The Tiger's Wife

A Novel

By: Tea Obreht

Narrated by: Susan Duerden, Robin Sachs

Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

National Book Award Finalist and New York Times best seller...

“Spectacular...[Téa Obreht] spins a tale of such marvel and magic in a literary voice so enchanting that the mesmerized reader wants her never to stop.” (Entertainment Weekly)

Weaving a brilliant latticework of family legend, loss, and love, Téa Obreht, the youngest of The New Yorker’s 20 best American fiction writers under 40, has spun a timeless novel that will establish her as one of the most vibrant, original authors of her generation.

In a Balkan country mending from war, Natalia, a young doctor, is compelled to unravel the mysterious circumstances surrounding her beloved grandfather’s recent death. Searching for clues, she turns to his worn copy of The Jungle Book and the stories he told her of his encounters over the years with “the deathless man.” But most extraordinary of all is the story her grandfather never told her - the legend of the tiger’s wife.

Named one of the best books of the year by: The Wall Street Journal, O: The Oprah Magazine; The Economist; Vogue; Slate; Chicago Tribune; The Seattle Times; Dayton Daily News; Publishers Weekly; Alan Cheuse, NPR’s All Things Considered.

“Stunning...a richly textured and searing novel.” (Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times)

“[Obreht] has a talent for subtle plotting that eludes most writers twice her age, and her descriptive powers suggest a kind of channeled genius.... No novel [this year] has been more satisfying.” (The Wall Street Journal)

“Filled with astonishing immediacy and presence, fleshed out with detail that seems firsthand, The Tiger’s Wife is all the more remarkable for being the product not of observation but of imagination.” (The New York Times Book Review)

“That The Tiger’s Wife never slips entirely into magical realism is part of its magic.... Its graceful commingling of contemporary realism and village legend seems even more absorbing.” (The Washington Post)

©2011 Tea Obreht (P)2011 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Stunning...a richly textured and searing novel.” (Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times)

“[Obreht] has a talent for subtle plotting that eludes most writers twice her age, and her descriptive powers suggest a kind of channeled genius.... No novel [this year] has been more satisfying.” (The Wall Street Journal)

“That The Tiger’s Wife never slips entirely into magical realism is part of its magic.... Its graceful commingling of contemporary realism and village legend seems even more absorbing.” (The Washington Post)

Good writing

The lyricism of Obreht’s writing (lush descriptions, some interesting characterizations) is the reason to read/listen to this book. Fans of magical realism will enjoy it most, others may find that aspect meaningless, even boring. There is no solid central narrative, as things jump around in time, and from present to backstory, which can be annoying/confusing. Regardless, there should be enough in the writing talent to interest any fan of literature.

Very disappointing.

What would have made The Tiger's Wife better?

The central narrative needs to be stronger and more of the book. The author digresses so much and into such detailed descriptions that you lose the central narrative. I found myself groaning as the book took on a whole other town and people and tale.

What could Tea Obreht have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Ms. Obreht must have really taken to heart the writing lesson that details help tell the story, because she goes into such detail on so many insignificant elements that it's frustrating and, frankly, boring. And she uses in almost every case three or four elements to describe everything. I started counting them as I was reading, because I knew she couldn't leave it at just one. She needs to be a leaner writer, for me.

How could the performance have been better?

The reader was almost always breathless -- as if every element of the book were crucial. I did not like this reading performance.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Tiger's Wife?

Where do I begin?

I don't understand why it's recommended

What would have made The Tiger's Wife better?

First of all the reading. And make it shorter!!

Has The Tiger's Wife turned you off from other books in this genre?

yes!

What didn’t you like about Susan Duerden and Robin Sachs ’s performance?

The man isn't very well understandable.

Any additional comments?

It's just too long a story. I had to struggle my way through it.

A Cautionary Tale

The Tiger’s Wife can be viewed as impressive because it is the writer’s very first novel. I was not happy with the choices that were made in producing the Audible version of this book. The actors have heavy British accents which are not a match for this story or its setting. I was completely lost at first because the narrative felt as though something had happened before I began listening and I found it more and more difficult to catch up. This confusion gave way to anger and the unpleasant feeling that I had been tricked into buying this book. I don’t usually fall victim to hype, but in this case I was afraid that I had. However, the writing was strong enough, and so I kept on listening. Eventually, my anger subsided. I tried to identify what had gone wrong. Initially, this book was recommended to me as a work of Magical Realism. It is not. This is more like Creative Nonfiction with some fables and superstitions thrown into the mix. The writer spends a lot of time illustrating the boorish ignorance of many of the characters. I was hard pressed to find any character that I liked even a little bit. Some of the characters were merely unlikeable and some of them were absolutely despicable, including a brute who regularly beats his physically impaired young wife. In the end, I think I got the point. This book is a cautionary tale. It illustrates what happens when the basest, most ignorant elements of society come into power and are allowed to be led by their deepest bigotry and hatred. This author’s life and her work are very informed by the breakup of Yugoslavia. The Tiger’s Wife is an excellent illustration of the destruction and despair brought on by war, senseless hatred, bigotry,and ignorance. If readers want to experience the visceral elements of cultural demise, then by all means they should read this book. However, as valuable as it is as a cautionary tale, I cannot recommend it mainly because it offers no insight, no wisdom, and no hope - only raw, uninterrupted despair.

Torture

What would have made The Tiger's Wife better?

The narrator was horrible. She read beautifully and did a good job of using different voices BUT, though no fault of her own, her voice was incredibly ANNOYING. It didn't help that the story was impossible to follow. The worst audiobook I have ever listened to.

narrator precious, repetitive sing song

What did you like best about The Tiger's Wife? What did you like least?

Like so many other reviewers, I appreciate Obreht's vivid writing, her insight into post-war life in the Balkans, but got lost in the jumping around between the many fantasies and stories.

Would you be willing to try another book from Tea Obreht? Why or why not?

Yes

How could the performance have been better?

The narrator speaks in an unbearably precious upper-crust and breathless British accent, with a repetitive sing-song melody that renders every description (and there's a lot) the same. But then she gives some characters these sinister or super-snide tones, so that I find myself repeating the lines to myself to see what other possibilities would have made more sense. I gave up half way through.

Endless barrage details and no central narrative

Endless barrage details and no central narrative. Very hard to follow and the narration is terrible. Every part of the story feels critical and on the end nothing is.

Not a fan

Like new books from many other new or new-ish writers, this one was not what I was expecting, and the audible blurb is misleading. I was expecting a story about one person and her experiences on location in a war-torn area, and what this is is a narrative told mostly by the grandfather, with a lot of fantasy requiring way too much suspension of disbelief. For me, anyway.

I should listen more carefully to what advance blurbs have to say and then run the other way. I think that publishers and book review publications want to applaud originality at the expense of other factors like characterization, detail nuance, approachable story, and so on. The book is very original, in format and in setting, two stars for that, but it's all simply non-relatable for me.

Difficult to follow

I imagine this book is a pleasurable reading experience, but I had a very difficult time listening to it. The narrator uses so little variation in pitch that I found that I needed to rewind often to catch what had happened. I finally gave up about 1/3 of the way in as it was getting too confusing to follow.

Was not able to finish this book

We read this book for book club, some people loved it, many like me couldn't finish it. The story is nice but it drags and I found myself forcing myself to listen to the end to the point where I finally gave up.