This is a collection of Balkan folk tales loosely held together by the parallel lives of a young female doctor and her grandfather also a doctor. There are fables, fantasies, legends, and abundant superstitions that span a war-torn part of the world for the better part of a century. While the individual stories are compelling and ring true to the region, the whole book lacks a plot, making The Tiger’s Wife, a good read, full of ambient color and perspective, but lacking significant depth.