The Tiger's Wife -- 9780385343831

The Tiger's Wife was interesting and really well done when you keep in mind that it was Tea Obreht's first novel. 

I thought that in general the stories were mostly interesting and she had some really good description in parts, a few snipits of poignant and intimate moments among the characters that affected me, but as a whole I was not moved the way other people seem to have been. 

The story of her grandfather's town's history (in particular, the life of the titular character) was the most well done. The butcher and his wife was the most compelling plotline in the entire book-- I like that not all of the questions were answered and that she filled in gaps in fact with the townspeople's decided, preferred lore. 

The storyline of the Deathless Man was surprising how it fit in to the rest of the novel, but that linking element was the part I liked best about that story. Otherwise, they felt inorganic with the rest of the story, in spite of their being framed within Natalia's grandfather's tales. 

Altogether, I felt the novel lacked cohesion and fluidity among its various parts. There were linking elements, but they didn't work well enough for me to feel as though everything that was there was necessary and/or effortless. A lot of it felt contrived. 

With the exception of the character of Gavran Gaile, the characters were more or less completely fleshed out and realistic. I liked the times when I was lost in the storytelling and the magical, fantastical tone that Obreht was sometimes successful in creating. 

In short, I really liked what the book was trying to do, and that there were times where it almost got there, but as a whole, it fell just short of pulling it all off. ...for me