When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain by Nghi Vo 5/5 🐯s

Another installment of the Singing Hills Cycle, I thoroughly enjoyed this story. When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain tells the story of young cleric Chih bargaining for their life with a group of tigers after they are caught and surrounded in the far northern mountains. To stall for time, Chih offers to tell the tigers the only story of tigers they know: the romance of Scholar Dieu and the Tiger Ho Thi Thao.  As they tell the story, however, they are confronted with the knowledge that the story they tell is only one interpretation, the human interpretation. 

I really enjoyed this story because of how the Tigers are portrayed: not as dumb animals, but as intelligent and proud creatures, who abide by their own codes of conduct. They are powerful and terrifying, and at times revel in carnage, but never without reason. It was an eye-opening experience to recontectualize the humans perception of the romance with the tigers side, and how small actions (such as feeding one's lover) can be misinterpreted. I highly recommend this one as well.