Tigers in Red Weather
by Liza Klaussmann
This is the first and last time I’ll ever read a book advertised in Oprah’s magazine. There are harmless books that took up nothing but your time, there are bad books that give you a sour mood for a couple of hours, and then there is Tigers in Red Weather. This book is so poisonous, I wish I’d never read it. I wish my mind would delete it from my memory, but I fear it never will.
“Nick and her cousin, Helena, have grown up sharing sultry summer heat, sunbleached boat docks, and midnight gin parties on Martha's Vineyard in a glorious old family estate known as Tiger House. In the days following the end of the Second World War, the world seems to offer itself up, and the two women are on the cusp of their 'real lives': Helena is off to Hollywood and a new marriage, while Nick is heading for a reunion with her own young husband, Hughes, about to return from the war.”
What the back of the book synopsis doesn’t tell you is Liza Klaussmann has written an abhorrent collection of characters. Normally, the villain in the story is limited to one or two people. Normally, every character isn’t vindictive, perverse, conniving, cruel, selfish, morally deficient, and mentally ill. This is not a normal book. And despite its praise and endorsements, this is not deep, poignant, or a revelation in storytelling. This book is chilling, and not in a good way. This is not the type of book you pass along to your friends, unless you are a character in this book and therefore hate your friends and have laced the pages with cyanide.
Please, please don’t read this book. Even if you read the first chapter and think it’s interesting (that’s what I did), put it back on the shelf and keep walking. You know I never give spoilers, but if you’re still not convinced, send me a message on my Contact page and I’ll give you more details.
“Nick and her cousin, Helena, have grown up sharing sultry summer heat, sunbleached boat docks, and midnight gin parties on Martha's Vineyard in a glorious old family estate known as Tiger House. In the days following the end of the Second World War, the world seems to offer itself up, and the two women are on the cusp of their 'real lives': Helena is off to Hollywood and a new marriage, while Nick is heading for a reunion with her own young husband, Hughes, about to return from the war.”
What the back of the book synopsis doesn’t tell you is Liza Klaussmann has written an abhorrent collection of characters. Normally, the villain in the story is limited to one or two people. Normally, every character isn’t vindictive, perverse, conniving, cruel, selfish, morally deficient, and mentally ill. This is not a normal book. And despite its praise and endorsements, this is not deep, poignant, or a revelation in storytelling. This book is chilling, and not in a good way. This is not the type of book you pass along to your friends, unless you are a character in this book and therefore hate your friends and have laced the pages with cyanide.
Please, please don’t read this book. Even if you read the first chapter and think it’s interesting (that’s what I did), put it back on the shelf and keep walking. You know I never give spoilers, but if you’re still not convinced, send me a message on my Contact page and I’ll give you more details.