The Tiger Claw by Shauna Singh Baldwin

Narrated by Yolande Bovan

Let me start out by saying that The Tiger Claw is more historical fiction than romance novel. So, if you’ve come in search of something that centers around a man, woman, and their love for one another, you’ll probably want to skip this book. However, if you’re interested in World War II and the underground resistance movement, please read on.

It’s 1943. Noor, our heroine, is shackled in a prison cell. We soon learn that she worked in German occupied France as a wireless operator. While in prison, Noor is instructed to write stories for young children. The reasoning behind this directive was not fully explained. Maybe it was a way for her to write secret letters. I wish the author would have come up with a more compelling reason, but there you have it. Noor writes secretly to the spirit of her unborn child.

The story is slightly confusing, as it shifts from first to third person point of view very rapidly. These shifts in narrative are accompanied by shifts in time. We learn a lot about Noor’s childhood, her meeting with and subsequent love for Jewish musician Armand Rivkin, and her family’s flight to England. It is while she is in London that Noor is drafted into the Resistance. We also learn of her time behind bars under the control of the Nazis.

The listener is made to believe that only her love for the now missing Armand forces Noor into the Resistance. However, I found myself wondering if there might be more to it than that. True, England wasn’t really her country, since she had been raised in India and had very conflicted views about the British ruling her homeland. Still, I disliked the idea that a man was her only motivation for fighting the Nazi occupation of France.

Ms. Baldwin is a very skilled writer. She was able to make me feel as if Noor’s feelings and experiences were my own. However, some of the book was bogged down by very long and overly descriptive passages. This twenty-four-hour book could have been shortened by a few hours, if the author hadn’t felt the need to go on and on about every single detail of every single location Noor visited. This is definitely a situation where less would have been more.

I remember narrator Yolande Bovan from her time narrating for the Library of Congress. She has a very strong Indian accent, and, while this worked really well when she was portraying Noor, it made it difficult for her to depict other characters in ways that were believable. Everyone sounded as if they came from India, no matter where they were actually from. I found it especially incongruous to hear Noor’s captor, a Nazi, speak with such a strong Indian accent.

Ms. Bovan does an excellent job with the wide range of emotions depicted in the story. I never felt that she was forcing anything. She also seemed to be fully engaged throughout the story. I give her extra points for this, given the problem with overly descriptive passages I previously mentioned.

As you read this review, you might get the impression that I did not enjoy The Tiger Claw. This isn’t the case at all. In fact, I found it to be very poignant and moving. The historical period is one I enjoy reading about very much, and the parts of the book that showed what life might have been like for those who opposed the Nazis were especially well done. I would, however, have preferred a different narrator, and less description. Perhaps reading this in print would be the best option, if this is something you’re interested in picking up. That way, you can skim when necessary.

Shannon

Narration:  C+

Book Content:  C

Steam Factor:  Glad I had my earbuds in

Violence:  Graphic

Genre:  General Fiction

Publisher:  Audible, Inc.

The Tiger Claw was provided to AudioGals by the author for a review.