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Aug 26, 2011

Stephen rated it:

I think it's interesting to look at the literature coming out now that has to do with building a mythology. Is it because of the incredible works of people like Angela Carter, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Italo Calvino and others who have influenced so strongly this generation? Or is it that as we become increasingly godless and mythless, there is something to the human that needs the myth to survive. I am reminded by the knitting and food preserving revolutions that have exploded, something that use More...

3 comments like (24 people liked it)

May 26, 2011

G rated it:

Civil war in the Balkans has left that region bereft and in need. It is in this fascinating region that Téa Obreht sets her elegantly written debut novel, The Tiger’s Wife.

While the protagonist of The Tiger’s Wife is Natalia Stefanovic, a young doctor who has returned to her homeland to help the villagers, the central mystery of the book revolves around Natalia’s beloved grandfather as Natalia seeks to reconstruct his final days and his death in a village named Zdrevkov, far from his More...

4 comments like (40 people liked it)

Jan 28, 2012

Brian added it

"He sat up, pushed his chair away from the table and rubbed his knees. 'When men die, they die in fear,' he said. 'They take everything they need from you, and as a doctor it is your job to give it, to comfort them, to hold their hand. But children die how they have been living--in hope. They don't know what's happening, so they expect nothing, they don't ask you to hold their hand--but you end up needing them to hold yours. With children, you're on your own. Do you understand?'"

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1 comment like (6 people liked it)

Mar 18, 2011

Cynthia rated it:

Ancient enmities, long ago legends.

I was disappointed which is probably not fair. This book and its author have been hyped so much it would almost be impossible to live up to, having said that this is a there are many wonderful parts to “The Tiger’s Wife”. Obrecht interweaves local Eastern European legends throughout the book helping to explicate the parts that take place currently. She explains a way of thinking through past belief and how those beliefs were formed. For the most More...

23 comments like (22 people liked it)

Oct 25, 2011

Nadine rated it:

Thank goodness for other reviewers with more patience than me - I was able to understand more about the book in an hour browsing the discussion/review pages on Goodreads than 3 weeks wrestling with the Tiger. After checking others' views on the book to make sure it wasn't entirely my fault that the Tiger and I didn't bond, here's the criticisms I still maintain:

And using bullet points, because I love 'em:

- The fables: It's not that I can't do magic realism, I absolutely can. More...

14 comments like (68 people liked it)

Jul 02, 2011

April the Cheshire Meow rated it:

It's so sad. People create meaning out of events that befuddle and frighten them to help put context into the diary they write every sunset. There is the story of the isolated village with expected roles for each villager in relationship to the village reprised several times decades apart in the book. The outsiders that drift into the village's story where the inhabitants' are not sure these newcomers aren't evil spirits rather than people no matter how long they stay. How fear compresses time More...

0 comments like (9 people liked it)

Jun 16, 2011

Carolyn rated it:

One of those books that casts a spell from which you emerge so reluctantly after the last word. The cycles of death and rebirth, superstition and truth, love and revenge weave through the legends and family stories of the Balkans and the quests of two doctors, a modern young woman and her beloved grandfather.

"When your fight has purpose--to free you from something, to interfere on behalf of the innocent--it has the hope of finality. When the fight is about unraveling-- when it More...

0 comments like (13 people liked it)

Apr 07, 2011

Don rated it:

I can't believe this is Obreht's first novel. It is really really good.

When Obreht's name was announced on the New Yorker's '20 under 40' list, a lot of people complained about it. The complaints were of three varities: 1) misogyny (I read someone who denounced her as a "Barbie look-alike", which she isn't. But even if she was, what does that have to do with her writing?), 2) that she didn't have enough published work (no novels yet, only short stories), or 3) that she w More...

0 comments like (16 people liked it)

Dec 20, 2011

Karen rated it:

While praising Obreht for writing with great lyrical force, some have criticized her for writing a disjointed novel. I disagree. Her novel's central question asks, "How do people respond to death?" The setting is the Balkans, an area with complex histories and cultures -- all wrestling with death in one form or another: death from disease, from poverty and from violence both small within the walls of a family's home or large-scale as with air raid bombing. Death stalks the people of t More...

