Tiger, Tiger

A Memoir

By: Margaux Fragoso

Narrated by: Susan Bennett

Length: 12 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

One summer day, Margaux Fragoso meets Peter Curran at the neighborhood swimming pool, and they begin to play. She is seven; he is 51. When Peter invites her and her mother to his house, the little girl finds a child’s paradise of exotic pets and an elaborate backyard garden. Her mother, beset by mental illness and overwhelmed by caring for Margaux, is grateful for the attention Peter lavishes on her, and he creates an imaginative universe for her, much as Lewis Carroll did for his real-life Alice. In time, he insidiously takes on the role of Margaux’s playmate, father, and lover. Charming and manipulative, Peter burrows into every aspect of Margaux’s life and transforms her from a child fizzing with imagination and affection into a brainwashed young woman on the verge of suicide. But when she is 22, it is Peter—ill, and wracked with guilt—who kills himself, at the age of 66.

Told with lyricism, depth, and mesmerizing clarity, Tiger, Tiger vividly illustrates the healing power of memory and disclosure. This extraordinary memoir is an unprecedented glimpse into the psyche of a young girl in free fall and conveys to listeners—including parents and survivors of abuse—just how completely a pedophile enchants his victim and binds her to him.

©2011 Margaux Fragoso (P)2011 Recorded Books, LLC

A strong read

This book was a difficult read. A tangled web of lies, manipulation, and tragedy in the form of the loss of childhood. The results of denial and rose colored glasses.

Gripping, unflinching and very, very brave.

I applaud Margaux Fragoso for telling this harrowing, incredible and very sad true story. The content of this book is, at times, shocking and difficult to listen to but I'm glad to have experienced it. A beautiful book and listen. Thank you.

Absolutely Heartbreaking and Insightful

Tiger, Tiger is the hardest, and saddest book I’ve read in 47 years. I believe the author, who spent 8 years on this project, finally got the full healing she deserved once published. I imagine her scratching the scabs off her emotional wounds while writing. Her bravery and perseverance are astounding.

This non-fiction book is a visceral account of pain, sadness, loneliness, and abuse.
The pain and abuse started well before the child molester crawled into her life. Her father was an alcoholic, narcissistic, physically and emotionally abusive to the author and her mother. Her mother had severe mental illness, constantly in and out of the psych ward.

The child molester scurries in when the author is 8. Her recounts of his abuse are difficult to read. Very detailed, from the acts to how she felt afterwards. A child’s mind cannot ascertain how to handle sexual abuse, and subconsciously the seams rip - withdrawn, raging outbursts, thoughts of violence towards others and herself. All the while not having the emotional maturity to handle the abuse.
I mentioned detailed earlier, and I want to say interesting (yet sheer terror, hell on earth and nihilism come to mind) how she discusses how the child molester slowly creeps his way into her and her families lives. They were not equipped. Some people may read this and not believe such a reprehensible act could occur, but I can. Being Generation X, sexual abuse was rampant when I was young. The author must have been born Gen Y, which is close enough in society’s thought processes. So much ignorance, silence and denial - perfect breeding grounds for sexual abuse. The narration is an autobiography where she accounts her life and flawlessly blends her past thoughts and emotions as a child victim with that of a woman who eventually overcame and God willing, moved on.

Sadly the author passed at a young age (36 I think) after battling cancer. She leaves behind a daughter and husband. I think about what she went through in such a limited amount of time on earth, and pray she had some moments of peace and happiness. Between her abusive father, and the child molester, who had his claws in her for almost 12 years…where was she able to find time to sigh with relief and contentment? Was the majority of her life just abuse and pain? Sexual abuse takes years to overcome, and some never do. That pedophile robbed her of her childhood innocence and sliced deep emotional scars throughout her psyche.

This book changed me. I had to read as one who was never abused, or I wouldn’t be able to finish. I found myself crying while listening a couple times. Afterwards, mixed with the sadness of such a tragic story, was enlightenment. She says the cycles of abuse end with her. I pray her daughter is living a happy and safe life her mother never had.

a weirdly loving diatribe against pervs.

if you've read any other reviews of this book, it has probably been brought to your attention that it is dense with reconstructed dialogue that strains the work's credibility as a memoir. this raises a lot of questions about the liberties which can be taken with this particular literary genre, but as an audiobook it creates a whole new set of concerns.

the voice characterizations provided by susan bennett do make for colorful listening, but if you would like an unsullied perspective on the controversy surrounding the author's narrative agenda and the question of how to balance one's sympathies between the memoir's subjects, it would probably be best to read the book in print or e-form first. this memoir comes across as an all-too-perfect novelization of all-too-perfectly-horrifying circumstances (although i am not calling into question the veracity of fragoso's experiences), and the vocal style in which it is read only exacerbates this. i kind of wish i could undo my listening of this book so i could actually read it tabula rasa.

in regard to the actual content, it's not quite the call for vigilance against pedophiles' tactics that a listener/reader might need to imagine it is in order to justify traversing its more uncomfortable passages. at many times the author seems narcissistically enamored with her child-self's psychological complexities and frequently paints the relationship with her abuser as a thing of demented but humane beauty that brings out the best in both of them. this is certainly fragoso's prerogative as a writer and i don't begrudge her that, but the epilogue feels like an incongruous attempt to repackage the preceding body as a simple, earnest, shot-to-the-brain public warning for the decent denizens of a decent society. it is not so.

Impossible possible

Wow very insightful. The author allows u to conjure sympathy and at times even empathy for the Sexual predator of the story, without taking away from the enormity of the crime.. Finding yourself wanting the best for him and ar the same time crying inside for the horrible wounds he caused on his victims.
Great story.. Also informative for both the victim and the assailant.
I was crying towards the end, u want to help both..

Flowery only like a daisy

Beautifully written with ordinary everyday perspective. i was engrossed, empathetic and entertained. i wanted to learn everything about Margeaux. The narration , the father's accent, spectacular.

Couldn't finish

I like true crime and thought I had a strong stomach but I could only make it about halfway through - it's pretty disturbing and uncomfortable. The narrator did an amazing job which unfortunately made it harder to listen to.

Uncomfortable

This book was uncomfortable to hear, and at times I found myself wondering if it was even legal to be listening to. However, it’s rawness was necessary in order to tell the story’s truth. Sexual abuse and pedophilia are rarely portrayed accurately in movies and the details are often left out of the news. This book describes an intimate story that not all readers are prepared to hear, yet it is important. All the while, it was written beautifully.

Too Disturbing to finish

It was well written. With good narration. But I just could not keep reading it.

damn. brutal and truthful

this is a rough book. beautifully written and very well narrated, but trauma based and devastating. take caution if you're a survivor, but know this is a true story and there are people out there who've made it through and healed.