''The Night Tiger: A Novel'' is a 2019 novel by

Malaysian Malaysian may refer to: * Something from or related to Malaysia, a country in Southeast Asia * Malaysian Malay, a dialect of Malay language spoken mainly in Malaysia * Malaysian people, people who are identified with the country of Malaysia regard ...

author

Yangsze Choo Yangsze Choo is a Malaysian writer of Chinese descent, whose novel '' The Night Tiger'' was selected as one of 70 works in the Big Jubilee Read, a campaign to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II. Biography Choo was born in the Phili ...

, written in English. Choo took almost four years to write the book, including visiting the setting of the novel to ensure historical accuracy. In 2022, ''The Night Tiger'' was included on the

Big Jubilee Read The Big Jubilee Read is a 2022 campaign to promote reading for pleasure and to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II. A list of 70 books by Commonwealth authors, 10 from each decade of Elizabeth II's reign, was selected by a panel of ...

, a list of 70 books by Commonwealth authors produced to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II's

Platinum Jubilee A platinum jubilee is a celebration held to mark an anniversary. Among monarchies, it usually refers to a 70th anniversary. The most recent monarch to celebrate a platinum jubilee is Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and the other C ...

Plot

In 1931, in British Malaya, Ji Lin works as an apprentice dressmaker and dancehall girl. One of her dance partners leaves her with a human finger. Houseboy Ren is trying to fulfil his former master’s dying wish: to find his lost finger within 49 days. Meanwhile, unexplained deaths take place across the area, and there are rumours of the '' harimau jadian'', a

tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on ...

that can transform into a human.

Reception

The '' Washington Independent Review of Books''' Patricia Schultheis called ''The Night Tiger'' "a galloping good read that’s blessedly free of political polemics and post-colonial self-righteousness." In ''

Locus Locus (plural loci) is Latin for "place". It may refer to: Entertainment * Locus (comics), a Marvel Comics mutant villainess, a member of the Mutant Liberation Front * ''Locus'' (magazine), science fiction and fantasy magazine ** ''Locus Award' ...

'' magazine, it was called "an immersive ride into the past ��a slow burn of a novel that hints early and often at regional myths and legends. There is much more at work here, including the tender sorrow of Ren’s childhood and the violence that has long threatened Ji Lin." Writing in ''

The Harvard Crimson ''The Harvard Crimson'' is the student newspaper of Harvard University and was founded in 1873. Run entirely by Harvard College undergraduates, it served for many years as the only daily newspaper in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Beginning in the f ...

'', Kelsey Chen said that, in ''The Night Tiger'', "The world of colonial Malaysia is a pulsing, dynamic land. ��filled with exponentially heightened colors, dreams, and emotions in a quivering, hallucinatory mystery where local and diasporic mythologies come to life. ��a world hopelessly entangled in threads of fate and death, ordered along rules of ritual and folklore." The

audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sc ...

of the novel, narrated by Choo herself, was nominated for the 2020

Audie Award for Literary Fiction or Classics The Audie Award for Literary Fiction or Classics is one of the Audie Awards presented annually by the Audio Publishers Association (APA). It awards excellence in narration, production, and content for an audiobook adaptation released in a given yea ...

. In 2022, ''The Night Tiger'' was included on the

, a list of 70 books by Commonwealth authors produced to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II's

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Night Tiger, The 2019 novels British Malaya Fiction set in 1931 Fictional werecats Flatiron Books books Magic realism novels Malaysian novels Novels set in Malaysia Perak