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A Tiger In Eden (2012)

by Chris Flynn(Favorite Author)

3.55 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

1921922036 (ISBN13: 9781921922039)

languge

English

genre

Fiction

publisher

Text Publishing

review 1: Well written, narrated in the first person by Billy, a 23 year old stand-over man, who is lying low in Thailand after things went bad for him in Northern Ireland.He gets sick and tired of the one-night stands. He goes off to a Buddhist monastery finds himself and realises he needs to live a better life. Till now the book was interesting, Billy was likeable enough, the writing was original and the battle of Billy with his past was well related.But after the monastery the story became a bit disappointing. The truth behind Billy's past is revealed but after a lot of blunt language the story lacked a punchy ending.
review 2: A Tiger in Eden is the first novel by Irish/Australian author, Chris Flynn. Set in 1996, the story is told by Billy Montgomery, a 23-year-o... moreld Loyalist hard man plucked from the harsh environment of his youth and lying low in Thailand, on the run from the Belfast police. We follow Billy through bus-trips, brawls and one-night stands as, after a year on the run, he begins to consider his future and his violent past. We watch as he is transformed, in this paradise, by his encounters with tourists, acquaintances from his former life, Thai locals, wildlife and the Buddhist religion. Billy’s voice comes through strongly with the use of Belfast street fighter idiom: some readers may be initially put off by the liberal use of strong language but persistence is richly rewarded with a moving tale. Billy’s descriptions of his many sexual encounters are explicit and matter-of-fact, with, perhaps, a hint of masculine bragging, and the brawls are described in similarly graphic manner. The surprisingly likeable Billy seems to be full of contradictions: he admits to being poorly educated but actually reads Proust, Camus and Kerouac, and not just to impress the honeys; he’s been a terrorist but is respectful of women, the environment and the Thai locals; he appears to feel more guilt about the possibility of having inadvertently ruined the reputation of a Thai woman than about all the maiming and killing he did in Belfast. While there is horror, there is also the odd dose of irony and there are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments: Billy asks Tony “…..are you a Catholic Buddhist or a Protestant one?” Billy’s check-in to the Buddhist monastery is absolutely hilarious!A Tiger in Eden has an original plot with a cute twist, realistic dialogue and genuine characters. Flynn touches on several interesting topics: sex tourism; how a person’s context can change their values and standards; respect for the beliefs of others; what lies beneath the mask that tourists wear; whether it is possible to change the direction of your life. Flynn’s knowledge of his subject is evident. This excellent debut novel has been described as uplifting and I wholly concur. I read it in one sitting and thoroughly enjoyed this unique perspective on life. less

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