What do you think?
Rate this book
The Tiger in the Tiger Pit
Janette Turner Hospital's gifts for memorable characters, startling insights and poetic prose are amply displayed in this intense psychological drama. A family reunion to celebrate a wedding anniversary is the scene of painful confrontation as fragments of past and present collide.
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1983
About the author
Janette Turner Hospital
30 books81 followersBorn in 1942, Janette Turner Hospital grew up on the steamy sub-tropical coast of Australia in the north-eastern state of Queensland. She began her teaching career in remote Queensland high schools, but since her graduate studies she has taught in universities in Australia, Canada, England, France and the United States.
Her first published short story appeared in the Atlantic Monthly (USA) where it won an 'Atlantic First' citation in 1978. Her first novel, The Ivory Swing (set in the village in South India where she lived in l977) won Canada's $50,000 Seal Award in l982. She lived for many years in Canada and in 1986 she was listed as by the Toronto Globe & Mail as one of Canada's 'Ten Best Young Fiction Writers'. Since then she has won a number of prizes for her eight novels and four short story collections and her work has been published in multiple foreign language collections. Three of her short stories appeared in Britain's annual Best Short Stories in English in their year of publication and one of these, 'Unperformed Experiments Have No Results', was selected for The Best of the Best, an anthology of the decade in l995.
The Last Magician, her fifth novel, was listed by Publishers' Weekly as one of the 12 best novels published in 1992 in the USA and was a New York Times 'Notable Book of the Year'. Oyster, her sixth novel, was a finalist for Australia's Miles Franklin Prize Award and for Canada's Trillium Award, and in England it was listed in 'Best Books of the Year' by The Observer, which noted "Oyster is a tour de force… Turner Hospital is one of the best female novelists writing in English." In the USA, Oyster was a New York Times 'Notable Book of the Year'.
Due Preparations for the Plague won the Queensland Premier's Literary Award in 2003, the Davitt Award from Sisters in Crime for "best crime novel of the year by an Australian woman”, and was shortlisted for the Christina Stead Award. In 2003, Hospital received the Patrick White Award, as well as a Doctor of Letters honoris causa from the University of Queensland.
Orpheus Lost, her most recent novel, was one of five finalists for the $110,000 Australia-Asia Literary prize in 2008.
Orpheus Lost was also on Booklist's Top 30 novels of the year in 2008, along with novels by Booker Prize winner Anne Enright, National Book Award winner Denis Johnson, Philip Roth, Don DeLillo, Michael Ondaatje, Ian MacEwan, Ha Jin, and Michael Chabon.
The novel also made the list of Best 25 Books of the Year of Library Journal, and Hospital was invited to be a keynote speaker at the annual convention of the American Library Association in Los Angeles in June 2008.
The Italian edition, Orfeo Perduto, has been so well-received in Italy that it will be a featured title at the literary festival on Lake Maggiore in June 2010 where Hospital will be a featured author.
She holds an endowed chair as Carolina Distinguished Professor of English at the University of South Carolina and in 2003 received the Russell Research Award for Humanities and Social Sciences, conferred by the university for the most significant faculty contribution (research, publication, teaching and service) in a given year.
Her first published short story appeared in the Atlantic Monthly (USA) where it won an 'Atlantic First' citation in 1978. Her first novel, The Ivory Swing (set in the village in South India where she lived in l977) won Canada's $50,000 Seal Award in l982. She lived for many years in Canada and in 1986 she was listed as by the Toronto Globe & Mail as one of Canada's 'Ten Best Young Fiction Writers'. Since then she has won a number of prizes for her eight novels and four short story collections and her work has been published in multiple foreign language collections. Three of her short stories appeared in Britain's annual Best Short Stories in English in their year of publication and one of these, 'Unperformed Experiments Have No Results', was selected for The Best of the Best, an anthology of the decade in l995.
The Last Magician, her fifth novel, was listed by Publishers' Weekly as one of the 12 best novels published in 1992 in the USA and was a New York Times 'Notable Book of the Year'. Oyster, her sixth novel, was a finalist for Australia's Miles Franklin Prize Award and for Canada's Trillium Award, and in England it was listed in 'Best Books of the Year' by The Observer, which noted "Oyster is a tour de force… Turner Hospital is one of the best female novelists writing in English." In the USA, Oyster was a New York Times 'Notable Book of the Year'.
