The Tiger's Wife

The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht 340 pgs.

This book is getting buzz and it is obvious why...Really great work by a youngster. How on earth does a 25 year old write an old man so convincingly? My favorite line is really a paragraph when the grandfather asks the young woman what type of medicine she wants to specialize in and her reply is "Pediatric surgery". Although there is some discussion, here is the part that just slayed me: "When men die, they die in fear,...they take everything they need from you, and as a doctor it is your job to give it, to comfort them, to hold their hand. But children die how they have been living -- in hope. They don't know what's happening, so they expect nothing, they don't ask you to hold their hand -- but you end up needing them to hold yours. With children, you're on your own. Do you understand?"

Now let me wipe these tears out of my eyes and get back to work. Lovely, lovely book!