Balkan fiction is definitely something that I can't claim to have previously dabbled with, at least not that I can recollect. Indeed, Britain has never been great at publishing fiction in translation and only tends to follow non-Anglophone writers as a surge after a breakout success. Post-colonial literature being the main exception, though much of that is written in English. The same is admittedly true of The Tiger's Wife by Téa Obreht, who is now a nationalised American, but it is refreshing to hear new voices from different corners of the world.
I wasn't sure how much I was going to like it, something about the title put me off – the combination of 'tiger' and 'wife', keywords in various recently successful books, almost sounded a bit artificial. I did like the cover though, bright, eye-catching and with an evocative illustration. As it turned out, my fears were misplaced, it was a good read and an example of how to successfully blend dual narratives (past and present). The writing is very assured for a debut, full of lyrical language.
Easily my favourite of the narrative strands was that of the deathless man. The folk story elements of this and its rich imagery were what made the book stand out to me. Similarly, the story of the tiger's wife was entertaining, but took a backseat in my view. I was less keen on the modern narrative, it didn't quite have the suspense I thought it would and was perhaps more of a vehicle to showcase the other narratives. The quality of those more than made up for it though and the modern one was far from bad, it just didn't grab me in the same way and therefore suffers in comparison. Overall though, it was a well-crafted, enjoyable tale and I'll be interested to see what the young Ms Obreht does next.
Book number: 81
Title: The Tiger's Wife
Author: Téa Obreht
Category: Books by authors I've never heard of
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