The Tiger's Wife

I had really high hopes for this book. 1: The cover art. Sure, you're not supposed to judge a book by one, but really, how are you supposed to be attracted to it in the first place? Let's be honest, I didn't go on a first date with my husband because he's a great guy. I mean that's why I made a lifelong commitment to him and took his last name but that wasn't the first thing on my mind when we started dating. He's hot. And so is the cover of The Tiger's Wife. In a completely different way, of course. Maybe it's more pretty than hot.

Whatever. I liked the cover.

2: I was impressed that this young author (she's like 25 or something) wrote something that is so critically acclaimed. That's the kind of young that makes me look at my life and say with tones of disdain: "What have I contributed to society?" But my own self-loathing is an entirely different issue.

3. One of the characters in the story is called "The Deathless Man". I'm always intrigued by immortality. Especially in the context of an otherwise non-fantastical story.

The writing was undeniably beautiful. I came into the house after reading in the backyard for about thirty minutes, and reported to my husband that the glow on my face wasn't just from the late-afternoon sunshine, but also because I thought I might be in love with the book. The idea of a granddaughter searching for the mysterious circumstances surrounding her grandfather's death was something I found incredibly alluring.

I'm glad the book and I didn't run off to Vegas, though. After about 70 pages, I felt myself a little disillusioned and kind of like I was on a date with someone who didn't have a lot of depth, but sure had a lot to say.

I went out on a date like that once. It was three hours at a Starbucks. And he talked about everything from his time in the military to his aunt's rice pilaf. I, on the other hand, spent most of the date nodding and trying to look politely interested. I don't think he asked me more than two questions about myself in three hours.

I'm sure you will be surprised to hear that there was no second date.

Politely interested is how I felt by page 100 but I kept turning pages, reasoning that all the hype had to be about something, right?

The pacing quickly felt something like running in place because there was more back story than forward motion. I liked the main character's grandfather and I was still intrigued by the Deathless Man (who would run into the grandfather at the most interesting times), so I found myself actually intrigued by the history.

Unfortunately, however, the ending left me more than a little flat. In fact, I felt cheated.

***Spoiler Alert***
It seems as though her grandfather died without purpose, and the Deathless Man had no apparent contact with her grandfather in his final hours as the buildup of the story would allow you to believe. I kept reading thinking that she would find out that the Deathless Man had been grooming her grandfather to be his successor or something. That when she finally chased down the Deathless Man, she would find her grandfather in his place. Not so much.

Instead, once she finally chases after "the deathless man", she finds Babra Ivan who is keeping up the charade for the sake of their small town. This is fine, except for the fact that there is absolutely no connection to the grandfather's death. No resolution. So the entire book was simply a young woman's rambling memories as she tries to come to terms with the death of her grandfather? For as rambling as it was...that idea wasn't strong enough for me.

Also the whole thing with the Tiger's Wife was incredibly disappointing because there was no resolution. And creepy. And weird. And unfulfilling. And pointless.
***End Spoiler***

Really, the narrative ended poorly. Maybe I invested in the wrong characters. Maybe it was the wrong storyline that I cared about. Or, what I think is more likely, is that the acclaim is deserved if you are not looking for compelling storytelling but words that are strung together beautifully.