Due Preparations for the Plague won the Queensland Premier's Literary Award in 2003, the Davitt Award from Sisters in Crime for "best crime novel of the year by an Australian woman”, and was shortlisted for the Christina Stead Award. In 2003, Hospital received the Patrick White Award, as well as a Doctor of Letters honoris causa from the University of Queensland.
Orpheus Lost, her most recent novel, was one of five finalists for the $110,000 Australia-Asia Literary prize in 2008.
Orpheus Lost was also on Booklist's Top 30 novels of the year in 2008, along with novels by Booker Prize winner Anne Enright, National Book Award winner Denis Johnson, Philip Roth, Don DeLillo, Michael Ondaatje, Ian MacEwan, Ha Jin, and Michael Chabon.
The novel also made the list of Best 25 Books of the Year of Library Journal, and Hospital was invited to be a keynote speaker at the annual convention of the American Library Association in Los Angeles in June 2008.
The Italian edition, Orfeo Perduto, has been so well-received in Italy that it will be a featured title at the literary festival on Lake Maggiore in June 2010 where Hospital will be a featured author.
She holds an endowed chair as Carolina Distinguished Professor of English at the University of South Carolina and in 2003 received the Russell Research Award for Humanities and Social Sciences, conferred by the university for the most significant faculty contribution (research, publication, teaching and service) in a given year.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
April 4, 2025
An engaging novel about the Carpenter family. Edward and Elizabeth Carpenter are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. They have lived their married life in a country in the Berkshire mountains, USA. Edward is a retired teacher master who is a cantankerous old man who can explode into a rage. He is a misunderstood father of three adult children. Elizabeth, his wife, is a charming eccentric individual who is a mender of troubles. Tory, the eldest daughter, battles a mental illness, Jason, the middle sibling, is a successful psychiatrist, and Emily is a renown violin player. Emily has a son, Adam, now eight years old. Both Jason and Emily have been in and out of relationships over the years.
Emily and Adam have lived in Australia and England. Edward Carpenter has never seen his grandson.
An enjoyable read about a dysfunctional family get together.
This book was first published in 1983.
Emily and Adam have lived in Australia and England. Edward Carpenter has never seen his grandson.
An enjoyable read about a dysfunctional family get together.
This book was first published in 1983.
September 10, 2022
Very well written book. I didn't mind reading the story from different points of view nor did I mind the mostly dislikable characters. I understood Edward's feelings of awkwardness or not belonging (feeling like an unwelcome outsider; a country bumpkin) when he was with the upper class relatives of his wife. Like me, he was from a low-income family and had to work and study very hard to get an education. However, I didn't understand his resentment of his decision to not have affairs; let it go after 40 years.
It seemed unreasonable that Victoria/Tory (eldest daughter) would have such a reaction (become so mentally unstable as to require 24-hour care) after witnessing the scene described (final reveal in last chapter). As a child, I witnessed quite a few shocking scenes and I have worked with innumerable "children of war" who witnessed far worse and were not so severely affected as Tory.
It also seemed unreasonable that the other two adult children (Emily and Jason) would be so jaded against love and marriage since, although their father was emotionally immature, they had an extremely loving mother. For my family, it was the opposite: loving father and unloving mother; two out of 3 adult children have stable marriages. Also, the daughter is so beautiful that every man must stare at her; I hated her from the start (ha ha). The grandson, Adam, was cute and sweet.
Elizabeth/Bessie/Liz (the mother/grandmother) seemed to be very loving towards her unlovable, angry, and ungrateful husband. It seems she had no physical love with him (submitting to sex; sounded like rape). She said it was important to keep the family together; give up her dreams or hope of having a loving partner. Her husband did not care about her needs at all. I think she had a horrible life. However, she thought her sacrifice (married to a terrible husband) was worth it since she had 3 children and a grandchild. Written in 1983, it is still true today (2022) in that we all make decisions (stay or leave a horrible marriage) and have to accept the consequences.
The gazebo and honeysuckle are mentionned in almost every chapter. (sigh)
Very fine writing and a good attempt at describing a disfunctional family. However, the "happy ending" was forecast quite early on which really turned me off. Somewhat unrealistic that one reunion (and Tory's actions to get back at her father) would be the stimulus for Jason & Emily to try to salvage the relationships with their partners (take a risk to love their partners), thus rescuing them from a sad and lonely future.
I wish it were that simple.
It seemed unreasonable that Victoria/Tory (eldest daughter) would have such a reaction (become so mentally unstable as to require 24-hour care) after witnessing the scene described (final reveal in last chapter). As a child, I witnessed quite a few shocking scenes and I have worked with innumerable "children of war" who witnessed far worse and were not so severely affected as Tory.
