dcmr's review against another edition
2.0
I'm the dolt who isn't in love with this book.
Unlike nearly everyone who has read this book, and my good and well-read friend who recommended it, I just don't get it. It's finely written, with a great command of language, but the multiple plotlines just never pulled me in. Instead I plodded through, eager for the end.
Unlike nearly everyone who has read this book, and my good and well-read friend who recommended it, I just don't get it. It's finely written, with a great command of language, but the multiple plotlines just never pulled me in. Instead I plodded through, eager for the end.
kasiaolm's review against another edition
This book is simply boring. Descriptions and digressions are overdrawn, too long, beside the point. There are too many details and side stories that don't add anything to the main plot, which moves painfully slow. The characters seem shallow and one dimensional and despite all the descriptions, all the “thinking” they do, we know very little about them. And they are not exactly likable, which I don’t mind in the book as long as there is an actual story, a plot which keeps me engaged. Here, the plot seems to be so distant, the action nonexistent and the ramblings and recollections endless.
Overall it is a disappointing book. It does not happen to me very often, but I have not finished it, gave up halfway through.
Overall it is a disappointing book. It does not happen to me very often, but I have not finished it, gave up halfway through.
sci_mom's review against another edition
2.0
I was not really enamored with this book. The writing was good, but I got to the end and thought, "What was the point?" It was very unsatisfying and several unanswered questions. It was also fairly depressing.
pjdas1012's review against another edition
4.0
"I will not remember this as sentimentality, but as greatness."
This book was so close to being 5 stars for me. At its core, it’s the story of a woman and her grandfather. Both are doctors in a war torn European country, and the granddaughter is trying to piece together her grandfather’s life based on two stories: the deathless man and the tiger’s wife. The central ideas of this book are the narrator’s relationship, conflict, and profound love for her grandfather and also the power of storytelling. The author delves into the formative stories of the heroes and villains, but the most beautiful moments of this story were when the narrator reminisced about her grandfather and how much she idolized him.
Strengths:
- Moving sentiments about a granddaughter’s love for her grandfather
- Exquisite storytelling with a haunting, fable-like quality
- Evokes deep emotions and made me think about it even when I wasn’t reading
Watch out for:
- Some passages went by a little slower than others and I ended up skimming those to get back to the characters I cared about (otherwise I would have rated it 5 stars)
- Graphic descriptions of severe domestic abuse and mentions of sexual violence. There are moments in this book that were extremely difficult to read because of how vividly the abuse was depicted.
This book was so close to being 5 stars for me. At its core, it’s the story of a woman and her grandfather. Both are doctors in a war torn European country, and the granddaughter is trying to piece together her grandfather’s life based on two stories: the deathless man and the tiger’s wife. The central ideas of this book are the narrator’s relationship, conflict, and profound love for her grandfather and also the power of storytelling. The author delves into the formative stories of the heroes and villains, but the most beautiful moments of this story were when the narrator reminisced about her grandfather and how much she idolized him.
Strengths:
- Moving sentiments about a granddaughter’s love for her grandfather
- Exquisite storytelling with a haunting, fable-like quality
- Evokes deep emotions and made me think about it even when I wasn’t reading
Watch out for:
- Some passages went by a little slower than others and I ended up skimming those to get back to the characters I cared about (otherwise I would have rated it 5 stars)
- Graphic descriptions of severe domestic abuse and mentions of sexual violence. There are moments in this book that were extremely difficult to read because of how vividly the abuse was depicted.
mcbethnz's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting study on the superstitions present in small villages isolated from greater civilisation
luandaa's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
jackiesam's review against another edition
5.0
It took me a while to get into this book, but once I was able to relax and let the story unfold I really enjoyed it!
ablotial's review against another edition
3.0
This book was really strange. I've been trying to figure out what I am going to write about it for a few weeks, but I guess it's time to give up and just write something.
First of all, it took me a long time to get interested in it. The first chapter is pretty boring, if you ask me, and the writing was too ... descriptive? Usually I like descriptions but this was kind of ostentatious somehow. And also disjointed. I didn't care about the girl, or the grandfather, and didn't understand why she was telling me some things.
And then the second chapter came, with the beginning of the story about the deathless man. And I was sucked in. That story was really interesting, and I wanted to know more. But the story ends in mid telling.
Normally, I like stories that jump back and forth between the past and the present. Normally, I like stories that are told from multiple people's points of view. But this one just got confusing. It doesn't just jump back and forth between past and present, but there are TWO pasts -- one when the grandfather is a small boy, and one where he is a young man who has become a doctor. And then, of course, the present, where the grandfather is old and dead. But all of these are narrated by the granddaughter, who refers to him as "grandfather" whether he is 8 or 80. It is confusing to have to remember that "grandfather" is an 8 year old boy on this page. And of course, when grandfather tells a story about the deathless man, it is sort of narrated -by- him, -through- the granddaughter...
Finally, I think a third of this book could have been left out. And it makes me sad to say this, because the part to leave out is the part about the Tiger's Wife... which is the title of the book.
The only important thing that comes out of that section (when grandfather is 8) is how he obtained his book, and why it had sentimental value. But a third of a book is a loooot of words to spend on saying that the book had sentimental value. And a much less elaborate reason for this could have been made.
