Tigers in Red Weather by Liza Klaussmann

Tigers in Red Weather is the debut novel by Liza Klaussmann who was a journalist for the New York Times. It starts off at the end of World War II and follows the lives of the five main characters. When secrets are revealed, and things don’t go according to plan, what will happen to them?

Book Description

“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. 

Soon the gilt begins to crack. Helena's husband is not the man he seemed to be, and Hughes has returned from the war distant, his inner light curtained over. On the brink of the 1960s, back at Tiger House, Nick and Helena--with their children, Daisy and Ed--try to recapture that sense of possibility. But when Daisy and Ed discover the victim of a brutal murder, the intrusion of violence causes everything to unravel. The members of the family spin out of their prescribed orbits, secrets come to light, and nothing about their lives will ever be the same.

Brilliantly told from five points of view, with a magical elegance and suspenseful dark longing, Tigers in Red Weather is an unforgettable debut novel from a writer of extraordinary insight and accomplishment.” – Tigers in Red Weather

My Thoughts

Tigers in Red Weather is told from the point of view of five of the characters. Some books that attempt doing this, don’t work out. However, this one does a very good job with it. It is more of a character driven book than one with huge amounts of action. There is a murder and some violence in it, but it isn’t a huge part of the story for me.

Another risky thing that happens in this book, is that it spans not just years, but decades in the character’s lives. Again, sometimes books that do this don’t work out. This one does, at least for me. It helps to create even more depth of each of the characters and unfolds the story in a very readable way.

This is a coming of age story that is told by an excellent author. If you enjoy reading character driven books that are told during this time period, this is definitely a book worth reading.

* Thank you to the publisher of Tigers in Red Weather, Little, Brown, for providing me with a copy of this book for review. All opinions expressed are my own.