The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo
(Format used for this read: Audiobook)
I really love historical fantasy fiction… especially when it is written by authors of a different culture from my own….not only am I thoroughly entertained but I also get heavily educated.
Yall know by now those are two of my FAVORITE things in a book!
This novel also was a previous pick for Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club and usually I freakin’ LOOOOOVE what that girl chooses!
I have said since the late 90s that if the two of us ever met in real life, we would TOTALLY hit it off and have the very bestest time and would become BEST FRIENDS FOREVER…..
And the fact that we have VERY similar taste in reads is PROOF, yall.
Because what you read says ALL KINDS OF THINGS about the person you are and the people you surround yourself with…like it or not 🙂
So I had great expectations going into this one…..
Because you know…I listen to my girl Reese…. and what she loves I love…..
BUT…
I hate to confess I was a little bit let down.
Here is the official summary:
“An utterly transporting novel set in 1930s colonial Malaysia, perfect for fans of Isabel Allende and Min Jin Lee.
Quick-witted, ambitious Ji Lin is stuck as an apprentice dressmaker, moonlighting as a dancehall girl to help pay off her mother’s Mahjong debts. But when one of her dance partners accidentally leaves behind a gruesome souvenir, Ji Lin may finally get the adventure she has been longing for.
Eleven-year-old houseboy Ren is also on a mission, racing to fulfill his former master’s dying wish: that Ren find the man’s finger, lost years ago in an accident, and bury it with his body. Ren has 49 days to do so, or his master’s soul will wander the earth forever.
As the days tick relentlessly by, a series of unexplained deaths racks the district, along with whispers of men who turn into tigers. Ji Lin and Ren’s increasingly dangerous paths crisscross through lush plantations, hospital storage rooms, and ghostly dreamscapes.
Yangsze Choo’s The Night Tiger pulls us into a world of servants and masters, age-old superstition and modern idealism, sibling rivalry and forbidden love. But anchoring this dazzling, propulsive novel is the intimate coming-of-age of a child and a young woman, each searching for their place in a society that would rather they stay invisible.”
I reallllllly thought I would like this book.
I realllllllly WANTED to like this book.
I tried realllllly hard to get super into it.
The story was kind of eerie and mysterious….there are journeys into the Chinese afterlife and a whole “I See Dead People” Sixth Sense-type vibe with a couple of characters.
Don’t worry…its not like horror movie creepy haunting ghost kind of situations….because I DO NOT DO THAT KIND OF SHIT, YALL.
It also was a mystery/thriller….which I don’t usually jam with very much ….lots of wondering who is the REAL bad guy when terrible things keep happening.
I have to say though those twists and turns DID intrigue me and kept me listening and wondering “maybe it’s HIM…OR HER” each chapter.
The book also was about family and the ties that bind members together…which as we all know is ALWAYS multi layered and super complicated no matter where in history you are or what culture you are living in.
Family dynamics are always a fascination for me which I always enjoy in books, especially to see how they play out in various countries with different cultural norms and expectations.
Although…
There is a REALLLLYYYY WEIRD family relationship twist I did NOT vibe with AT ALL…..
like I just could NOT jump on board with it no matter WHAT angle the author spun.
Just NOPE.
Felt super strange.
(Yall can either read the book to see what I’m talking about OR you can just Google it if you are DYING to know what I’m referencing if you are NOT planning to read it…I HAATTTEE book reviews that give spoilers so I AINT GONNA DO IT!)
Even though I was kind of halfsies about liking or not liking the story, I will say I think the author is supremely talented and I really enjoyed her writing style.
After reading books about other cultures, I usually hit up Google to research some more of what I read about.
When I did that with this book, I came across Yangsze Choo’s own blog/website and really enjoyed reading about her life and culture in her own words.
She is humorous and fascinating and LOVES not only reading but also loves FOOD…
so she has recipes and all kinds of things on there…there are PLENTY of interesting entries about MANY aspects of Asian culture (food of course, folk tales, history, etc)
Check it out here if you’d like: http://yschoo.com
ANYWAYS…back to the review….
So….will I check out more work by this author in the future?
Yes, for sure.
Did I love this book?
Eeeehhhhhhh, not really.
Did I hate this book?
Eeeehhhhhh, not really.
That’s kinda it, yall. 🙂