The Night Tiger

Recently, we have been trying to find books set in other countries and cultures. The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo was exactly the kind of book Ariel and I were looking for. Set in colonized Malaysia, this was a neat story, teaching us about Chinese and Malaysian culture as well as the life of Englishmen, doctors in particular, leaving there. We are excited to share this discussion with you! Let’s take a look at the synopsis first:

A sweeping historical novel about a dancehall girl and an orphan boy whose fates entangle over an old Chinese superstition about men who turn into tigers.

When 11-year-old Ren’s master dies, he makes one last request of his Chinese houseboy: that Ren find his severed finger, lost years ago in an accident, and reunite it with his body. Ren has 49 days, or else his master’s soul will roam the earth, unable to rest in peace.

Ji Lin always wanted to be a doctor, but as a girl in 1930s Malaysia, apprentice dressmaker is a more suitable occupation. Secretly, though, Ji Lin also moonlights as a dancehall girl to help pay off her beloved mother’s Mahjong debts. One night, Ji Lin’s dance partner leaves her with a gruesome souvenir: a severed finger. Convinced the finger is bad luck, Ji Lin enlists the help of her erstwhile stepbrother to return it to its rightful owner.
As the 49 days tick down, and a prowling tiger wreaks havoc on the town, Ji Lin and Ren’s lives intertwine in ways they could never have imagined. Propulsive and lushly written, The Night Tiger explores colonialism and independence, ancient superstition and modern ambition, sibling rivalry and first love. Braided through with Chinese folklore and a tantalizing mystery, this novel is a page-turner of the highest order.

Content Notes: amputated digits, some graphic violence, murder

First Impressions

This is one of my most anticipated buddy reads with you, Kriti! I read The Ghost Bride in 2019 and loved it very much. I am excited to dive into this book and learn a little about Malaysian culture in the process! I love all things folklore inspired, and with this book promising that plus a historical fiction context; this book looks like it’ll be a great read. 

Though I don’t know exactly how this started but I am curious to read books set in other places. I have even read more books set back in India. I am excited about The Night Tiger because of the setting (Malaysia), which is close to India, as well as the fact that this is historical fiction. I used to read that genre a lot but lately, it has not been much. Excited to see where this story goes!

General Discussion (whole book)

I think what I enjoyed most about this story was the setting. It was a beautiful historical fiction with folklore and Malaysian culture woven throughout in a way that captured my attention. 

I enjoyed learning about folklore and the Malaysian culture as well. Seeing a variety of characters in terms of ethnicity, languages and origins was neat. The different roles in the story, from doctor, houseboy, a girl working hard for her mother’s debts, added many dimensions to the narrative.

On The Cast of The Night Tiger

The Night Tiger has a number of characters, the primary ones being the five people who were named after the Confusian Virtues. One of them is Ren, the other is Ji – both of whom we met in the synopsis. The connection between them and how they fit together in the big puzzle of this story was an interesting journey for me. It was a great way to learn about the meaning behind these words. What did you think of the main characters, Ariel?

I think that there was a good potential for a great ensemble of characters. Mainly symbolic, each of these characters encompassed characteristics that held significance not only in the physical realm, but the spiritual as well. 

I feel the same. I liked the spiritual connections.

There were, however, a couple characters that seemed to detract from the main point of the story, and for us, it was namely Shin, Ji Lin’s adoptive stepbrother she met when she was ten years old. (spoiler alert)– Ji Lin’s slow build from crush to romance with Shin seemed to distract Ji Lin from her other objectives.

The relationship that Shin and Ji had was complicated. It’s development did not add anything to the story. If the point was to show another aspect of the culture and how men assume that they have power over women and women are nothing without them, there were other aspects of the story that were already doing that, like Ji’s stepfather. 

I felt that in the course of this book, I met almost a village of people! 🙂 That speaks to the tight knit community in the book, but it also leads to more characters to keep track of, even in smaller roles. There were numerous mysteries in this book, from the weretiger to the person making money off amputated digits… a couple of the paths that we were led down were misleading. That’s part of the mystery genre but maybe I was expecting a more straightforward story.

On Subjective Experiences

After reading The Ghost Bride, I was really excited to read this. I went in with a sense of familiarity with the writing and loved the little reference to The Ghost Bride’s story early on in the book. I think that favored my experience towards the story, and it wasn’t until about 2/3rds of the way through I began to see my immersion declining. Learning about a historical Malay was fascinating, and I loved the mosaic of cultures that the author weaves throughout the stories. Since there were so many characters, I don’t think I felt particularly emotionally attached to any one of them, and so the finale felt a bit muted for me. 

I really enjoyed the reference to The Ghost Bride too since it is on my TBR and I have heard good things about it from you. Towards the beginning of the book, when I was learning about Malaysia and the culture there, it reminded me a lot about India and what I have learned about it during colonial times. That gave me a feeling of home, and also an opportunity to talk to you, Ariel, about my own culture in terms of similarities. I appreciate that this book gave us that platform!

Once the setting was in place, the rest of the story felt a bit disconnected. I found the infusion of culture, languages, paranormal elements and the sheer number of characters and mysteries, a bit overwhelming. Though they mixed well, the way most of things connected seemed like with a thin thread. 

Yes I agree! And perhaps that was intentional, and to show how the threads of fate can change and shift easily. 

That’s a cool way to look at it. Personally for me, I just like stronger connections I suppose.

On Plot Progression

The story starts out with many threads of unknowns, and as any true mystery novel, we are carried along with the different characters as they go from different trajectories. They kept my interest well enough, but it was ultimately the tension that the spirit world had with the physical realm that kept me hooked throughout. 

The spirit world really added to my reading experience too. I liked when it cropped up in the story and the influence it had on the real world. The extent of engagement of the British characters with the spirit world was also interesting to see. They offered another one of those periphery aspects.

Concluding Thoughts on The Night Tiger

So much of this book that I enjoyed was the potential. I was constantly wondering what would happen next. While there were some elements that detracted from the main story, if historical fiction mysteries with a touch of the paranormal are up your alley, then this book is for you!

This book has a lot to offer, and I hope that if you decide to pick it up, you will learn something new!

---

That’s all for our discussion for The Night Tiger! You know we love describing our reading experience to you! Here is a summary of our read:

Interested in reading The Night Tiger and adding to our discussion? Find it on all retail stores. Here are the Amazon links for your convenience. I would recommend finding it at your local library.
Amazon Print
Amazon Kindle

Image of the path from Unsplash.
Banner image of night sky from Unsplash.