The Tiger's Wife (Tea Obreht)

This book has gotten quite a lot of buzz. Tea Obreht has already won plenty of critical acclaim for her short stories, so expectations for her first book are high. And she hasn't disappointed.

I will admit that this book probably went over my head. OK, it totally went over my head. But I still enjoyed the Obreht's writing and her creativity. The book has multiple story lines with the story of Natalia and her grandfather serving as the anchor. The book gets its title from a story Natalia's grandfather tells her about his childhood.

Surprisingly, that story doesn't dominate the bulk of the book. It shares the spotlight with the story of the deathless man. Natalia's grandfather meets the deathless man during one of the wars that appear in the book. This character should come across as a little creepy, but he grew on me. The man is shot and drowned and still manages to keep himself in a pretty good mood. Who would have thought, right?

I don't think I'd ever read something set in the modern-day former Yugoslavia. I'm around the author's age (OK, she's a couple of years younger) so I don't remember too much about the conflict there in the early 90s. Obreht took me there, even if on a bit of a surreal cloud. Maybe it's more of a statement on what I usually read than on Obreht's writing, but I haven't read anything quite like this. If you're looking for a casual read, this book isn't for you. But the writing is quite enjoyable--and quite good--and worth the extra brain cells required.

Next up: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lack, by Rebecca Skloot.