—> I liked this tiger picture because he looks puffed up and self-important, which is often how I feel while I’m writing posts. <—
It’s been two weeks since I finished The Tiger Claw and I sat down to update and couldn’t at all remember what I had read since Galveston, which can’t be a good sign (whether of my memory or of the texts, I can’t be sure).
I took The Tiger Claw on a week’s holiday with my family, which always means ample time to read. Even with all kinds of opportunity, I struggled to motivate myself to keep reading. I suppose there’s only one way to put it: The Tiger Claw was boring. And it has no right to be! It’s set during World War Two (always a scintillating period) and features Noor Khan – an Indian-British-French resistance fighter. There should be intrigue! action! fast-paced… anything! Alas, even with occasional moments of action the heavy-handed imagery and aspiring-epic scenery descriptions makes it feels like nothing happens for four hundred pages. I do admit I found the last hundred or so to be engaging, but really, not enough of a payoff to make up for the sluggish first 4/5ths.
I’m glad I’ve written this, as maybe it will mean I’ll remember having read this book. Maybe.
Literary Vice 