0 comments like (8 people liked it)

Dec 14, 2011

Diane rated it:

In "The Tiger’s Wife”, Tea Obreht tackles the twin and interwoven themes of war and death with a mixture of lore, fable and myth. The war, although never identified, is the Balkan conflict of the nineties and Obreht pointedly never identifies real towns or landmarks instead preferring to use made-up names. In that way, she is able to imagine the country where the war takes place without having to tie the plot to real events or people. She can distill the rituals and vagaries of war More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 10, 2011

Justine rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

4 comments like (4 people liked it)

Jan 02, 2012

Jenny rated it:

This is the first book I read for my Around the World challenge, and what a way to start. The reason I have both Yugoslavia and Croatia listed is that the locations are intentionally unnamed or made up throughout the novel. Obreht does this on purpose to disassociate story from place, since so much of the turmoil in that area of the world is caused by family name endings and minor differences.

The story is about two generations of doctors in a family - the grandfather and the grandd More...

9 comments like (5 people liked it)

Apr 27, 2011

Mark rated it:

It is always interesting to read the first-time novelist who is already highly regarded as a story writer. Is s/he able to make the transition to the long form?

The Tiger's Wife comprises a varied set of interesting stories. The writing is often exquisite. (I didn't feel the same way about most of the dialogue, but maybe that's just me). Each story has its own drama, tension and style. As a group, the stories will hold particular appeal for fans of Magical Realism, especially with a More...

10 comments like (7 people liked it)

May 15, 2011

Almeta rated it:

Loved the folklore and was (as inteneded) irritated by the dangerous village gossip.

Really enjoyed the biographical stories of the characters of the butcher, the apothecary and the hunter. Needed more of that! <spoiler> I think I would have enjoyed the book more if the Grandfather had just told it. There didn't seem to be much reason for the Grand-daughter and friend to even be in the book.</spoiler>

And here, I have to confess, that I never solved the " More...

8 comments like (4 people liked it)

Dec 15, 2011

Zhanna rated it:

The gorgeous writing of this first time author is extremely impressive. This book demands full attention of the reader, so don’t even think of taking more than a few days to read it. It is part fable, part myth, part magical realism and leaves you exhausted (in a good way). The author leaves certain things out and you feel this need to know, but I think it is done on purpose to make the reader wonder and to leave certain things a mystery. I found myself rereading certain passages and being sl More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jun 13, 2011

Marcheta added it

Really an experience. Amazing blend of fable and war and search for harmony among cultures with different stories, different enemies. I was nervous knowing this was Ms. Obreht's debut novel and that she was so young but,as it turned out, I had nothing to worry about. Her story was well managed and has stayed with me. The symbolism wrought by the multi-layered relationships between the human characters and their escaped zoo animals was strong and satisfying. A good book to be sure.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 26, 2011

Jim rated it:

I thought it was one of the best books I've read this year. It really lived up to its hype. The ending really clinched it for me. I would recommend this book to everyone I know.

3 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jan 16, 2012

planetkimi rated it:

Natalia is a doctor, the granddaughter of a respected doctor. The Tiger’s Wife traces the story of her grandfather’s life as she puts together experiences she remembers, stories he told her, and information she was inspired to seek after his death.

The plot often involves the consequences of one war or another that has raged through a land that is an imaginary analogue of the Balkans.

As she navigates a post-war world without her grandfather, Natalia recalls the stories he More...

0 comments like

Nov 01, 2011

Abby rated it:

This is a wonder of a novel! I requested it from LTER after reading two stories by Téa Obreht in The New Yorker, one of which turns out to have been an excerpt from this book. The stories were remarkable for their beautifully crafted language and sheer storytelling power and raised my expectations for the novel. I could not have been more richly rewarded. [return][return]Natalia, a young doctor in an unnamed Balkan country still suffering from the effects of a war that has torn the country apa More...

0 comments like

Feb 22, 2012

Fergie rated it:

I'm probably one of the few people who didn't "get" this book. While I give credit for Tea Obreht for her ingenuity and creativity with the story, I felt at times, frustrated by the pace of the the book and the way it wound through the fantastical tales which I found more distracting than entertaining or enlightening in its detour from the main story.
I kept wanting to care about the main character, Natalia, and the relationship she shared with her grandfather but felt More...

