NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST • The instant classic debut novel from the author of Inland and The Morningside, hailed as “a thrilling beginning to what will certainly be a great literary career” (Elle)
“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
“Not since Zadie Smith has a young writer arrived with such power and grace.”—Time
ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times; Entertainment Weekly; The Christian Science Monitor; The Kansas City Star; Library Journal
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.
Weaving a brilliant latticework of family legend, loss, and love, Téa Obreht, hailed by Colum McCann as “the most thrilling literary discovery in years,” has spun a timeless novel that will establish her as one of the most vibrant, original authors of her generation.
ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: 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
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"Brilliant. I loved this book. I kept reading sentences over and over again just because it was so beautifully written. I also kept flipping to the back cover because I couldn't believe an author that young could write a book full of so much wisdom. Highly recommended! "
— Kita (5 out of 5 stars)
Stunning . . . a richly textured and searing novel.
— Michiko Kakutani, The New York TimesSpectacular . . . [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. [Grade:] A
— Entertainment Weekly[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 JournalFilled 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 ReviewThat 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 PostSo rich with themes of love, legends and mortality that every novel that comes after it this year is in peril of falling short in comparison with its uncanny beauty.
— TimeMesmerizing . . . [Tea] Obreht’s striking ability to explain the world through stories is matched by her patience with the parts of life—and death—that endlessly confound us.
— The Boston GlobeMakes for a thrilling beginning to what will certainly be a great literary career.
— ElleA compelling, persuasive writer, Obreht brings improbable elements to life on the page. Better, she makes them snap together with such magical skill that even the skeptical reader believes.
— Chicago Sun-TimesIn Obreht’s expert hands, the novel’s mythology, while rooted in a foreign world, comes to be somehow familiar, like the dark fairy tales of our own youth, the kind that spooked us into reading them again and again.
— O: The Oprah MagazineObreht writes with an angel’s pen . . . creating a skein of descriptive passages flush with apt details and ringing with lyrical diction about city life, country life, private dreams and public difficulties.
— NPR’s “All Things Considered”Gorgeous . . . one of the most extraordinary debut novels in recent memory.
— VogueEvery word, every scene, every thought is blazingly alive in this many-faceted, spellbinding, and rending novel of death, succor, and remembrance.
— Booklist (starred review)A spectacular accomplishment . . . written in a wry, classical, luxuriant style reminiscent of Tolstoy.
— Marie ClaireA beguiling blend of realism, myth and legend, this novel possesses a presence and force, essential ingredients for a novel that is very much rooted in reality yet transcends time.
— Elizabeth Taylor, Chicago Tribune Editor’s ChoiceSentence by sentence, no fictional debut in 2011 was more arresting than this novel.
— Cleveland Plain Dealer" I loved the allusions to this nameless war in this nameless country. I loved the magic of the tales interspersed with the real horrors, superstitions, and violence. "
— Francine, 5/23/2011" This was too allegorical for me. "
— Aprocuniar, 5/23/2011" Audio version; found it confusing. Just wanted to finish! "
— Helene, 5/21/2011" Under no circumstances should you finish reading this beautiful book in public or without access to tissues. Exquisitely crafted and soulful without being sappy, I loved it. "
— K, 5/20/2011" Three stars for the Deathless Man; otherwise, a promise unfulfilled. "
— Cathy, 5/20/2011" It took a bit for me to get into this, but I really enjoyed it. Good, solid writing and a haunting story. "
— Sarah, 5/19/2011" Extremely boring, extremely confusing. I read and re-read most of 137 pages and then gave up and read the ending. I didn't miss a thing! "
— Patti, 5/18/2011Téa Obreht was born in Belgrade in the former Yugoslavia in 1985 and has lived in the United States since the age of twelve. Her writing has been published in the New Yorker, the Atlantic, Harper’s, and the Guardian, and has been anthologized in The Best American Short Stories and The Best American Nonrequired Reading. She has been named by the New Yorker as one of the twenty best American fiction writers under forty. She lives in New York.
Susan Duerden is an actress and an Earphones Award–winning audiobook narrator. Her reading of The Tiger’s Wife by Téa Obreht earned her an AudioFile Best Voice Award and a Booklist Editors’ Choice Award. She has won ten AudioFile Earphones Awards. Here career spans film, television, theater, voice-overs, and animation. She has played critically acclaimed and award-winning theatrical roles on London’s West End and Off Broadway; acted in the features Lovewrecked and Flushed Away; and held a recurring role on ABC’s Lost.
Robin Sachs (1951–2013), actor and narrator, was raised in London and trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. His audiobook narrations earned ten Earphones Awards. His acting credits include Alias, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dynasty, Nowhere Man, Babylon 5, Diagnosis Murder, Galaxy Quest, Northfork, Ocean’s 11, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, and Megalodon.