloric magic in strikingly beautiful prose. The author doesn't hold the reader's hand as she leads them through a story that dodges and weaves through time. The novel is heavy on imagery and light on explanation, and leaves the reader decide on the moral of each interwoven tale, but in the end, the journey is worth it for the road taken more than the destination.
Through this composite narrative, the reader learns how a people scarred by war and loss find meaning in life and death. Tea Obrecht weaves a winding, mystical tale, blending harsh reality with folkloric magic in strikingly beautiful prose. The author doesn't hold the reader's hand as she leads them through a story that dodges and weaves through time. The novel is heavy on imagery and light on explanation, and leaves the reader decide on the moral of each interwoven tale, but in the end, the journey is worth it for the road taken more than the destination.