A review by wardenred
When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain by Nghi Vo

challenging emotional inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

And so you came to my house on the soft pads of a midwinter kitten, the whisper of your black tresses sweeping your heels, and so you came to my heart just as quietly. Why, then, did you make such a terrible noise when you let go of my hand and departed, a great trumpeting of horns, a great beating of drums? 

I liked this novella less than the first one in the series, but it’s still solidly a five-star read for me. I keep loving what the series does with the concept of stories and storytelling. Here, there’s all this nuance about how a story might change based on which culture is telling it and why, or who it’s told for, or why it’s being told, and I absolutely dig all of that. I also generally found the layered structure of this tale so intricate and beautiful.

I feel like Chih is a far more tangible presence in this narrative than they were in the first book, now that they’ve kind of upgraded from a recorder to storyteller in their own write. Technically, they keep existing in the context of recording and telling other people’s stories, and yet in this new role, they show a lot more of their personality and even—in certain small tidbits—their personal history (that passage about pretending to be a junior ghost was so lovely). I’m excited to learn more about them in future books as their own person and not just a vessel for history. I also hope that Almost Brilliant is going to be back—I miss that bird.

All in all, this book really expands the setting with living and breathing elements, from tiger shapeshifters to mammoths to those small golddigging towns. The prose is beautiful, the way it sets the mood is top-notch, and I loved the queer love story at the heart of it all. When I say I liked this one less than the first book, I don’t mean to say this one’s missing anything. It simply doesn’t have some intangible, inexplicable secret ingredient, the kind that makes us fall in love with books because they resonate with something deep between us. So it’s about me, not the book.