History Literature / TheTigersWife

* DownerEnding: [[spoiler: For the Tiger's Wife plotline. Not only do the blacksmith, Luka, and Darisa all get killed but the Tiger's Wife is poisoned and it drives the apothecary into madness until he's hung by enemy soldiers.]]

* MagicalRealism

* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane

* AbusiveParents: Luka's father who not only beat all six of his sons (especially Luka) but even threatens to rape his daughter in law, a fourteen year old deaf-mute, if Luka doesn't do the deed himself. Duré is one as well considering he's making his children search for a body that he buried despite all of the children being very ill to the point that they need medical attention.

* DownerEnding: [[spoiler: For the Tiger's Wife plotline.]]

* MeaningfulName: Zóra, who epitomises the younger generation and new, posut-war culture of the country, means "dawn".

* RaisedByGrandparents: Natalia's grandfather was raised by his grandmother, Mother Vera, after the death of his mother in childbirth. And Natalia herself was co-parented by her mother and grandparents.
* {{Ruritania}}: The country where it takes place has elements of this, especially in the parts which take place in the early twentieth century.

* TheWoobie: The Tiger's Wife. Not only is she mute and abused because of her disability, but she is forcibly married to Luka, a situation neither of them is happy with. Luka beats her so badly that she nearly dies at least once, and when [[spoiler: Luka is killed]] she is ostracized by the village even more than before. Regardless of how she got pregnant, the options are all pretty horrifying, and finally [[spoiler: she is poisoned by Natalia's grandfather, the only friend she had.]]

* DomesticAbuser: Luka. It's specified that while his actions are unforgivable, he does have reasons behind them.

* MamasBabyPapasMaybe: No one knows if the Tiger's Wife's pregnancy as a result of a random rape or Luka getting drunk enough to actually do the deed. It's hard to judge which one would be worse.

* TheYugoslavWars: Overshadow everything, although we don't hear much detail. How it affected people's daily lives and Natalia's childhood is important, but the politics, not so much.

* UnreliableNarrator: Most of the really fantastic elements are being related at second- or third-hand.

* The story of Gavran Gailé, whom Natalia's grandfather met three times during his life and who apparently cannot age or die; Gavo claims that [[TheGrimReaper Death]] is his uncle, and made him immortal [[WhoWantsToLiveForever as punishment]] for saving the woman he loved [[note]]Who, it turns out, was the tiger's wife's older sister and intended bride of her husband.[[/note]]

* CityWithNoName: The country Natalia lives in, the one she visits, and the city she grew up in are never specified. All you need to know is that they used to be the same place - [[UsefulNotes/Yugoslavia the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia]].

* MeaningfulName: Zóra, who epitomises the younger generation and new, post-war culture of the country, means "dawn".

* {{Psychopomp}}: Gavran Gailé. Also the mora, who is strongly implied to be [[spoiler: [[ChekhovsGunman Barba Ivan.]]

* {{Psychopomp}}: Gavran Gailé. Also the mora, who is strongly implied to be [[spoiler: Barba Ivan.]]

* MagicalRealism: Lots, although most of the really fantastic elements are being related at [[UnreliableNarrator second- or third-hand]].

* CityWithNoName: The country Natalia lives in, the one she visits, and the city she grew up in are never specified.

* {{Ruritania}}: The country where it takes place has elements of this, especially in the parts which take place in the early twentieth century.

* The story of Gavran Gailé, whom Natalia's grandfather met several times during his life and who apparently cannot age or die; Gavo claims that [[TheGrimReaper Death]] is his uncle, and made him immortal [[WhoWantsToLiveForever as punishment]] for saving the woman he loved [[note]]Who, it turns out, was the tiger's wife's older sister and intended bride of her husband.[[/note]]

* DisappearedDad: Natalia's father is conspicuously absent, but no one so much as mentions him, let alone hints at what happened.

* ChekhovsGunman: The girl that Gavo fell in love with is revealed later to be [[spoiler:Amana, Luka's friend]].

* MeaningfulName: Zóra, who epitomises the younger generation and new, post-war culture of the country, means 'dawn'.

The story mixes modern narration with folktales, family anecdotes, and details which Natalia couldn't possibly know. There are three main plotlines:

However, there are also many stories within these larger plotlines, including extensive backstories of minor characters like Luka and Dariśa, which move more into an omniscient narration, given that there's absolutely no way for Natalia to know them.

* The story of Gavran Gailé, whom Natalia's grandfather met several times during his life and who apparently cannot die or age; Gavo claims that [[TheGrimReaper Death]] is his uncle, and gave him immortality [[WhoWantsToLiveForever as punishment]] for preventing the death of the woman he loved [[note]]Who, it turns out, was the tiger's wife's older sister and intended bride of her husband.[[/note]]
* The story of Natalia's growing up in the war-ravaged City, training as a doctor, and her medical aid trip with Zóra, as well as her relationship with her grandfather and her coming to terms with his death.

* The story of the eponymous tiger's wife, a deaf-mute girl who lived in the village where Natalia's grandfather was born. Unable to communicate with the villagers and abused by her husband, who was tricked into marrying her, she forms a bond with a tiger which escapes from a zoo in the City and makes its way to the area.
* The story of Gavran Gailé, the 'deathless man', whom Natalia's grandfather met several times in different periods of his life and who apparently cannot die or age; Gavo claims that [[TheGrimReaper Death]] is his uncle, and gave him immortality [[WhoWantsToLiveForever as a punishment]] for preventing the death of the woman he loved [[note]]Who, it turns out, was the tiger's wife's older sister and intended bride of her husband.[[/note]]

* The story of Gavran Gailé, the 'deathless man', whom Natalia's grandfather met several times in different periods of his life and who apparently cannot die or age; Gavo claims that [[TheGrimReaper Death]] is his uncle, and gave him immortality [[WhoWantsToLiveForever as a punishment]] for preventing the death of the woman he loved [[hottip:*:Who, it turns out, was the tiger's wife's older sister and intended bride of her husband.]]