0 comments like

Feb 20, 2012

Jessie rated it:

I was fully prepared to dislike this book. Sarah, my ToB friend, hated it. A lot. And while we don't always agree on books, I took this as a bad sign.

However, she was totally wrong! (Kidding - matters of taste, etc). The story is told in large part through two folktales which are woven into the book: the Deathless Man and The Tiger's Wife. I know I always talk about the things I don't like; another one of them is magical realism. However, this book managed to use these stories More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 16, 2012

Maggie rated it:

This book is almost fantastical with its tales of the Tiger's wife (mostly myth) and the Deathless Man (appears to be real) and the Bear (could go either way). It takes place in what used to be Yugoslavia, I think, during a time spanning from WWII to more recent wars. It tells the tale of one family, particularly the tale of a young woman and her re-telling of her grandfather's life tale which includes the above mythological characters. It was hard for me to get into, at first, and felt a littl More...

0 comments like

Feb 15, 2012

Joanne rated it:

Again, I am relying on another readers' review.
"Ancient enmities, long ago legends.

I was disappointed which is probably not fair. This book and its author have been hyped so much it would almost be impossible to live up to, having said that this is a there are many wonderful parts to “The Tiger’s Wife”. Obrecht interweaves local Eastern European legends throughout the book helping to explicate the parts that take place currently. She explains a way of thinking through past be More...

0 comments like

Feb 10, 2012

BIPL rated it:

The Tiger’s Wife is set during a brief period of ceasefire in an unnamed country in the war torn Balkans. Here we meet Natalia, a young doctor whose beloved grandfather has just died in a town far away from home under unclear circumstances. As she embarks on a goodwill mission across borders, she remembers him to us by recounting stories he told her as a girl. These stories center around two mysterious figures: the deathless man and the tiger’s wife. As Natalia struggles to come to grips with he More...

0 comments like

Feb 09, 2012

Lorraine rated it:

“The Tiger’s Wife” begins simply with the narrator, Natalia telling us the story of how she used to accompany her grandfather, a doctor, in a weekly ritual to the zoo, particularly to look at the tigers.
The story takes place in the Balkans, fictionalized Yugoslavia with ethnic fighting and wars, and never ending conflict. She grew up knowing that people were dying and suffering all around them. She and her best friend Zora decided to become doctors and worked hard to get into medical schoo More...

0 comments like

Feb 08, 2012

Ewurama rated it:

This book came with high praise, so my expectations were high to match. Initially, the text projected a certain awkwardness with the language as if it had been translated into English from another tongue, and at times Obreht’s descriptive style (numerous phrases strung together to convey setting, for example, “the thick, woolly smell of sheep and goats; the smell of fire, tar, wax; the interesting reek of the outhouses; paper, iron, the individual smells of people; the savory smells of stew and More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 07, 2012

Elizabeth rated it:

Liked this book - and right up to the line of loving it, but not quite.

What did resonate with me was its tribute to the full collection of memories we have of loved ones lost – and of the powerful nature of those memories. I liked that, for just a few pages, it set up a very straight-forward plot – the story of a granddaughter endeavoring to explain her grandfather’s death, both literally (the mysterious circumstances of it) and figuratively (underscored by a really believable and en More...

0 comments like

Feb 06, 2012

Jeannie rated it:

Still mulling this book over in my mind...for a first time author, it is a five star accomplishment. It takes place in an unknown country, Croatia and Serbia, in an unnamed city, Belgrade, during and after unnamed wars and centers around the mysterious circumstances around the death of the narrator's grandfather. It is intermixed with two myths/stories--the tiger's wife and the deathless man. Death is the major theme of this book, and she goes into the detailed back story of even the mos More...

0 comments like

Feb 05, 2012

David rated it:

Seeing that this book was listed as one of the top ten books of 2011 according to the New York Times Book Review (one of the others was Julian Barnes, A Sense of an Ending) I thought it would be a good read. I was wrong, it turned out to be a great read. the story centers around a woman doctor and her grandfather, who was also a doctor in an unnamed Balkan country. A series of stories by the grandfather are retold by the grand-daughter which centers around myths that the grandfather experienced. More...

0 comments like

Feb 05, 2012

Book Concierge rated it:

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 pe More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

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