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obfuscatress's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Progressing from a languid look into the lives of two young people to a dizzying, complex mystery that's rich with legend, this novel is a stunning foray into magical realism that draws expertly on its setting. Its unique atmosphere will keep you engaged, turning page after page long into the night.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, and Violence
Minor: Incest, Infertility, and Murder
_fallinglight_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book was fantastic, practically perfect. Even though this book was super slow I was engrossed and enjoyed a lot. I liked the adventure feel of the story with the countdown to retrieve and bury the doctor's finger. The powerful recreation of a 1931 Malaya. At points, I did feel like I could see the 1931 Ipoh and Batu Gajah, in spite of my aphantasia. And the telenovela feel! Books that read like a telenovela are always such a treat to me. Now, I'm not super thrilled with the romance (I'm almost never into romances until and if the writing and buildup makes me get into them, and I'll read whatever as long as I like it). But did I get turned on by Ji Lin and Shin? Yeah lol so that's what matters at the end of the day for me. All the boring, faux appalled people can go cry about it and leave Yangsze alone. If you sit there and think about it, what Yangsze Choo did was just a more bolder, spicier childhood friends to lovers and that one most everyone's into so stfu.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Murder
Minor: Incest and Miscarriage
jazhandz's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
I have a three strike policy with books: writing style, characters, plot. I could tell right away that I didn’t care for the writing style (strike one), and Ren was the only character I cared about (strike two, given how many characters this book is stuffed with). But the plot hooked me, so I kept reading. I would describe this choice as a mistake. The payoff was incredibly not worth it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Incest, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Medical content, and Sexual harassment
katherine_alexis's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Murder
medini_l's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Domestic abuse, Incest, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Abandonment, and Colonisation
sweekune's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
4.25/5
Audiobook narrated by the author.
Told from several points of view, The Night Tiger is a mysterious tale that draws you in. A dressmaker's apprentice, an orphaned house boy and a British doctor are drawn into the same mystery from different angles, surrounded by weretigers, amputated fingers and Chinese & Malay folklore and superstition.
- The different point of view were very distinct. some are told in first person, others in third and they all had their own separate voice and personality. I enjoyed Ren's parts (the house boy) the most but all were well done. informative but leaving enough unseen and unsaid to keep the intrigue.
- The whole book was very atmospheric and the feel of the different places and environments came across well. There were some dream sections where this was particularly notable.
- The author's narration was excellent and brought the story to life. As above, it was easy to tell which character's point of view was the present one due to the tone.
A strange but fascinating mystery story. Perfect for those who enjoy magical realism, Asian folklore and a good winding mystery.
Audiobook narrated by the author.
Told from several points of view, The Night Tiger is a mysterious tale that draws you in. A dressmaker's apprentice, an orphaned house boy and a British doctor are drawn into the same mystery from different angles, surrounded by weretigers, amputated fingers and Chinese & Malay folklore and superstition.
- The different point of view were very distinct. some are told in first person, others in third and they all had their own separate voice and personality. I enjoyed Ren's parts (the house boy) the most but all were well done. informative but leaving enough unseen and unsaid to keep the intrigue.
- The whole book was very atmospheric and the feel of the different places and environments came across well. There were some dream sections where this was particularly notable.
- The author's narration was excellent and brought the story to life. As above, it was easy to tell which character's point of view was the present one due to the tone.
A strange but fascinating mystery story. Perfect for those who enjoy magical realism, Asian folklore and a good winding mystery.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Gun violence, Incest, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Colonisation
kikicochrane's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
The Night Tiger was a pleasant and quick read for me, I enjoyed the overall story telling and setting of the novel. It felt like I was watching each character in their part and the pacing was nice.
Spoiler content below, includes end of book mentions.
While I agree with the other reviewers about being taken aback by the sibling romanticism and sexualization, by the end of the novel I came to understand that out of the main five characters, each had a pair. Ji Lin & Shin being step siblings but born on the same day, Ren & Yi being twins, Dr. William Acton & Lydia bearing the same Confucius virtue name. There were multiple warnings in the book that described that they each had something negative to watch out for within one another. Shin's possessiveness and indecency are the opposite of the integrity he is supposed to have given his assigned virtue. Ji Lin represents good behavior, her having romantic and jealous thoughts about her step-brother are opposite characteristics to that virtue. Knowing that they all had a flaw that could impact one another made me connect the dots to why Choo added this romance in detail. While I don't agree with pursuing a step sibling romantically, I understand why these characters developed those feelings with one another.
Spoiler content below, includes end of book mentions.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Incest, Sexual content, and Death of parent
pun1sher's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
The setting was soooo good and the writing style was very enjoyable too
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, and Colonisation
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexism, Xenophobia, Cultural appropriation, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Miscarriage
Romance between step siblingspodanotherjessi's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
This book explored Chinese culture in a similarly interesting way to Choo's other book, The Ghost Bride. The characters were a little less interesting to me, and I was more intriqued by the mystery in the other work, but this was still good. Overall, I'd say about a 3, 3.25... if not for the romance.
The romance in this book had a bit of a problematic element to it (specificallya romance between step siblings ), but it was well developed enough that I was willing to look past it. Once the relationship began developing in earnest, however, things got considerably worse in ways that were never addressed. Read the spoiler for details, if interested. Once the couple confess to being interested in one another, the man starts pushing the woman for a sexual relationship despite her not wanting that yet. He insists that they need to have sex so he can claim her and make her his, going so far as to say he needs to take her virginity so a suitor of hers won't want her any more. It takes her saying that she wants him alone and will be his without the sex to convince him to stop.
It just left a bad taste in my mouth that really spoiled the rest of the book. Especially since there's another very misogynistic character that the book starts trying to shine a sympathetic light on around the same time.
The romance in this book had a bit of a problematic element to it (specifically
It just left a bad taste in my mouth that really spoiled the rest of the book. Especially since there's another very misogynistic character that the book starts trying to shine a sympathetic light on around the same time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and Murder
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Miscarriage
elliejhnsn's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Writing was excellent. The story unfolded in a really captivating way. It is a bit twisted, mysterious, and dark, with magical realism, reflective of the land of Malay and the sociopolitical environments at the time. But, I think it was a bit too dark for me. It did leave me with a lot of questions still, but I think it did so intentionally, as it was a mystical story. Finally, and most importantly, the love story was NOT IT FOR ME DAWG. It felt so wrong. I definitely felt the way Ji Lin's mother did.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Incest, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism