Review: The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht

Tea Obreht's The Tiger's Wife has literally been everywhere for the longest time. This in itself is not surprising - Ms. Obreht is the youngest-ever winner of the Orange Prize for Fiction, and this fact is even more fascinating considering that The Tiger's Wife is her debut novel. Furthermore, she has been chosen as one of New Yorker's 20 Under 40 (aka, 20 promising authors who are younger than 40).  Not to mention, everyone and their mom bought a copy of The Tiger's Book, its exotic-looking cover beckoning from the shelf of your friendly neighborhood Barnes and Noble.

On the one hand, I am glad Tea Obreht sold so many books. She is a talented writer, and I am sure she is bound to be a great one after her skills receive some more polishing. Her prose has an ethereal quality about it, which is fitting for a book that revolves so much around folklore and magic. Its elements are deeply engrossing - whether its the contemporary story of a young doctor from a worn-torn Balkan country facing the horrors of war while seeking answers about her grandfathers' death, or the two myths that talk of a mysterious tiger and his human companion, and a man who has been denied the right to die.

It is all very fascinating, however the book ends up being less than the sum of its parts. Much of it has to do with the structure - Obreht's prose is quite wordy, and as soon as you get engrossed in one of the three prominent plot lines, the chapter finishes and you are forced to plunge into another one. I found this to be a particular problem, as I felt quite distanced from the majority of the book. I also couldn't but mentally compare it to Katherine Neville's The Eight, a book quite unlike The Tiger's Wife, for sure, but one that handled multiple storylines more than skillfully, building one on top of the other for a unity of effect I'm sure even Poe would be thrilled with. Obreht, on the other hand, simply meshes them together which, unfortunately, results in an ending I found very underwhelming and honestly, quite confusing.

Another thing that I feel inclined to speak when it comes to the novel is its treatment of the ex-Yugoslavian countries and the warfare that serves as its background, particularly since I happen to come from these parts. Obreht consciously misnames (or flat out refuses to name) geographical locations, which, coupled with anachronisms and fabrication of myth and folklore, effectively reduces the unfortunate history of Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia to legend, producing a sense of all-pervading vagueness and distrust of history. While I may feel inclined to reason that this particular instance of Orientalization (or Balkanization, if you will) works toward painting a version of history blind of national and ethnic particularities, underscoring the essence of humanity, pain and loss, I can very much see how some, especially those that like to keep their hold on history firm and as unambivalent as possible, will and have found this irritating and even disrespectful.

The Tiger's Wife is a mixed bag for sure. The book is almost saved by its enchanting eloquence and prose, which effectively overshadows what its trying to do and how it comes close to failing at it miserably. I think it is interesting to compare it to the prose of Anne Rice, which, although quite purple at times, never really detracts from the experience, as the author's intents mostly lie in the realm of entertainment. However, even if one gets the sense that Tea Obreht bit off more than she could chew, her debut novel makes for an often-mesmerizing reading experience and has made this blogger excited for the young author's sophomore effort.

RATING: 4/5

Interview: Kate Emerson

Please welcome Kate Emerson, the bestselling author of the Secrets of the Tudor Court series of historical novels. With the third installment, By Royal Decree, coming out in December (have you seen the gorgeous cover?), Kate has stopped by to answer a few questions about historical fiction, the Tudors and herself.

Why the Tudor Court? Do you find it more fascinating than some other period of British history and why?

I've always been interested in this period of history. I can remember reading a juvenile biography of Queen Elizabeth I when I was only ten years old. The Tudors and everything that surrounded them were bigger than life, making a wonderful backdrop for the individual stories of courtiers who served them. Before this series, I wrote mysteries set in the early Elizabethan era (Face Down in the Marrow Bone Pie, etc) under my real name, Kathy Lynn Emerson. The Secrets of the Tudor Court series is written as Kate Emerson to let readers know that, although there are always elements of intrigue in the books, they are not mystery novels. The secrets have to do with spies, treasonous plots, and the personal mistakes that haunt characters' pasts.

How extensive is the research you do for a novel? Does it take a lot of time and energy?

I've been researching the era, one way or another, for over forty years, so I have a huge library and many file folders full of notes on all aspects of life in Tudor times. For each individual novel, I have to do specific research into the lives of the real people I intend to use as characters and into any specialized areas (for example, how to play tennis and how "disguisings" were prepared and performed for The Pleasure Palace and how travel to and from Calais was accomplished for Between Two Queens). It is time-consuming, but also fascinating---what I term "painless research."

How would you characterize your heroines?

Jane Popyncourt in The Pleasure Palace, Nan Bassett in Between Two Queens, and Bess Brooke in By Royal Decree were all real people who had a connection to the court of Henry VIII and a personal connection to Henry himself. Women in those days were considered to be the property of fathers, husbands, or guardians and did not have a great deal of freedom, but they could work behind the scenes to achieve their goals. All three women were all trapped, in one way or another, by the politics and intrigue of life at court, but they were all survivors. In my fictionalized accounts of their lives, I try to make the choices history tells us they made understandable to modern readers.

