Similarly to The Ghost Bride, Choo's latest work intertwines folklore, myth, and magic with the everyday trials of grief, feeling like one's fate is out of one's hands, and examining the gender inequality so present in society. Taking place in a different Malaya (Malayasian) location, mostly in Ipoh and Batu Gajah, during the early 1930's, the setting is a beautifully bittersweet rendering of a country that sees the blend of so many rich cultures side by side with the careful grip of colonialism.

In this setting, we meet Ji Lin, a smart, clever girl whose name corresponds with the value of wisdom, even if at times she feels she is always doing the wrong thing. Ji Lin loved academics and longed to study medicine, but her family forbid it due to her gender, and instead she is relegated to apprenticing at a dress shop and earning extra money as a "dance instructor" at a dance hall, the May Flower. In 1930's Malaya, working in a dance hall is seen as being very unbecoming and lowers her status, but Ji Lin enjoys the female friendship and it's the only way she can make enough money to help cover for her mother's secret gambling debts. Ji Lin grew up along side Shin, (or xin, the the value of faithfulness) her stepbrother, and they were always close, even sharing a birthday, until they finished school and Shin left home to pursue the career in medicine that Ji Lin so desperately wanted.

Running parallel to Ji Lin's struggles, we meet Ren, who is a possibly ten or eleven year old trying to pass for "almost thirteen", an orphan whose twin brother died years ago. Ren, an extremely competent houseboy, is on a mission to fulfill the dying wish of his former master, which was to be buried with his missing finger so that he could pass into the afterlife as a complete person. Ren, clever and determined and honestly the highlight of this book, goes to work for a new master, a doctor like his previous one, in the town where Shin happens to be working as an orderly.

In the background of the private struggles of each character is a possible man-eating tiger who may not be a man or a tiger completely, but some fearsome combination of both. Add to this a magical blend of ghosts, premonitions, and dreams that feel "like stories unfolding", and you can almost picture the perfection that is The Night Tiger. Drawing from folklore and mythology combined with beautifully evocative writing, I'm glad that Choo took her time with this manuscript because the finished work has turned out to be one of my favorite books (once again!) that will stick with me for a long time. I highly recommend preordering this book, and even though I received an e-ARC of it, I'll probably end up purchasing it as well. Not only is the cover gorgeous, but I feel this is the type of story I will want to read and re-read and get more out of it with each reading. If you love historical fiction, settings that are often not written about historically, and a blend of magic and ghost story, I cannot recommend this book enough.

I received this from netgalley.com in exchange for a review.

Ji Lin always wanted to be a doctor, but as a girl in 1930s Malaysia, apprentice dressmaker is a more suitable occupation. 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.

This book has a little bit of everything for everyone. Asian culture historical fiction, magical realism, folklore, superstitions and a well written story. Must read.

4☆

a colonial / imperial historical fiction,I enjoyed the book immensely and would recommend it especially if you like a story that is different. I will reread this book many times in the future

The Night Tiger is richly described and thoughtful. I liked how this author brought characters to life through challenges, and through their interactions.

Vivid prose from an author who is considerate of audience.

One of the best and most intelligent books I've read.

Briefly, the story involves several themes that pertain specifically to the areas of Malaysia and surrounding Chinese culture. Superstitions, interactions with the imperialist workers, danger of adjacent wildlife, and expectations for different age groups in the 1930s, to make a few. It's fascinating.

The storyline and integration of these themes are complex without being unapproachable. The complicated nature of the superstition that serves as the basis is slowly revealed without hand holding.

So often, a colonial / imperial historical fiction can carry such a heavy agenda that it is annoying to read. When that happens, it's also ironically all about the white man the author is trying to critique, preventing the "locals" from creating their own identity. In those cases, it's still like "The White Man's Burden," though the objective is to criticize that sentiment. This one just tells a great story, with plenty of depth for learning about imperialism, the era, and how the cultures worked together or clashed.

