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3.08 AVERAGE
3.08 AVERAGE
adventurous
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Well written and beautifully illustrated, this was a fascinating look at an extraordinary woman who rose to power in Mughal India in the early 17th century. Absolutely amazing biography.
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
Thank you so much to Netgalley and W. W. Norton for the advance copy. As always, everything I share below is 100% my own.
'Tiger Slayer' by Ruby Lal is a nonfiction biography of the only woman to ever rule the Mughal Empire, Empress Nur Jahan. Defying societal and political expectations, after marrying her second husband, Mughal emperor Jahangir, she rose up in the ranks eventually taking the reins and practically running the empire behind the scenes. So much so that, as is always the case, she was resented by many in the emperor's court, including his son, the crowned prince Shah Jahan.
The book takes the readers through her story from birth as her Persian noble family relocated to India, with Nur being born on the journey, through her first marriage and eventually her second marriage. Her rise to the top is a fascinating story especially when one considers all the obstacles that she would face, not only as a woman, but the emperor's twentieth legal wife.
Unfortunately, while I learned a lot from the book and enjoyed it, I found the narrative style was too dry and clunky. Sentences at times felt a bit chopped or abrupt. And while I am usually a big fan of background information and tangents, as I find they help me see the bigger picture and understand the figures in question, in this case, I found myself often confused and a bit lost.
I can't help but wonder if the target audience, as this book is listed for middle-grade readers, might find the book overwhelming. While the book does introduce some of the less familiar terms and words, there were many that I felt weren't covered. I also wonder if perhaps some of the more nuanced cultural and religious details might be missed or lead to misunderstandings. For example, while Nur was a Muslim and we see her beliefs and influences throughout the text, there was at least one time when we know she (or her husband) prayed to Allah (the name of God among Muslims and Arab Christians), followed by conversation about the gods (who I assumed to be the Hindu Gods but I consider myself ignorant about the Mughal empire so please anyone feel free to correct me) but we didn't learn much more about this. I feel that to a young reader with no prior knowledge, they might find themselves potentially confusing the two religions. The interplay and coexistence of the beliefs is fascinating and worth the exploration and I wish this was explained more.
That being said, the illustrations are absolutely gorgeous. Every time I came across one, I had to pause and take in all the details. I mean, you can even see it in the cover! They really brought a lot of the key scenes to life and were absolutely vivid and beautiful.
I appreciate the passion going into the book, and I personally learned a lot from it as an adult, but I do think that younger readers would benefit best from it by co-reading this with an adult that can help them understand the bigger picture and introduce them to the intricate details and rich culture.
'Tiger Slayer' by Ruby Lal is a nonfiction biography of the only woman to ever rule the Mughal Empire, Empress Nur Jahan. Defying societal and political expectations, after marrying her second husband, Mughal emperor Jahangir, she rose up in the ranks eventually taking the reins and practically running the empire behind the scenes. So much so that, as is always the case, she was resented by many in the emperor's court, including his son, the crowned prince Shah Jahan.
The book takes the readers through her story from birth as her Persian noble family relocated to India, with Nur being born on the journey, through her first marriage and eventually her second marriage. Her rise to the top is a fascinating story especially when one considers all the obstacles that she would face, not only as a woman, but the emperor's twentieth legal wife.
Unfortunately, while I learned a lot from the book and enjoyed it, I found the narrative style was too dry and clunky. Sentences at times felt a bit chopped or abrupt. And while I am usually a big fan of background information and tangents, as I find they help me see the bigger picture and understand the figures in question, in this case, I found myself often confused and a bit lost.
I can't help but wonder if the target audience, as this book is listed for middle-grade readers, might find the book overwhelming. While the book does introduce some of the less familiar terms and words, there were many that I felt weren't covered. I also wonder if perhaps some of the more nuanced cultural and religious details might be missed or lead to misunderstandings. For example, while Nur was a Muslim and we see her beliefs and influences throughout the text, there was at least one time when we know she (or her husband) prayed to Allah (the name of God among Muslims and Arab Christians), followed by conversation about the gods (who I assumed to be the Hindu Gods but I consider myself ignorant about the Mughal empire so please anyone feel free to correct me) but we didn't learn much more about this. I feel that to a young reader with no prior knowledge, they might find themselves potentially confusing the two religions. The interplay and coexistence of the beliefs is fascinating and worth the exploration and I wish this was explained more.
That being said, the illustrations are absolutely gorgeous. Every time I came across one, I had to pause and take in all the details. I mean, you can even see it in the cover! They really brought a lot of the key scenes to life and were absolutely vivid and beautiful.
I appreciate the passion going into the book, and I personally learned a lot from it as an adult, but I do think that younger readers would benefit best from it by co-reading this with an adult that can help them understand the bigger picture and introduce them to the intricate details and rich culture.
Content Warnings
Minor: Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, War
slow-paced
This is a DNF review at 30%. Regrettably, while positioned as a biography, Tiger Slayer reads more like a general history textbook. The narrative is so bogged down with unnecessary background information and tangential fluff that the actual subject of the biography is completely lost.
This lack of focus is compounded by writing that is frequently clunky and awkward. The book often resorts to disorganized information dumps, with some paragraphs that read like a haphazard collection of non-sequitur facts.
After forcing myself through a third of the book without learning anything significant about the person it was meant to profile, I couldn't justify continuing. The book does contain some lovely art, but that isn't enough to save a text that feels dry, uninspired, and unfocused.