What do you think about the ever-growing genre of historical fiction? Is there anything that bothers you?

I'm frequently frustrated by the tendency some novelists have to change history, especially when what really happened would, in my opinion, have made an even better story. Historical movies and television series are the worst offenders, since they don't hesitate to, for example, combine two sisters into one character and then marry that character to someone neither sister wed in real life.

Could you at least hint at what you’re writing next?

I'm just starting work on the 4th Secrets of the Tudor Court entry. This one will focus on Anne Stafford, Lady Hastings, younger sister of the Duke of Buckingham who was executed by Henry VIII in 1521. As I work on the novels, I also add entries to and expand the existing entries in my Who's Who of Tudor Women, which can be found online at my website.

Thanks for stopping by Kate! I'm sure we will see more of you by December. Good luck with the upcoming book!

Review: The Fire by Katherine Neville

My Katherine Neville giveaway may have ended (still waiting for the winners to reply), but this does not mean you shouldn't pick up the sequel to one of the most talked-about books in the past twenty years. Katherine Neville's The Eight took the world by storm in 1988, breaking all the literary rules, and twenty years later, the sequel is finally available for us to enjoy. If you like strong female characters, mysteries, danger and puzzle-solving, The Fire will delight beyond all expectations.

The books picks up some twenty years after The Eight ended. After a tragedy, young Alexandra moves away from her mother Catherine Velis, and is shocked to find out her mother disappeared as soon as she tried to organize a rather strange birthday party. It is not soon before Alexandra first hears of the infamous Montglane chess set. Not long after that, she finds herself in the middle of an unsettling, dangerous game of unimaginable proportions. The story overlaps with the journey of Haidee, the daughter of an Otoman ruler, who must make sure a valuable artifact stays far away from dangerous hands. In standard Katherine Neville fashion, the historical stories features such real-life characters, such as Lord Byron and Thomas Jefferson.

The sequel to The Eight has taken twenty long years to write, and the depth of research the author is famous for definitely shows on the page. Many elements from different cultures and time periods are combined here, and although the plot is not as tight as it could have been, it is a page-turner worthy of anyone who likes the thrill. A strange hybrid of Dan Brown and Tracy Chevalier, Neville manages to lure the reader into her seductive, yet dangerous world, and with her impeccable writing style overcome most of the faults this book might have. The pacing can sometimes be off, and the historical part is not as engrossing as it had been in the first instalment, but The Fire will surely stand the test of time, just like its predecessor has. Any Katherine Neville novel is a literary event to be cherished.

RATING: 4/5

Review: The Eight by Katherine Neville

I have already reviewed The Eight for Suite101 (you can find the review here). However, since I am hosting a giveaway of both this novel and its sequel, I thought it would be nice to revisit the book and write a new review, which should speak better to the readers of this blog.
The Eight was originally published in 1988 and caused quite a stir on the literary scene. Before this novel, there were no such books like The Rule of Four, no such writers as Dan Brown. Katherine Neville's novel was innovative on many different levels - it had two parallel storylines, it blurred genre boundaries, posing as historical fiction, romance and literary fiction at the same time. Finally, it used historical figures as characters, deliberately throwing them into a plot that mixed conspiracy theories, mathematics, history, literature, and of course, chess.

Retelling the story of The Eight is not an easy feat, because of its many layers. It is safe to say that it follows two female protagonists, one living in modern-day New York City, and one living in France at around the time of the French Revolution. The modern-day hero is Catherine, a computer expert and chess enthusiast, who is suddenly sent to Algeria on business. While there, she gets involved in dangerous, seemingly random situations that are all somehow connected to a mythical chess set. On the other hand, we have Mireille, a novice nun in 18th-century France, who is sent on a mission, along with her cousin Valentine, to scatter what appear to be figures from an ancient chess set. Many important historical figures appear along the way, including Robespierre, Napoleon and Katherine the Great.

The Eight is not a paranormal story about witches, sorcerers and their powers. Rather, it is a book that uses the clever metaphor of chess to portray the ways people act when confronted to danger, and how easy it can be to progress, or on the other hand, get into harm's way. This is all packed into an engaging thriller that will leave your head spinning after each chapter, all the way until the very end. The characters are all made out of flesh and blood. Although they are essentially the good guys, our heroins soon learn that in order to win this deadly Game, they need to take a few detours themselves. Apart from them, the supporting characters are amazing as well, especially Catherine's romantic interest, the mysterious - and quite possibly dangerous - chess master Alexander Solarin.
Katherine Neville's groundbreaking novel has often been called the female answer to Umberto Eco's "The Name of the Rose", as well as the novel that defined the genre of Quest Novels, by that influencing many of today's writers, such as Dan Brown and J.K. Rowling.
RATING: 5/5

To win a copy of The Eight, click here.