Much to recommend. I have not read this author since [b:Nothing to Declare: Memoirs of a Woman Traveling Alone|190555|Nothing to Declare Memoirs of a Woman Traveling Alone|Mary Morris|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1312010327l/190555._SX50_.jpg|1574298] but I enjoyed her tale of a tiger safari in India as much as that long-ago book. The hundred short chapters made for an accommodating reading experience as she wove together repercussions from a life-altering ice skating accident, her Chicago youth and meeting her husband, and this recent trip to India along with literary allusions, quotes and wonderful tidbits on tigers. ( )

Sometimes one finds a book, or a book finds them, at the perfect time. For me, this one did just that.
An incredible memoir from a author and woman, who loves life in all it's many forms. Who suffered a serious accident that kept this usually active and traveling woman, housebound for almost two years. Sounds familiar doesn't it? The housebound part of course, not the accident.

She had a quest in mind, once she coukd walk again, to see tigers. Up close and personal. Which is what she does, traveling to India, and staying at a few places where one could hire a guide to take one into the jungle. Her descriptions of India are excellent and her experiences, while not for me, are related in full expression. While India is not a place I yearn to go, she did compel me to once again hope for a time when I can once again freely travel.

Her memoir goes back and forth, some experiences from her youth, her accident and recovery and her travel. Her husband sounds amazing supportive in all ways. So, did she ever get to see a tiger? You'll have to read the book yourself to find out, which believe me is not a hardship. The pages flew by. ( )

this is really well written and engaging. there is a lot of hopping around in time and insertion of random information (usually about tigers but not always) that works pretty well. sometimes i wished the chapters were a little longer; they were so short that sometimes it felt a little like we were ping-ponging all over the place with her. but, generally, it really worked, and the sections all tied together nicely.

that said, i'm not sure that the meaning in finding (or not finding) the tiger in india on this trip of hers, while incredibly sick, is ever fully explored. or her injury and how it affects her sense of self. the writing here is excellent, and i'd read her again, but i think this feels a little more like a description of events and what happened, without a lot of introspection about it.

two examples of the information included in those in-between chapters/sections that i found particularly interesting:

priests are celibate not because of doctrine or theology, but because "it was decided that descendants would present a problem when it came to the division of church property."

i don't have the quote for it, but tigers' stripes are all individual, like snowflakes or fingerprints. the markings on their foreheads are the same, but the rest of their stripes are unique to them. ( )

This is my first Mary Morris book and I'm so happy there are lots more of her books I can read. She is so wonderfully descriptive of the experience of trying to find a real tiger in the wild to observe....weaving in the pieces of her background which help to lead her to this hunt...all while she happens to be horribly ill with a terrible cold/virus and during what turns out to be an exceptionally COLD season in India....for which she did NOT come prepared. I was COLD just reading about her futile efforts to try and get WARM anywhere during the trip! Terrific writing!! ( )

Although an interesting way to write a memoir, this one has no staying power for me. I loved the concept that Morris was searching for the elusive tiger in India, but the back and forth time lapse, although making sense in the context of this book, was disconcerting for me. I felt like I was reading random thoughts. I am glad she got to see a tiger. I never did while in India. What I did like in this book was the description of the villages and cities she passed through on the search. ( )