It also seemed unreasonable that the other two adult children (Emily and Jason) would be so jaded against love and marriage since, although their father was emotionally immature, they had an extremely loving mother. For my family, it was the opposite: loving father and unloving mother; two out of 3 adult children have stable marriages. Also, the daughter is so beautiful that every man must stare at her; I hated her from the start (ha ha). The grandson, Adam, was cute and sweet.
Elizabeth/Bessie/Liz (the mother/grandmother) seemed to be very loving towards her unlovable, angry, and ungrateful husband. It seems she had no physical love with him (submitting to sex; sounded like rape). She said it was important to keep the family together; give up her dreams or hope of having a loving partner. Her husband did not care about her needs at all. I think she had a horrible life. However, she thought her sacrifice (married to a terrible husband) was worth it since she had 3 children and a grandchild. Written in 1983, it is still true today (2022) in that we all make decisions (stay or leave a horrible marriage) and have to accept the consequences.
The gazebo and honeysuckle are mentionned in almost every chapter. (sigh)
Very fine writing and a good attempt at describing a disfunctional family. However, the "happy ending" was forecast quite early on which really turned me off. Somewhat unrealistic that one reunion (and Tory's actions to get back at her father) would be the stimulus for Jason & Emily to try to salvage the relationships with their partners (take a risk to love their partners), thus rescuing them from a sad and lonely future.
I wish it were that simple.
April 26, 2017
This book will give you many moments of pleasure and insight - the prose is completely delicious. I love the structure of this novel, as we read from multiple viewpoints as the story progresses, without the annoyance of too much jumping about in time and place - everything moves forward at an understandable pace and context.
The characters are interesting but deeply flawed. The more I read about them, the more I understood them - and the less I liked them! The neat plot twist at the end, which demonstrated a complete misunderstanding at the heart of Edward's unhappiness and self-designated sacrifice, was a surprise to me, and also made me hastily re-evaluate my impression of Elizabeth's character.
Everyone is selfish and self-absorbed. There is a great deal of truth in this novel, and it is not at all as dire as I've made it sound. I was just disappointed in these people - most probably because I had invested in them emotionally. I think this is a book which will benefit from a second reading, and will continue to please me for many years as I ponder the motivations and actions of the Carpenters and their contacts.
The characters are interesting but deeply flawed. The more I read about them, the more I understood them - and the less I liked them! The neat plot twist at the end, which demonstrated a complete misunderstanding at the heart of Edward's unhappiness and self-designated sacrifice, was a surprise to me, and also made me hastily re-evaluate my impression of Elizabeth's character.
Everyone is selfish and self-absorbed. There is a great deal of truth in this novel, and it is not at all as dire as I've made it sound. I was just disappointed in these people - most probably because I had invested in them emotionally. I think this is a book which will benefit from a second reading, and will continue to please me for many years as I ponder the motivations and actions of the Carpenters and their contacts.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 22, 2016
Mystery common to many families. Misheard or misdirected early childhood experience leading to trauma that impacts on all the members lives. VERY satisying denuement.
June 7, 2022
Enjoyed the twists and exploring the characters, even though most weren't particularly likeable. But oh my, at times the writing seemed a bit extreme, I regularly had to grab a dictionary.
October 5, 2025
2.5 stars. this would be a compelling family drama if the author's writing wasn't so pointlessly dense.
February 24, 2025
I have complicated thoughts on this novel.
On the one hand, an effective slow-burning psychological thriller, with some pretty good twists and turns. And, as an historical document, a snapshot of Sydney in the early 1970s, where the intelligentsia debated the aestheticism of the still unfinished Opera House.
On the other hand, some of the characters are deeply unlikeable, to the point where it is not a pleasure to spend time with them, and can even expose old wounds in your own psyche.
The language is rich and lyrical and thematic, but sometimes so earnestly so that it borders on affectation.
All in all, I enjoyed finally reading this book, which has sat on my shelf since 1995, if for no other reason than it has now spilled its secrets to me.
On the one hand, an effective slow-burning psychological thriller, with some pretty good twists and turns. And, as an historical document, a snapshot of Sydney in the early 1970s, where the intelligentsia debated the aestheticism of the still unfinished Opera House.
On the other hand, some of the characters are deeply unlikeable, to the point where it is not a pleasure to spend time with them, and can even expose old wounds in your own psyche.
The language is rich and lyrical and thematic, but sometimes so earnestly so that it borders on affectation.
