The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo

 

I loved this book. It was one of the most dynamic and well-written stories I've read in a long time. I love how Choo trickles out her details and connects her characters.

This is a book that's both a coming-of-age story, and one about the importance of truth. While there are multiple characters who are vital to the narrative, this is really only about two of them.

Taking place in 1930's Malaysia, Ji Lin is dealing with the restrictive society of the day. Her stepfather halted her education, even though she's quite smart, so she can't fulfill her professional dreams of being a nurse. Her mom has a secret mahjong debt, and Ji Lin feels a responsibility to help pay it off.  This means working two jobs, as both a dressmaker's apprentice and a dance hall girl.

Ren is only 11, but has lived quite a life. He's just lost his master, a doctor, to illness. A loyal houseboy, Ren promises the dying man he'll undertake a crazy mission of finding the doctor's lost finger and returning it to the grave. Without this missing piece, the doctor fears his soul won't move on. Ren ventures out to track down the finger, offering his services up to the surgeon who removed the finger in the first place (for medical reasons.)

You'd now think this is a story about a finger. Ren hunts for it. Ji Lin ends up in possession of it (that's not a spoiler.) However, the story is something so different.

For Ji Lin, the finger puts her on the right path, but her story is about finding her voice and her independence. She must realize it's okay to take control of one's life and share her thoughts out loud.

For Ren, the finger is what propels him forward to opportunity, but his journey is all about becoming more than a child. He's establishing his character through kindnesses and his decisions. If this book had a hero, Ren would be it for me.

Amidst all this, there's a lot of other stuff going on that adds up to an action-packed book. Most of the activity centers around a local hospital full of European doctors and local support staff. It's here where we find the night tiger prowling around. It's also here where accidents keep happening, random deaths occur, past transgressions are seriously felt, and love is discovered. This is where people are sneaking around, committing crimes, manipulating, and harming each other. This is the underbelly of the story.

The cast of characters partaking in all this action come together to create such a rich story. There's even a little magic tossed in, but its portrayal makes so much sense that it doesn't detract from the realism felt in every corner of this book.

With some great surprises and a lot of powerful emotions, Choo creates a story with depth that imparts a culture and an era in a tangible way. She explores emotion and devotion as ties that bind in both life and death. You finish the book content, and curious for what's next. Even though this is a story, I found myself wondering about the fate of the characters as I finished the last page. What went on to happen?

Go read this if you're looking for something different, and wonderful. It's worth it.