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The Tiger's Wife

By: Tea Obreht
Narrated by: Susan Duerden, Robin Sachs
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Publisher's summary

National Book Award Finalist and New York Times best seller...

“Spectacular...[Téa Obreht] spins a tale of such marvel and magic in a literary voice so enchanting that the mesmerized reader wants her never to stop.” (Entertainment Weekly)

Weaving a brilliant latticework of family legend, loss, and love, Téa Obreht, the youngest of The New Yorker’s 20 best American fiction writers under 40, has spun a timeless novel that will establish her as one of the most vibrant, original authors of her generation.

In a Balkan country mending from war, Natalia, a young doctor, is compelled to unravel the mysterious circumstances surrounding her beloved grandfather’s recent death. Searching for clues, she turns to his worn copy of The Jungle Book and the stories he told her of his encounters over the years with “the deathless man.” But most extraordinary of all is the story her grandfather never told her - the legend of the tiger’s wife.

Named one of the best books of the year by: The Wall Street Journal, O: The Oprah Magazine; The Economist; Vogue; Slate; Chicago Tribune; The Seattle Times; Dayton Daily News; Publishers Weekly; Alan Cheuse, NPR’s All Things Considered.

“Stunning...a richly textured and searing novel.” (Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times)

“[Obreht] has a talent for subtle plotting that eludes most writers twice her age, and her descriptive powers suggest a kind of channeled genius.... No novel [this year] has been more satisfying.” (The Wall Street Journal)

“Filled with astonishing immediacy and presence, fleshed out with detail that seems firsthand, The Tiger’s Wife is all the more remarkable for being the product not of observation but of imagination.” (The New York Times Book Review)

“That The Tiger’s Wife never slips entirely into magical realism is part of its magic.... Its graceful commingling of contemporary realism and village legend seems even more absorbing.” (The Washington Post)

©2011 Tea Obreht (P)2011 Random House Audio
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Editorial reviews

The youngest author included in The New Yorker’s “20 under 40” fiction issue last year, 25-year-old Tea Obreht is no doubt one of the most talked about novelists in the business right now. And her highly anticipated debut novel, The Tiger’s Wife, has more than lived up to the deafening hype; it is an engrossing story that masterfully mixes realism and fantasy, exploring intricate themes of life, death, and wartime. Both Obreht and her main character are skilled storytellers, and to hear their beautifully woven narratives performed by Susan Duerden and Robin Sachs only makes it that much easier to escape into The Tiger’s Wife.

Set in an unnamed, mysterious Balkan country, The Tiger’s Wife tells the story of a special bond between Natalia Stefanovic and her recently deceased grandfather. Natalia is a physician charged with inoculating orphaned children vulnerable to disease in the war-torn countryside. She grew up very close to her grandfather, also a physician, and his sudden death in a village he had no known ties to sends her on a pilgrimage to understand the circumstances of his passing. Along the way, she remembers and discovers details of her grandfather’s past, including two stories he told her when she was a child one of the deathless man, and another of an escaped tiger cared for by a deaf-mute girl. Obreht weaves Natalia’s story with the two fables seamlessly. It is a delicate balance of realism/science vs. myth/superstition Duerden and Sachs guide the listener through the intricate structure with their affecting narration.

The Tiger’s Wife features a cast of dynamic, unforgettable characters, some with even supernatural qualities. Duerden and Sachs help smooth the departures from reality but also thrive in those fantastical moments (especially Sachs, in his delivery of the fables told by the grandfather). In the same vein, Duerden’s characterization of Natalia as a pragmatic physician unalarmed by the horrors of war and sickness is equally informed. However, Natalia is passionate about one thing understanding her grandfather’s life and death. The Tiger’s Wife is an enchanting story that will stay with you long after you finish listening.