Spoiler: the love story within this was so well-handled. It felt like an authentic progression of feelings and exposure of the foundation for love. The characters developed within the story, as well as revealed their pay development as the story moved.

It's just so creative, I'm definitely going to have a book hangover after this one. I hope the author quickly writes another so I have something good to read.

What an amazing book! A perfect blend of historical fiction and fantasy, beautifully written passages (particularly the dream sequences) and fascinating characters - Ren and Ji Lin take this book from good to great. The author weaves folklore, tradition, superstition and obligation to create a vivid story of two characters on entirely different paths, and how their paths cross and intersect over and over again. The folklore in this book is so intriguing, it's easy to let it overtake you to a point you're not sure what's real and what's fantasy. I appreciated the fact that not all of the storylines were entirely closed; there's an opportunity to allow yourself to believe what you want and let the story take a path of your choosing.

I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone who has an appreciation of historical fiction and a bit of an open mind. And now I'm off to read The Ghost Bride ..

It's 1930s Malaya, and Ren, the young Chinese houseboy for a European doctor, has a mission: to find his dead master's missing finger and return it to the grave before the forty-nine days in which the doctor's soul must wander before moving on are up. If Ren fails, his master may become a were-tiger, a spirit animal characterized by a misshapen forefoot. Indeed, perhaps the doctor already is, as tiger paw prints keep showing up in Ren's vicinity. Meanwhile, Ji Lin, who unknown to her family is working as a dance-hall girl to earn enough money to pay off her mother's gambling debts before her unpleasant stepfather finds out that the debts exist, finds herself in possession of a desiccated finger taken from one of her clients.

There's no way in such a short summary to capture the richness and fascination of this novel, which includes among other things, a group of characters named after the five Confucian virtues—Ji (wisdom), Shin (fidelity), Ren (benevolence), Yi (righteousness), and the mysterious Li (order or ritual)—who must find a way to work together even though "something is wrong with each of" them. I asked for this book because I really enjoyed the author's previous novel, The Ghost Bride. I liked this one even more and highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys historical fiction in unusual settings, especially with a touch of fantasy.

THE NIGHT TIGER is a lush historical novel, set in a wonderfully rendered Malaya (colonial Malaysia). And—it’s #ownvoices!

I previously read and loved Yangsze Choo’s THE GHOST BRIDE, which has a similar setting but more fantastical elements. While I will happily sing praises for THE GHOST BRIDE, one thing that did bother me about that book is that the female main character had to constantly be rescued by men. So it was refreshing to open the pages of THE NIGHT TIGER and meet a dance-hall girl who had a lot of agency within the narrative and busted out her unique brand of feminism.

I enjoyed the other POV chapters, too, which followed an earnest eleven-year-old boy. It was compelling to read each of their stories, knowing their lives would eventually coalesce but not knowing exactly how. The mysterious premise that bound their tales together, involving a severed body part, was absolutely fascinating. There were other mysteries as well, which were also intriguing.

One of my favorite components of the novel was the incredibly rich historical and cultural details, which helped the story come alive. I also learned a great deal about Malaya. To be clear, it isn’t a POC’s responsibility to educate readers in their fiction; I’m just noting that I happened to find some aspects informative and interesting.

My pieces of criticism:
- The pace was too slow for my taste. I understand this is a historical novel, so I wasn’t expecting the breakneck pace of, say, the urban fantasy genre, but there were a lot of tangents that slowed the story. To be fair, those tangents sometimes helped with world-building, character relationships, etc., but I often found myself wanting to skim and return to the main mystery.
- The step-brother element weirded me out. That was uncomfortable to read.

Overall, this is an admirable and well-researched book, and I definitely recommend it (along with the author’s other writing)!

ARC provided from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, Flatiron Books!

