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A review by tasmanian_bibliophile
The Tiger Catcher by Paullina Simons
4.0
‘“I’m dead, then. Good.” Those were the first words she said to him.’
Meet Julian. He is handsome, young and runs a successful business. And then he meets Josephine. Julian falls head over heels in love with Josephine. His world revolves around her, everything else in his life becomes secondary. But Josephine is a complex and mysterious woman and she has secrets.
Events and secrets separate Julian and Josephine, but he is unable to accept that he is separated from Josephine for ever. He sees Josephine everywhere; he wants to be reunited with her. In his search, Julian moves from the USA to the UK. His friends, whom he’s pushed away, worry about him. Julian has hit rock-bottom, when he meets a mysterious stranger who tells him he may be able to find Josephine again. He will need to give up everything. Sometimes, love requires taking risks.
‘There’s an essential conflict built into time’s very nature—that each and every event was once future, is now present and has since passed.’
Julian’s quest to find Josephine involves time travel and while time travel doesn’t always work for me, it does (mostly) in this story.
‘While Julian ate, Devi talked to him about the art of catching tigers.
“You must be quiet and motionless. A tiger is a fearsome, awe-inspiring, lethal force of nature. To catch him will require everything you have. You must become fearsome and awe-inspiring yourself.”’
I don’t want to write more about the story, to spoil it for intending readers. If you are prepared to jump feet first into a work of fiction, to assume that anything may be possible and that (perhaps) true love will triumph, then you may also enjoy this novel. Just imagine. I found this novel very different from Ms Simon’s other novels, enjoyable in a different way. This is the first novel in a trilogy, and I’m very keen to read the next instalment.
Note: My thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers Australia for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Meet Julian. He is handsome, young and runs a successful business. And then he meets Josephine. Julian falls head over heels in love with Josephine. His world revolves around her, everything else in his life becomes secondary. But Josephine is a complex and mysterious woman and she has secrets.
Events and secrets separate Julian and Josephine, but he is unable to accept that he is separated from Josephine for ever. He sees Josephine everywhere; he wants to be reunited with her. In his search, Julian moves from the USA to the UK. His friends, whom he’s pushed away, worry about him. Julian has hit rock-bottom, when he meets a mysterious stranger who tells him he may be able to find Josephine again. He will need to give up everything. Sometimes, love requires taking risks.
‘There’s an essential conflict built into time’s very nature—that each and every event was once future, is now present and has since passed.’
Julian’s quest to find Josephine involves time travel and while time travel doesn’t always work for me, it does (mostly) in this story.
‘While Julian ate, Devi talked to him about the art of catching tigers.
“You must be quiet and motionless. A tiger is a fearsome, awe-inspiring, lethal force of nature. To catch him will require everything you have. You must become fearsome and awe-inspiring yourself.”’
I don’t want to write more about the story, to spoil it for intending readers. If you are prepared to jump feet first into a work of fiction, to assume that anything may be possible and that (perhaps) true love will triumph, then you may also enjoy this novel. Just imagine. I found this novel very different from Ms Simon’s other novels, enjoyable in a different way. This is the first novel in a trilogy, and I’m very keen to read the next instalment.
Note: My thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers Australia for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith