"The Night Tiger," by Yangsze Choo (Session 2)

🐯 Do you enjoy reading myth- or folklore-based stories? Then here's a tantalizing tale for you, one set in colonial Malaya! Weaving a historical mystery with Chinese and Malay folklore, you'll find yourself immersed in a time, land and culture of Southeast Asia that doesn't garner much attention abroad. We'll rectify that a little here in our group, Old superstitions clashing with a modernizing society, Confucianism mixing with forensic science, and the hereafter blending with the here & now. You might just find yourself relishing this month's selection! 🐯

Publishing Date: 2019
Number of Pages: 384 pages, Flatiron Books
Author Nationality: Malaysian
Translation: English

From Goodreads:

A sweeping historical novel about a dancehall girl and an orphan boy whose fates entangle over an old Chinese superstition about men who turn into tigers.

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. Ren has 49 days, or else his master's soul will roam the earth, unable to rest in peace.

Ji Lin always wanted to be a doctor, but as a girl in 1930s Malaysia, apprentice dressmaker is a more suitable occupation. Secretly, though, Ji Lin also moonlights as a dancehall girl to help pay off her beloved mother's Mahjong debts. One night, Ji Lin's dance partner leaves her with a gruesome souvenir: a severed finger. Convinced the finger is bad luck, Ji Lin enlists the help of her erstwhile stepbrother to return it to its rightful owner.

As the 49 days tick down, and a prowling tiger wreaks havoc on the town, Ji Lin and Ren's lives intertwine in ways they could never have imagined. Propulsive and lushly written, The Night Tiger explores colonialism and independence, ancient superstition and modern ambition, sibling rivalry and first love. Braided through with Chinese folklore and a tantalizing mystery, this novel is a page-turner of the highest order.