John Vaillant’s The Tiger

The image of a tiger lunging at a man through a snowy forest is not something most of us think about regularly. In fact, most people have never had any sort of face to face encounter with a tiger, ever. John Vaillant’s The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival gives readers the opportunity to do just that; with his narrative and informative style of writing, Vaillant thrusts us as readers into the story. Vaillant successfully uses a unique writing style that keeps the reader engaged while also informing the reader using facts and anecdotes.

First of all, Vaillant understood the importance of keeping the reader hooked. He tells the story in such a way that we want to know what will happen next. While reading, it can be hard to remember that this truly did happen; the story is so fascinating, and told as though it is a thriller. Vaillant achieved this through careful gathering of eye-witness stories, anecdotes, and interviews of those involved, as well as adding outside information that contributed to the story. His style of telling a portion of the story, and not necessarily telling it in order, keeps the reader engaged and looking for details, as well as giving himself as the author room to explain and analyze what is happening, and add information that might otherwise be missing. In this manner, the reader feels as though he or she knows exactly what is happening in the story at all times, and is very involved, though this event took place on the other side of the world, years ago. Vaillant has a very good way of making the story come to life.

The other key component that Vaillant addresses throughout the book is the learning of information. This book seemed to be designed to tell a story; however, when one finishes the book one realizes how much more informed he or she is about what was happening in Russia at the time, the events surrounding the tiger attacks, and the social and political background that is needed. Helping the reader learn all of these things, as well as learn about tiger behavior and tiger activity leaves much more of an impact than simply telling the story from start to finish, without any additional notes and background. The author gives us as the audience a deeper sense of understanding as a result of the added information.

In conclusion, The Tiger was a compelling read from start to finish. It had all the things most people look for in a good thriller; a murder, a bit of mystery, a fight to the death. It satisfied our needs as humans to have a resolution to a story, and kept us on edge the whole time. However, it was also informative and researched extremely thoroughly. Vaillant did an excellent job of keeping the book entertaining, yet also helping the reader to learn and understand the book. The next time you want to stand face to face with a tiger, I would recommend The Tiger.