“We were
lost, and the only thing that could help us were the tiger. The more I looked at its black eyes, the more
I seen kindness, and I knew it were saying, Come, I’ll take you home.”
This is a
truly remarkable novel that had me spellbound from the first page. It weaves the story of Hannah and Rebecca who
are stranded in the wilds of Tasmania after being washed ashore following a
storm that kills Hannah’s Mother and Father.
As they are only six and seven and a half they have no way of knowing
how to get home and so appear two tigers who Hannah believes will lead them
home. Only the home they take them to is
the tigers and not the girls. And so we
follow them for four years, living with and becoming tigers themselves.
You read
the book as Hannah, the younger of the girls and it is written as she now
speaks as her English is not so good. I
thought Hannah was a great character and she really came alive on the
page. The narrative really made you feel
as though you were in the jungle living as a tiger and going through all the
necessary transitions they went through.
The way she describes her first hunt and kill are gripping to read. Her friendship with Becky is the basis of the
book as this is something that will link them together forever. I did feel, however, that Becky wasn’t a full
a character as Hannah but maybe this is because it is not told from her
perspective. I just didn’t seem to warm
to her as I did Hannah.
This book
made me realise that whatever nurtures you in younger life you take with you
your whole life and for Hannah that was the love and guidance of two tigers
that formed her character and gave her abilities she would never have found if
she had lived a “normal” life with her Mother and Father. This is a book I will take with me through my
life as it truly was wonderful.
