The Tiger's Wife

A Novel

By: Téa Obreht

Narrated by: Susan Duerden, Robin Sachs

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST • The instant classic debut novel from the author of Inland and The Morningside, hailed as “a thrilling beginning to what will certainly be a great literary career” (Elle)

“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

“Not since Zadie Smith has a young writer arrived with such power and grace.”—Time

ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times; Entertainment Weekly; The Christian Science Monitor; The Kansas City Star; Library Journal

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.

Weaving a brilliant latticework of family legend, loss, and love, Téa Obreht, hailed by Colum McCann as “the most thrilling literary discovery in years,” has spun a timeless novel that will establish her as one of the most vibrant, original authors of her generation.

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: 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

Gorgeous

Wonderful story, told so expressively and with so much skill that you can't believe the author is only 25. Beautifully read by Susan Duerden. Highly recommend. I will probably listen to this one again.

Perhaps it's an unfamiliar speech pattern

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I believe the book is well written, and descriptions are rich and full.

What did you like best about this story?

I like the intertwining of plots

How could the performance have been better?

The main narrator, Susan Duerden, reads every sentence as if it is the height of suspension. In the suspensful parts of the book this works well. Unfortunately, it is not possible to remain at the very edge of cliff the entire tale.I found the voice inflection grated on me. With this in mind, I found it difficult to get through the book.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

"May I have some water?" asked the deathless man.

beautiful

beautiful character driven narrative with vivid sensory descriptions. touching love story between grandfather and grand daughter. intriguing bits of magical realism. thought provoking meditation on death, its inevitability, and its necessity. the relationship between the dead and the living explored.

Interesting, but not sure it's worth all the hype

The Tiger's Wife is a dazzling show of newcomer Tea Obreht's literary power. For being only 25 years old, I'm both mesmerized and insanely jealous.

Though I was impressed, I was ultimately disappointed and perplexed. The novel is dense and reads much like heavy literature. The story is interesting but it ultimately never goes anywhere. I think readers should know this novel is more of an academic exploration, a character study rather than a mystery waiting to be solved.

Susan Duerden is decent and does well pronouncing all the Serbian names and locations but I think she's overly British for this tale and I think they could have picked someone with a different accent. Robin Sachs brief interludes are terrific and really add depth and texture to the terrific character of the grandfather. I wouldn't change his bits at all.

The Tiger's Wife to me, is a heavily layered journey, emphasis on the heavy. It is enjoyable once you're a few chapters in but much of this novel felt like work. I recommend people read this book with a spirit of academic study. It doesn't read like a relaxing, engaging story but rather a maze of characters, time, location, wars, points of view and everything in between. It's a complicated book with little revelation and resolution.

By the end, I'm not sure the journey was worth it which is why I'm rating the book with 3 stars.

More than a Grandfather story

Loved it again and again. The narrators are PERFECTION. I made a connection not previously made the first 2 times I listened.