When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain by Nghi Vo
Recommended: yes
for a winner of a short story, for masterful story-within-a-story framing, for a story told around a campfire that makes you feel like you’re there every step

Summary
The cleric Chih finds themself and their companions at the mercy of a band of fierce tigers who ache with hunger. To stay alive until the mammoths can save them, Chih must unwind the intricate, layered story of the tiger and her scholar lover—a woman of courage, intelligence, and beauty—and discover how truth can survive becoming history.
Nghi Vo returns to the empire of Ahn and The Singing Hills Cycle in this mesmerizing, lush standalone follow-up to The Empress of Salt and Fortune.

Thoughts
It’s been a little while since I read Vo’s first Singing Hills book, The Empress of Salt and Fortune, and while I enjoyed that one, I think this one was my favorite of the two. This story within a story is so well done that it never feels tedious or tangled, and even though ultimately you are actually reading three stories — Chih at the campfire, Chih’s version of Dieu’s travels, and the tigers’ version of Ho Thi Thao’s marriage.
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