The Tiger´s Wife

More about the book

Weaving a brilliant latticework of family legend, loss, and love, Téa Obreht has crafted a timeless novel that showcases her as one of the most vibrant authors of her generation. In a Balkan country healing from conflict, Natalia, a young doctor, arrives at an orphanage by the sea on a mission of mercy. As she and her lifelong friend Zóra begin to inoculate the children, age-old superstitions and secrets begin to surface around them. These secrets involve a mysterious family digging in the vineyards and are intertwined with the landscape itself. Simultaneously, Natalia grapples with her own painful mystery: the circumstances surrounding her beloved grandfather’s recent death. After telling her grandmother he was en route to meet Natalia, he instead traveled to an unknown settlement and died alone. A renowned physician, he must have known he was too ill to travel, making his departure a riddle Natalia feels compelled to solve. Grieving and searching for clues, she reflects on the stories he shared during her childhood, including tales of “the deathless man,” a vagabond claiming immortality. The most extraordinary tale, however, is one her grandfather never told her, involving a snowbound village during World War II haunted by a tiger. Ultimately, Natalia discovers that these stories run like secret rivers through her grandfather’s life, leading her to the answers she seeks.