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Content snapshot
Flag an inaccuracy →What's in this book, at a glance — five things readers want to know before they start.
Violence
A lot
War violence, wartime atrocities, and the violence of displacement depicted throughout; a tiger kills people
Language
Barely any
Minimal profanity; Obreht's prose is lyrical
Sexual Content
Barely any
Minimal sexual content
Substance Use
None
No substance use
Emotional Intensity
A lot
The weight of war on civilian life, the way trauma passes through generations, and the mystery of death create significant psychological depth
What this book is about
Téa Obreht's debut novel follows Natalia, a young doctor crossing the border of a post-war Balkan country on a humanitarian mission, who learns her grandfather has died far from home. The novel weaves her search for the truth of his final journey with his own stories: of a deathless man who cannot die, and of a tiger that escaped a bombed zoo and lived in the mountains during the Nazi occupation. The violence of war and occupation, and the magical realist elements, create a lyrical and disturbing book.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
Wartime atrocities in Balkan setting
Death and loss as central themes
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