In 1930’s colonial Malay, Jin Lin is forced to take a job working in a dance hall when her income as dressmakers apprentice isn’t enough to supplement her family’s income. There she ends up in possession of a glass tube with what appears to be a dried finger inside. Ten, meanwhile, is on a quest to fulfill his dying masters final wish. Ten must find the old mans severed finger or the mans soul will be condemned to wander the earth forever. This is a lush all encompassing story that swept me away to a land of magic and superstition where anything was possible. A truly transporting story

“Time is running out: there are only 20 days left before Dr. Mac Farlane’s forty-nine days of the soul are over. If by then he can’t find the finger, he’ll have failed. How will his old master rest? Ren remembers Dr. MacFarlane’s last days, shivering fevers. And then the dreams, the waking nightmares in which the old man would cry for mercy, or crawl slavering on all fours. If Auntie Kwan had still been with them, she would have taken charge, but in the end there was only Ren”.
“A gust of wind shivers through the house, banging all the doors simultaneously.
To Ren, peering out the window at the top of the stairs, the trees are a waving green ocean surrounding the Bungalow. It’s a ship in a storm, and Ren is the cabin boy peeking out of a porthole. Clutching the windowsill like a life buoy, Ren wonders what secrets lurk in the jungle surrounding them, and if his old master is in fact trapped in the form of a tiger”.

Ren is only 11 years old....a Chinese houseboy is on a mission to fulfill his formers master’s dying wish. His former master, Dr. MacFarlene, lost a finger due to an accident many years ago. Ren promised to find it and bury it with his body. The old age superstition says this ‘must’ happen in 49 Days...or his old master’s soul will wander the earth forever.

“Malaya, with its mix of Malays, Chinese, and Indians, is full of spirits: a looking-glass world governed by unsettling rules. The European werewolf is a man who, when the moon is full, turns his skin inside out and become a beast. He then leaves the village and goes into the forest to kill. But for the natives here, the weretiger is not a man, but a beast who, when he chooses, put on a human skin and comes from the jungle into the village to prey on humans. It’s almost exactly the reverse situation and in some ways more disturbing”
“There’s a rumor that when we colonials came to this part of the world, the natives, considered us beast-men as well, though nobody has said that to my face”.

William is Ren’s new master. Ren is grateful for the work. ....

Jin Lin was a rookie dressmaker....but the job as a student/apprentice wasn’t enough money to help get her mother out of a Financial jam. So on the side she secretly took a job working at the May Flower Dance Hall.
It wasn’t trained professional dancing ( which she was), that they were looking for. She had to learn the ‘Tango’ fast.
Jin Lin was bright- she wished she could have left for college - wished to study medicine and become a doctor like her stepbrother, Shin’s plans. ( they were born on the same day), and Jin Lin had higher marks in school, but the culture in the 1930’s, Malaysia for women wasn’t encouraging. So.....dressmaker/ dance hall dancer it was.....
Big MAMA at the dance hall had Jin Lin Cut her long braids off to look more like a modern -western woman. In truth if her mother or stepfather knew what her moonlighting job was - it would have bad news. It was not considered respectable in her family at all!
With the new dance name that big MAMA gave her - Louise- she got tapped by a salesman for a dance. When he asked her name, she forgot and gave her real name...and accidentally ends up with a thin walled cylinder made of glass - a specimen bottle - with a dried up finger inside.

Jin Lin’s 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 begins to get much more interesting- SHE’S BRIGHT - ZEALOUS- SHREWD - INGENIOUS.

This book is wonderful, covering a fascinating time period set in the 1930’s colonial Malaysia. ( called Malaya in the 1930’s). As you might be able to piece together - Ren and Jin Lin are going to cross paths. It’s filled with surprises- textured characters - ( engrossing sibling relationship), unexplained deaths - danger- humor - suspenseful turmoil - foods to make you hungry- ( I was so in the mood for steaming yummy noodles when I finished this novel), history - magical realism- ghosts - & tigers - forbidden love - Love -

I admit to an extra appreciation of my fingers, too.

Yangsze Choo’s writing was totally alluring giving attention to detail and descriptive prose. It also had the best ending!!!! I felt so warm and wonderful after finishing it.

Thank you Flatiron Publishing for sending me this novel. Many thanks to Yangsze Choo, too.