Them going to the zoo didn't add anything to the story. The story of how the wife came to be in the town did not add to the story. Nor did the fact that she was deaf. Nor did "The Bear". Or pretty much anything else in that part of the story except that a) he got the book that meant something to him and b) he made a decision to become a doctor. But I am not sure those parts really needed to be explained for the story as a whole -- or at least not in such an elaborate fashion.
Now, the story of the deathless man, that was cool. And the people in the town and their beliefs, which led her to try to find the deathless man, the whys behind her grandfather's trip and his death, it all ties together. And the ending was really good. And every so often there was a really good sentence.
But ... something was missing. Or there was too much of something. It wasn't quite right.
First of all, it took me a long time to get interested in it. The first chapter is pretty boring, if you ask me, and the writing was too ... descriptive? Usually I like descriptions but this was kind of ostentatious somehow. And also disjointed. I didn't care about the girl, or the grandfather, and didn't understand why she was telling me some things.
And then the second chapter came, with the beginning of the story about the deathless man. And I was sucked in. That story was really interesting, and I wanted to know more. But the story ends in mid telling.
Normally, I like stories that jump back and forth between the past and the present. Normally, I like stories that are told from multiple people's points of view. But this one just got confusing. It doesn't just jump back and forth between past and present, but there are TWO pasts -- one when the grandfather is a small boy, and one where he is a young man who has become a doctor. And then, of course, the present, where the grandfather is old and dead. But all of these are narrated by the granddaughter, who refers to him as "grandfather" whether he is 8 or 80. It is confusing to have to remember that "grandfather" is an 8 year old boy on this page. And of course, when grandfather tells a story about the deathless man, it is sort of narrated -by- him, -through- the granddaughter...
Finally, I think a third of this book could have been left out. And it makes me sad to say this, because the part to leave out is the part about the Tiger's Wife... which is the title of the book.
The only important thing that comes out of that section (when grandfather is 8) is how he obtained his book, and why it had sentimental value. But a third of a book is a loooot of words to spend on saying that the book had sentimental value. And a much less elaborate reason for this could have been made.
Them going to the zoo didn't add anything to the story. The story of how the wife came to be in the town did not add to the story. Nor did the fact that she was deaf. Nor did "The Bear". Or pretty much anything else in that part of the story except that a) he got the book that meant something to him and b) he made a decision to become a doctor. But I am not sure those parts really needed to be explained for the story as a whole -- or at least not in such an elaborate fashion.
Now, the story of the deathless man, that was cool. And the people in the town and their beliefs, which led her to try to find the deathless man, the whys behind her grandfather's trip and his death, it all ties together. And the ending was really good. And every so often there was a really good sentence.
But ... something was missing. Or there was too much of something. It wasn't quite right.
jcpdiesel21's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted to like this a lot more than I did. The book jacket promised an intricate story that blended the present day action following Natalia with personal memories of her grandfather and folk tales involving him as a youth, but these three threads never fully came together in a cohesive manner and the book felt disjointed as a result. The pace is frustrating at times, and when read in small progressive chunks, I had to constantly remind myself when in time the events within each chapter were taking place since it jumped around often. I never felt like Natalia was adequately fleshed out as a character, so I had a difficult time understanding and empathizing with her or caring about her relationship with her grandfather. I did enjoy the tale of the deathless man, but ultimately this was an unsatisfying read.
ryangessner's review against another edition
4.0
I loved this book. Do you know those novels that are split into multiple stories threaded together? And there’s always one story you like least, or that bores you, and so you spend a lot of time muttering “come on, get back to the good part”? This book is all good parts. I loved the story of the remote town terrified of a tiger haunting the woods in the mountains above, I loved the story of the “deathless man”, cursed to never die but to always know when other would die, but I really loved the overarching story of a young woman’s love for her grandfather, and her captivation as he tells her his stories, or reads to her from his worn copy of The Jungle Book. And it doesn’t hurt that Obreht is a simply marvelous writer:
Without knowing I missed them, I wanted Bob Dylan and Paul Simon and Johnny Cash. The first time Ori got me out of the car, he led me across the dock to where his three-legged mutt was guarding an overturned crate, and showed me his stash, alphabetized, the lyrics mistranslated and handwritten on notepaper that had been carefully folded and stuffed into the tape boxes. By some miracle, he had a Walkman, which almost made him worth dating in and of itself, and we sat on the floor behind his table, one earbud each, and he took me through his collection and put his hand on my thigh. When, after a few weeks of saving up, I tried to buy Graceland, he said, “There’s a war on, your money’s no good”, and kissed me.
Without knowing I missed them, I wanted Bob Dylan and Paul Simon and Johnny Cash. The first time Ori got me out of the car, he led me across the dock to where his three-legged mutt was guarding an overturned crate, and showed me his stash, alphabetized, the lyrics mistranslated and handwritten on notepaper that had been carefully folded and stuffed into the tape boxes. By some miracle, he had a Walkman, which almost made him worth dating in and of itself, and we sat on the floor behind his table, one earbud each, and he took me through his collection and put his hand on my thigh. When, after a few weeks of saving up, I tried to buy Graceland, he said, “There’s a war on, your money’s no good”, and kissed me.