All in all, I enjoyed finally reading this book, which has sat on my shelf since 1995, if for no other reason than it has now spilled its secrets to me.
June 24, 2019
I read this after reading Swamp Angel by Ethel Wilson and this might have affected my enjoyment of it. It seemed over-wrought in comparison to Wilson's quiet precision. Nevertheless, the plot was good. It uses the much-used trope of a 50th wedding anniversary for its structure and from there we meet each of the family members who will be (or should be) in attendance. There are some surprises along the way and some very good writing too.
September 28, 2020
She is so good - the chapters from the viewpoint of the characters I dislike are hard to read & those from the viewpoint of sympathetic characters are a delight. Lucky I made it past chapter 1 as that is the father/grandfather! It feels a very believable family though Tory's reaction to what she saw perhaps not so much. An involving story with lots of interesting side bits and a surprise at the end. She is so good. I must find more of hers.
October 9, 2020
This is a cleverly written book, exploring the background to family relationships in the lead up to a 50th wedding anniversary. However, there aren't many characters to like so one is always pushed out of the story rather than drawn into it. The women and the child seem better drawn than the men.One of the previous reviewers used an appropriate word - the writing feels overwrought.
August 30, 2020
Loved this novel back in 2013 . Must start to read others I have!
March 16, 2021
I love Turner Hospital's writing so was I keen to read this early novel, which she wrote in the early 1980s. However, I don't think The Tiger in the Tiger Pit has aged particularly well. To be honest I found much of the writing over-wrought.
For me, some characters worked better than others. Elizabeth (Bessie) was an intriguing and complex character, whose secrets were gradually revealed throughout the novel. Her husband, Edward, was less successful - or perhaps he was just too un-likeable for me. This self-obsessed, angry man and his endless struggles with any form of normal human emotion failed to elicit any empathy. Seriously, I wished he would jump out of his window (as he threatened to do). Their children, Jason and Emily, were similarly crippled emotionally although they were better drawn than Edward, and while I found the portrayal of Tory's (Victoria) mental illness sensitively handled, it was her relationship with Adam, her nephew (Emily's son), that provided the light within the novel.
It is interesting to look back and see how a writer's career has developed. I wonder if Turner Hospital grimaces when she thinks about this novel, or looks fondly on it as an important part of her development. Certainly there is some wonderful writing in this novel. But there is also this:
"To offer in time of war the great velvet refuge of her vagina."
Yep.
Anyway, if you're a fan of Turner Hospital and you can track this novel down, have a read and see what you think. But if you're new to her work, maybe read something like Oyster first.
For me, some characters worked better than others. Elizabeth (Bessie) was an intriguing and complex character, whose secrets were gradually revealed throughout the novel. Her husband, Edward, was less successful - or perhaps he was just too un-likeable for me. This self-obsessed, angry man and his endless struggles with any form of normal human emotion failed to elicit any empathy. Seriously, I wished he would jump out of his window (as he threatened to do). Their children, Jason and Emily, were similarly crippled emotionally although they were better drawn than Edward, and while I found the portrayal of Tory's (Victoria) mental illness sensitively handled, it was her relationship with Adam, her nephew (Emily's son), that provided the light within the novel.
It is interesting to look back and see how a writer's career has developed. I wonder if Turner Hospital grimaces when she thinks about this novel, or looks fondly on it as an important part of her development. Certainly there is some wonderful writing in this novel. But there is also this:
"To offer in time of war the great velvet refuge of her vagina."
Yep.
Anyway, if you're a fan of Turner Hospital and you can track this novel down, have a read and see what you think. But if you're new to her work, maybe read something like Oyster first.
April 9, 2014
Generally enjoy her writing - she has a wonderful prose style - and this one is no exception. Elizabeth and Edward are about to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary and she decides to get all their three children back to their American home. The only problem is that each child has dark memories of their father's rages and either fears or loathes him. The story is told from each character's point of view and gradually the reasons for the way the children feel are revealed, right up until the final pretty surprising twist. Great read from an excellent writer (now available for swapping) - 8.5/10
March 22, 2016
I was surprised at how much I liked this book! Good descriptions..talking about the Australian Opera House..looking like 'an untidly sliced apple'..or 'a bevy of paper planes'..!! great!!
Thank you JTH.
Thank you JTH.
July 25, 2011
I think she may be my favourite female Australian author at the moment. The writing is lyrical and beautiful and the content often dark and disturbing although usually ultimately redemptive.
April 3, 2010
Beautiful prose, which often flirts with being poetry. Loved this book.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews