Review: When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain by Nghi Vo

When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain is the reason I first started the Singing Hills Cycle series by Nghi Vo. I’m easily enticed by a beautiful cover and the promise of sapphic romance. What I didn’t know was that I was getting myself into the most chaotic embedded narrative that’s ever been written. You’ve heard of a story being told within a story. Now get ready for hostile campfire story time with a traveling cleric, a mammoth-riding warrior, an injured man, and three hungry tigers.

This post contains affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my links at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my blog! See my full disclosure for more information.

Blurb

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 When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain, a mesmerizing, lush standalone follow-up to The Empress of Salt and Fortune.

Review of When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain

• Novella, physical copy
• Fast-paced
• Plot-driven
• Third person POV
• Embedded narrative
• Non-binary MC
• Sapphic romance? Romantic tragedy? Who knows…

I recently attended a book festival event featuring Nghi Vo’s newest Singing Hills Cycle novella, so I had a chance to circle back to this series. It had been a while since I read the first two stories, so I decided to start a reread. I was going to start with The Empress of Salt and Fortune and read the entire series in order, because that’s just how my mind works. But I ended up starting with the novella that first got me into the series (and subsequently reading all the books in whatever order I wanted, because that’s also how my mind works). When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain will always hold a special place in my heart for its ambiguous tale of desire and portrayal of how stories change depending on who’s telling and who’s listening.

The first thing I noticed about The Singing Hills Cycle was how visually appealing the writing is. The stories are all told from the perspective of a traveling cleric, so the narrative’s focus on visual details helps characterize our main character as observant and meticulous. Chih shares their knowledge of the world around them with the reader, which creates a clear image of the world where the story begins. When the Tiger Came Down the Mounted envelops its reader in its intricately crafted setting and enchanting story of hunger, survival, and possibly love.

Although we get very little time with our narrator, Chih, and her guide, the little glimpses we are given show us that Si-Yu is a very bold and independent warrior. I really enjoyed the dialogue between Chih and Si-Yu. It’s clear they have only recently met at the beginning of the story, but they share humor and mutual curiosity that made me smile. I felt like I was witnessing the beginning of a lifelong friendship.

The rest of the story is very tense as Chih and Si-Yu are forced to negotiate their survival with three hungry tigers. Although part of me was afraid of the tigers and the threat they posed to the humans, I couldn’t help but love them. They each had very distinct personalities, and the curiosity they shared for their human captives and Chih’s story made them endearing. Nghi Vo’s ability to write contradictions and make them fit together made the story especially interesting. There was a lot of room for the reader to create their own interpretation for the characters’ actions.

The story of Ho Thi Thao and Dieu was the most ambiguous part of When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain, mainly because the humans and tigers told it differently. Whether it was a love story or tragedy is left for the reader to decide.

When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain felt both comforting and tense at the same time. I would recommend this series to anyone, but especially people looking for an immersive, quick read with lots of room for interpretation. Nghi Vo’s Singing Hills Cycle is so unique in its storytelling style that I want everyone to read at least one of the novellas from her series just to check it out!

You’ll Like This Book if You Enjoy…

• Immersive word-building
• Tigers 🙂
• Mammoths 😀
• Fast-paced stories
• Toxic sapphic relationships
• Loveable characters

Where to find When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain by Nghi Vo

Have you read When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain? Let’s chat in the comments!