"The Night Tiger" by Yangsze Choo : a book review

"The Night Tiger" by Yangsze Choo

A book review

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 becomes 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, puts 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.

I had, of course, heard of werewolves before.  And, thanks to Wallace and Gromit, I’m familiar with were-rabbits as well.  However, before reading Yangsze Choo’s The Night Tiger, the figure of the weretiger was new to me.  In the notes at the end of the novel, Choo explains that the spirit tigers appeared in different guises in Asian folklore and were revered with a mixture of respect and dread.  Choo also suggests (although it is not clear whether this is based on actual beliefs or a fictional reinterpretation) that a body which is not buried “whole” can return to prey on humans as a weretiger – a sort of Asian cross between the werewolf and the vampire.

Taking this as a starting point, Choo crafts an engaging historical novel set in 1930s colonial Malaya.  Young Ren is a houseboy for an eccentric English doctor. In the final months of his life, his master falls prey to feverish delusions and starts to confess to nightly roams and killings in the neighbourhood.  On his deathbed, he sends his trusted houseboy on a mission – within forty-nine days from his death, Ren must track his master’s amputated finger and reunite it with his body – otherwise, the soul of the old doctor will not rest.  Ren’s path crosses that of Ji Lin, an apprentice dressmaker and part-time dancehall girl who coincidentally ends up in possession of the finger.  The severed body part however is the least of her worries – what with strange men following her (and then falling dead) and trouble brewing between her and her stepfather.   

The names/words “Ren” and “Ji” refer  to two of the five “Confucian Virtues”, and it turns out that the destinies of “Ren” and “Ji” are also closely tied to those of three other figures named after these virtues: Ren’s dead twin brother “Yi”, Ji Lin’s stepbrother “Shin” and a fifth characters which will – to avoid spoilers – remain unnamed.  The link between these characters is highlighted in several dream sequences where the dead seemingly interact with the living.

I found The Night Tiger to be an enjoyable novel. The historical and cultural context is well-researched and conveyed in atmospheric prose.  For most of the book, the plot zips along at a fast pace, its twists and turns making this an entertaining ride. 

Yet, I have two major reservations about the book, both of which refer to approach and style.  First of all, considering the supernatural underpinning of the novel and its share of gruesome episodes, it had all the potential to become an unsettling piece of speculative fiction played out against a historical backdrop.  Instead, Choo chooses to concentrate on the various romantic sub-plots, mostly centred around the boyish but apparently irresistibly attractive Ji Lin. As a result, Choo steers away from horror and ventures instead into YA Romance territory.  No doubt, several readers will be perfectly fine with this.  I, for one, would have preferred a much darker book.

Another issue is that by the end of the book, it becomes somewhat overburdened with unlikely narrative twists and facile explanations.  Of course, in a supernatural novel about weretigers, it is reasonable to suspend one’s disbelief.  Yet, even allowing for cosmic connections and otherworldly interventions, some “coincidences” just seem too convenient.    

These reservations aside, I would recommend the book to lovers of historical novels who do not mind romance generously thrown into the mix.  Horror fans can, however, safely give this a miss.

Kindle Edition, 480 pages

Published February 12th 2019 by Quercus