The Empress of Salt and Fortune (The Singing Hills Cycle #1)
When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain by Nghi Vo continues to follow the adventures of the cleric Chih from The Empress of Salt and Fortune. In this delightful novella (120 pages!), Chih finds themself trapped in a barn with their companions and a mammoth as tigers threaten to eat all of them. In order to protect everyone, Chih must tell the tigers stories.
There's something gloriously poetic about Vo's writing. It's just gentle and pleasant and safe. I mean, sure, you sort of feel threatened by the murderous tigers, but we all know Chih's going to make it out alive, right? Chih's just wandering around the world, collecting stories and being brave, and we just get to sit back and relax into it. Delightful.
4.5/5 stars
Line of note:
The animals the law called friendly - the rooster, the cow, the dog, and the sheep - lived in the world of men, whether it was a palace or a barn. The animals the law considered wild lived in the forest or the mountain. There were animals that were considered equivocal, like cats and goats and rabbits, but there could be no mistake when it came to a tiger. (page 93)
Cats are equivocal!! That seems about right.
Ha ha... cats are equivocal. This sounds good.
ReplyDeleteI laughed so hard. It just seems SO TRUE.
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