Suzanne Day

Critic reviews

"Stunning...a richly textured and searing novel.” (Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times)

“[Obreht] has a talent for subtle plotting that eludes most writers twice her age, and her descriptive powers suggest a kind of channeled genius.... No novel [this year] has been more satisfying.” (The Wall Street Journal)

“That The Tiger’s Wife never slips entirely into magical realism is part of its magic.... Its graceful commingling of contemporary realism and village legend seems even more absorbing.” (The Washington Post)

What listeners say about The Tiger's Wife

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Gorgeous

Wonderful story, told so expressively and with so much skill that you can't believe the author is only 25. Beautifully read by Susan Duerden. Highly recommend. I will probably listen to this one again.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Perhaps it's an unfamiliar speech pattern

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I believe the book is well written, and descriptions are rich and full.

What did you like best about this story?

I like the intertwining of plots

How could the performance have been better?

The main narrator, Susan Duerden, reads every sentence as if it is the height of suspension. In the suspensful parts of the book this works well. Unfortunately, it is not possible to remain at the very edge of cliff the entire tale.I found the voice inflection grated on me. With this in mind, I found it difficult to get through the book.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

"May I have some water?" asked the deathless man.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

beautiful

beautiful character driven narrative with vivid sensory descriptions. touching love story between grandfather and grand daughter. intriguing bits of magical realism. thought provoking meditation on death, its inevitability, and its necessity. the relationship between the dead and the living explored.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

More than a Grandfather story

Loved it again and again. The narrators are PERFECTION. I made a connection not previously made the first 2 times I listened.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Interesting, but not sure it's worth all the hype

The Tiger's Wife is a dazzling show of newcomer Tea Obreht's literary power. For being only 25 years old, I'm both mesmerized and insanely jealous.

Though I was impressed, I was ultimately disappointed and perplexed. The novel is dense and reads much like heavy literature. The story is interesting but it ultimately never goes anywhere. I think readers should know this novel is more of an academic exploration, a character study rather than a mystery waiting to be solved.

Susan Duerden is decent and does well pronouncing all the Serbian names and locations but I think she's overly British for this tale and I think they could have picked someone with a different accent. Robin Sachs brief interludes are terrific and really add depth and texture to the terrific character of the grandfather. I wouldn't change his bits at all.

The Tiger's Wife to me, is a heavily layered journey, emphasis on the heavy. It is enjoyable once you're a few chapters in but much of this novel felt like work. I recommend people read this book with a spirit of academic study. It doesn't read like a relaxing, engaging story but rather a maze of characters, time, location, wars, points of view and everything in between. It's a complicated book with little revelation and resolution.

By the end, I'm not sure the journey was worth it which is why I'm rating the book with 3 stars.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

READ the book!

Loved the story---fascinating stories juxtaposing recent & not so recent events. I really liked the characters. Nice contrast of the rational & superstitious ways of seeing the world. It was a hard listen though. While the narration was competent, every word understandable, Duerden did not, to me, seem the voice of the character who was telling the story. Subtle but disturbing. The grandfather's voice was worse--an old man who needed a drink of water.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Hard to follow

This novel was difficult for me to follow. Not only was the story confusing, the narrator was monotone. Not an enjoyable read.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

breathtaking

The richness of the intertwining stories build and present a glimpse into a world filled with magic and secrets. The power of culture, tradition, mourning and hope. I will be holding this tale in my heart and searching over it in my mind for some time to come.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

masterful writing, but a bit hard to take

Beautiful descriptions, poignant observations, and at times the story was really fascinating, but much of it was gloomy, being set in the midst of the Balkan wars. This was not helped by the narrator's almost constantly urgent tone. Good literature, but I feel I need some fresh air after reading it!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Engrossing tales within tales, but ends flat

I think I voice similar sentiments as other reviewers. This story is amazing and engrossing. Each tale begins so far away from the main story, but manages to end up tying together the story in the present. There are great juxtapositions between science and supernatural, love and war, right and wrong. Because of the beautiful and elaborate descriptions throughout the book, in comparison, the ending seems quick, dry, flat, with a good part of the tale left untold. Sure, the author gives you enough information for you to surmise what happens, but why end so abruptly? It really does feel like the author was forced to hastily finish up the last chapter for a deadline. If you like extremely descriptive stories that make you feel like you in the characters' world, then you will like almost all of this book. The enjoyment of listening to the first 11 hours makes up for the disappointing last 5-10 minutes, but I wish the ending was given the care and time the rest of the story received.

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