4.5 ⭐️ 

Beautiful story, as beautifully written as the first one. This particular story captured my interest a bit more than the first one

My favourite since The Empress of Salt and Fortune. I’m fascinated by stories of non-human people, and here, by Vo’s attention to the ways that perspective, the teller and the listener, shape a story. The things that bridge difference are another subject here, with attraction, curiosity, and setting the record straight doing as much work as barter and diplomacy. These novellas offer a wealth of discovery around fictional, but somehow real, cultures, stories, and characters. Beautiful, wild, and deeply satisfying.

This is the second book of this series I've read. It's growing on me even more. It's a nice book to read when you're not sure what to dive into.

As always, Vo blows me away with her prose. One thing I love about these novellas is how we enter each story. It starts very much in the middle of Chih’s journey every time and while it’s somewhat jarring for a moment, it also adds a layer of immersiveness I think. As passive observers of events, more passive even than Chih themselves, it feels like we’re another traveler just over Chih’s shoulder who’s observing everything without prior knowledge. As if we’ve barely entered the tavern here a moment before Si-yu and we don’t know anything about what’s going on, but we’re along for the ride anyway. I think it’s also very effective as the setting itself and Chih’s journey is not as important as the actual story to be told, and by not lingering on that by spending time building that setting before the action begins, Vo directs our attention to the story more easily.

I loved the format of this one. Annotation and correction rather than a story being told in a singular line. It highlights the notion present in the other novellas, that stories are often told differently and that’s the point of them. “There are three versions to every story…” and all that. I like that this one presents two very different accounts of the same story, though it’s easy to see how the events line up and are interpreted differently based on culture. The distinct cultures of human versus tiger and the ways those differences influence how events occur. I especially liked the moment where the tigers pointed out that humans had ignored the way real tigers would’ve acted or behaved because they viewed everything through their own lens, leaving off the reality of the other’s existence. There’s something there to be said about biased reporting in our own world.

As usual, the world Vo has created is so lush and lovingly crafted. It’s clear she has created a full history of the world even if we only get bits and pieces each time. Mentions of old cities and dynasties and families are peppered throughout these novels, tied together but still not known to us. I wish I remembered enough of the other novellas I’ve read to try to fit together the pieces I know and paint a larger picture for myself. Regardless, it feels very much like a real, lived-in world, which is not easy to do in my opinion, especially in short novellas like these. I can’t expound enough on how immersive it is.

I also liked this story in itself a lot. I prefer the tigers’ version, especially the end, but the version Chih was told isn’t in any way bad. What I loved best, maybe, were those contrasts, in fact. But the ending of the tigers’ version appealed to me because it really followed through on the notion of desiring, owning, and consuming. This was introduced very subtly when we first see Sinh Loan knelt over Bao-so and reiterated with the book of poetry, so to end it in that way was such a beautiful conclusion to that through line. It also perfectly encapsulates that aspect of tiger culture and how distinct it is from human culture.

The only thing missing in this book was Almost Brilliant. Though Si-yu was a great addition for some levity.

Thus far, Vo’s novels all represent animals of the Chinese zodiac. I don’t know what’s next from her, and I’m very excited to find out, but I do hope she intends to write for each animal in the cycle.

I LOVED this entry in the Singing Hills cycle, particularly for its execution of the story-within-a-story framework and how dryly humorous it feels. Vo's reflection on how stories are told - and by whom - is conveyed through a tense encounter between our loveably nerdy cleric and three sister tigers they've encountered during a northern journey into the mountains. A quick and exciting read that had me laughing throughout.