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Comments (63)

What did you think about this title?
1 to 25 of 63 items
Apr 30, 2021rclane rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Enjoyed the fablelike quality of this novel rooted in Balkan history
May 26, 2020DasBean rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
I found this book a little tedious. The plot isn't strong enough to tie the stories in each chapter together, nor do the stories themselves provide any deeper insights into life. The writing is competent, but the effect is ho-hum.
JCLS_Ashland_Kristin
Dec 16, 2019JCLS_Ashland_Kristin rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
Magic realism and a historical tale in a unique setting. A couple of my favorite things. I understand why this is showing up on readalike lists for Disappearing Earth...plus Ms. Obreht has a new novel out this year: Inland.
Nov 03, 2019
Susan
Jul 03, 2019brabantj rated this title 1.5 out of 5 stars
Each chapter is beautifully written but the connection between the chapters is disorganized. It never provides true resolution re: her grandfather, the deathless man and her own story as a doctor. Not sure I would recommend this. Often…
Jul 01, 2019
I can’t rate this as I never understood anything about it.
Feb 12, 2019kmobuckeye rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
Ugh, two stars, but only because some of the folk stories were interesting. The purpose for this girls journey is never resolved, but the author wraps it up like she has covered everything and you should feel transformed by this book. Just…
Jun 29, 2017s390325 rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
This was a fascinating, disturbing, suspenseful, thought-provoking novel. The author writes of the wars in the Balkans and their after- effects in the in a very realistic and believable way, without ever giving any real names of towns or…
Mar 07, 2017multcolib_susannel rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
When her grandfather disappears, Natalia travels to a strange country to find him, using the stories he used to tell her as a map.
Jan 28, 2017rogebc_0 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
A very different kind of story, with an intertwining of myth and present-day stories. The setting is in the Balkans and the history and culture is a felt experience in the stories of this novel. There are classical themes brought to…
Jun 08, 2016RogueJen rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
A beautifully told story - the movement from one storyline to the next was sometimes confusing, but the imagery was vivid and striking.
timbert
Nov 12, 2015
Great imagination sections on mythical characters are best readers are at times left to expand or fill in detail for themselves which I think is a good technique for this kind of the story. In fact I feel the author intends to keep a low…
Sep 30, 2015brenstuhr rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Enjoyed
Aug 24, 2015LPL_ShirleyB rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
This is a well-written and complex story set in the war-torn Balkans; some intense descriptions of violence are included. The main character, Natalia, is coping with the loss of her grandfather. The deathless man and the tiger’s wife are…
Jul 30, 2015PoMoLibrary rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
From our 2015 #80DayRead Summer Reading Club traveler Mallee: Natalie travels to an orphanage in the Balkans where secrets lurk in the countryside alongsider her recently deceased grandfather's secrets.
msmigels
Apr 08, 2015msmigels rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
The writing is beautiful and Obreht’s extravagant imagination makes parts of the novel read like a picaresque romp through some enchanted Balkan kingdom, rife with magic, murder and mayhem. In the end, however, "The Tiger's Wife" might…
kbo90
Mar 14, 2015kbo90 rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Creepy little thriller set against a faux eastern European backdrop mixing together superstition, small town group-think, and unsettled bones. Yes please!
Feb 08, 2015flicka94 rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
This was an interesting book - but hard to get into for me and I had to push myself to finish. I felt that it picked up in the end, but I still felt that it didn't flow well for me. Still, the author definitely knows how to write, but…
Dec 13, 2014
NOT WORTH READING.
Oct 21, 2014LPL_ShirleyB rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
I was compelled to buy this book after reading the recommendation from Kelly at the Raven Bookstore!
Sep 20, 2014Sanrin rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
I was excited to read a novel based in the Balkans (an unnamed country), and it had won several prestigious awards. The beginning was strong. I enjoyed the stories of the past, depicting village life and especially of musicians and of…
Sep 17, 2014vesnamarjanovic rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
This is excellent book which will introduce you to Balkan countries, present, past legends and connection to rest of the world. I personally admire young author and her poetic description of animals. I am also very found of her…
Feb 13, 2014PRMorris rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
This was one of the Blind Date with a Book books. I thought the Grandfather's stories were more interesting than the modern day stories and the ending was weak. I have a feeling that I don't know enough about Balkan history or mythology to…
Jan 11, 2014JackieFC13 rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
My friend Caroline picked this book to kick off our book club this year. I have always wanted to read it, saw it in all the major book stores, on all the big lists of the books you must read and its just a neat cover. It took me a little…
Oct 08, 2013jshagouv rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
I really enjoyed being in the middle of this story, all the richness from the different time points and reading the grandfather's tales, I also liked the author's writing style and how things unfolded, but for me there wasn't the depth of…