“The Tiger’s Wife” by Tea Obreht
Released to tremendous reviews last year, Tea Obreht’s The Tiger’s Wife is a contender in this year’s Morning News Tournament of Books and was nominated for the National Book Award, which went to another ToB contender, Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward.
The Tiger’s Wife is narrated by Natalia, a young female doctor on an aid mission in the still contentious area of the Balkans in former Yugoslavia. She is informed over the phone by her grandmother that her beloved grandfather is dead, somewhat mysteriously in a small town not far from where Natalia will be working. The narrative is split in many directions. We have Natalia’s memory of her grandfather, her present situation as a scientist dealing with local superstitions, a girl-detective aspect as she tries to learn the details of her grandfather’s death, and two stories from her grandfather’s past, one of a deathless, the other of the titular character. It’s ambitious, and intriguing in its contrasts of modern/historic, scientific/mythic, young/old, all grounded in a country ravaged by war and conflict. But in the end, I don’t think the book succeeded.
Despite many characters and countless sad circumstance, I never felt greatly moved. There were myriad characters, many of whom got pages of backstory, yet I didn’t feel particularly engaged by any of them, even the narrator. As I read through the book, I found myself reading to finish, not reading to read. The stories were fine, and I was mildly curious about the details of the grandfather’s death, but that was about it. My impression by the end was that it is a book by a talented, ambitious author who does not yet have the sophistication and maturity to pull off a work of satisfying depth. In this, it reminded me of Jonathan Safran Foer’s Everything is Illuminated, in which a violent history is retold through the modern young narrator by a modern young author.
I suspect that the hype over this book makes my disappointment in it a bit more keen, and I wonder, as I did with Special Topics in Calamity Physics, how much the youth and beauty of the author contributed to the hoo-ha.
February 16th, 2012 at 6:11 pm
I was disappointed too. The only story that really “got” me was the actual Tiger’s Wife story.
February 16th, 2012 at 6:15 pm
I did not know that about Savage the Bones and the NBA, but I gotta tell you, THAT book connected emotionally and packed a wallop. Very different than Tiger’s Wife. I agree with your assessment of that book–I actually thought the short story in the New Yorker (of the actual Tiger’s WIFE) worked better as a short story than as embedded in the novel.
February 16th, 2012 at 8:02 pm
I just received a notice that this is available for me at the library. I am tempted to tell them “no thanks.” I have had enough bad experiences with Tournament of Books books to last me a while. I am in the middle of Wolf Hall and Possession is up after that. I think I might stay with books that are recommended by friends.
February 17th, 2012 at 8:38 pm
Patricia, you never know. Kate F loved Wolf Hall, while I found it kind of a snore. But I think Tiger’s Wife is eminently skippable, and have yet to hear anyone I trust say otherwise.
February 18th, 2012 at 9:40 am
I was also disappointed with the book and have similar feelings about the characters as you did. The book just didn’t work for me in the end, I didn’t see the flair everyone else saw.
February 21st, 2012 at 12:39 pm
You expressed my sentiments perfectly. I was never moved emotionally. My book club felt the same way. A good book makes me eager to return to it after i set it down and the only reason I kept picking this up again was my upcoming book club meeting.
Off topic: have you ever read The Eight by Katherine Neville? It is one of the few books I’ve picked up in the past six months that excites me!
February 21st, 2012 at 4:08 pm
I haven’t heard of The Eight, but I’ll check it out. I’m behind in my book group books, though, so don’t know when a free spot will open up.
February 24th, 2012 at 9:22 am
It’s well-written, but my adoration for it also stems from my fascination with: chess, secret societies, France, Knights of the Templar, and mysteries in general. Thanks for the invite to Gods and Monsters. Would love to make a meeting soon.