Tiger Tiger

by Philip Caveney

Malaya in the late 1960s was at last casting off the yoke of British colonial rule. But Harry ‘Tiger’ Sullivan, a retired military officer, had made his career in Malaya for almost two decades had nowhere else to go.Distinguished ex-serviceman Harry Sullivan has a comfortable life in Malaya, until the arrival of Bob Beresford – a brash and handsome Australian.Eighteen-year-old Melissa Tremayne is like the daughter Sullivan never had. But, bored with the slow pace of British expatriate life, she is determined to win Bob Beresford’s not-so-fatherly affection.A rivalry starts to develop between the two men, intensified by the appearance of a man-eating tiger. Bob wants the glory of killing the beast, while Melissa is pursuing a different kind of Bob himself. Soon, Sullivan finds himself drawn into a trial of manhood that he is unwilling to take.

Genres: Fiction

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Philip Caveney was born in North Wales in 1951. The son of an RAF officer, he spent much of his childhood travelling the length and breadth of Britain and spent several years in Malaysia and Singapore.

He attended the Kelsterton College Of Art where he obtained a diploma in Graphic Design. Whilst there, he became drummer (and latterly vocalist) with rock band, Hieronymus Bosch.

After leaving college, he worked extensively in theatre both in London and Wales and wrote the lyrics for rock adaptations of The Workhouse Donkey and Oscar Wilde’s Salome.

His first novel, The Sins Of Rachel Ellis, was published in 1976.

Published Works for Adults

The Sins Of Rachel Ellis: St Martin’s Press/ Robert Hale/Berkeley Press. ‘a spine chilling debut.’ – Doubleday Book Club magazine
Tiger Tiger – ‘ St Martin’s Press/Granada ‘…an intriguing tale of rivalry and honour ‘– Flintshire Chronicle
The Tarantula Stone – Granada - ‘breathtaking action.’ Kirkus
Cursery Rhymes Cornerhouse Books– ‘wickedly funny’ – City Life
Speak No Evil – Headline/Headline Review/ ‘cracking summer reading.’ City Life
Black Wolf – Headline/ Headline Review/ nominated for WH Smith Thumping Good Read award.
Strip Jack Naked – Headline/Headline Review - ‘a triumphant thriller’ - Evening Post
Slayground – Headline/Headline Review ‘,,, breakneck pace’ – Daily Mirror
Skin Flicks – Headline/headline Review – ‘Caveney uses the central image with considerable skill’ – Sunday Times
Burn Down Easy – Headline/Headline Review – ‘the fiction equivalent of standing on Semtex’ – Pure Fiction
Bad To The Bone – Headline/ Headline Review ’10 little Indians on speed!’ Tangled web
1999 – Headline/Headline Review ‘more than just a return to form.’ City Life
Love Bites – Xlibris – ‘a frighteningly funny read!’ Tregolwyn reviews.

Published works for Children

Cursery Rhymes(with Bob Seal) (Cornerhouse Books)
Sebastian Darke - Prince Of Fools (2007) (Random House)
Sebastian Darke: Prince of Pirates (2008) (Random House)

Coming soon…

Sebastian Dark: Prince of Explorers (2009) (Random House)
Alec Devlin: The Eye of The Serpent (2008) (Random House)
Alec Devlin: The Kingdom of the Skull (2009) (Random House)

He wrote the screenplay for the short film Dream Factory, directed by Philip Davenport and has recently written his first full-length screenplay The Sick House for director Curtis Radclyffe.

He is also an advertising copywriter and has been the co-ordinator for the Manchester Writers Workshop for over twenty five years.

Reviews

[Ram · Rating 5 out of 5]

brilliant book about an old and wounded tiger in the last days of the British empire in Malaya, the narrative goes on two parallels from the point of view of tiger speak and that of his hunters. The tiger is old but cunning and Harry Sullivan is the only one capable of killing him, but he is also old - he describes both himself and the tiger as dinosaur - a relic which nobody wants. Good narrative by Philip Caveney.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author's love for Malaya was very evident from his evocative descriptions of not just the lush scenery of mountains, jungles and beaches, but also the flavorful cuisine of the locals and their rural way of life. Set in the waning, final days of the British presence during the 1960s, there was a pervasive sense of nostalgia as the expat characters prepare to bid farewell to a country and way of life they have been accustomed to and even come to love. The titular tiger was also a main character and the narration from its perspective was insightful and demonstrated the author's knowledge of natural history. Its destiny dovetails with that of the human protagonist who similarly finds his life out in the East dwindling to an inevitable end. Though in certain portions the writing came through as a little young adult-ish, it was still ultimately a simple but compellingly written story that takes one back to a bygone era.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book many years ago and I see that few people have taken an interest on Good Reads. From what I can remember of the novel, it took me very little time to read considering the size. I was young and many things, I thought at the time, were a little too mature for me.

There isn't a description listed above, but it was a reasonable plot with a decent level of character development. I will sumarise the plot; basically an old hunter habits a bar around a jungle area. One day, a young hunter comes into the bar and gloats to everyone that he is going to kill and mount the head of the beastly tiger that haunts the village.

It goes around killing people, so thusly people support this idea and want the tiger to be captured and killed. The old hunter is hesitant and jealous of the attention the young hunter is getting. The old hunter goes hunting for the beast as well.

I won't go into more of it, but I thought it was a well done piece. It was a good display of the social dynamics between youth and the elderly. To me, it sort of metaphorically related to the relevance of old people in the work place; in certain jobs, once a person becomes a certain age, they are no longer fit to complete tasks.

I think the thing I most enjoyed about the book was the assumed connection between the old man and the tiger (who was also very old). The author connected them well and made the tale a little bit spiritual; in the fact that the tiger and the old man might understand each other, even though they could not speak to each other.

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

loved it