Tigers in Red Weather

A Novel

By: Liza Klaussmann

Narrated by: Katherine Kellgren

Length: 10 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

Nick and her cousin Helena grew up in a world of sun bleached boat docks, tennis whites, and midnight gin parties at Tiger House, the family home on Martha's Vineyard. In the wake of the Second World War, the two women are on the cusp of starting their "real lives": Helena is off to Hollywood and a new marriage to the charismatic Avery Lewis, while Nick is heading for a reunion with her own husband, Hughes Derringer, about to return from the war. The world seems rife with possibility.

The gilt soon begins to crack. Avery is not the man he seems to be, and Hughes has grown distant, his inner light curtained over. On the brink of the 1960s, Nick and Helena - with their children Daisy and Ed - try to recapture that earlier sense of possibility. But then Daisy and Ed discover something truly awful, and the dark thread of the family's history slowly starts to unravel. The secrets and lies that each member thought long buried begin to surface.

Brilliantly told with the tempestuous elegance of F. Scott Fitzgerald and the suspenseful dark longing of Patricia Highsmith, Tigers in Red Weather is an almost unbearably compelling story of liars, lust, and secrets. It heralds the arrival of a fierce literary talent.

©2012 Liza Klaussmann (P)2012 Hachette

Disillusionment -- 'Life Without Imagination'

What a great name (and theme) for a novel -- the W. Stevens poem wherein "the houses are haunted by white nightgowns. None are green, or purple with green rings, or yellow...or blue...only here and there an old sailor, drunk and asleep in his boots, catches tigers in red weather." Facing the disillusion of the dreams and yearnings of our youth--the grand plans we made and better things we hoped for, then growing up and finding only plain old ordinary "white nightgowns." Poor little rich girls Nick and Helena come of age.

This novel feels almost like an Eugene O'Neill or Tennessee Williams play, heavy with the claustrophobia of generational vacation homes and extended families, the strain of carrying on rituals and pretending everything is on track while the elephant-in-the-room-tension becomes like a stranglehold. A fairly entertaining plot is tucked in, and some characters drawn well enough to hold your interest; some cliche, some predictability, but used well and in the spirit of the whole novel. Good summer beach read if you don't want something cute and happy-go-lucky; definitely not a feel good book, but I thought it was wicked fun. (Weird Cousin Ed is super creepy.) Kellgren ususally raises my hackles with her tendency to exclaim (!) everything and misinterpret, but she actually did a fairly good job with this one. Good writing by Klaussmann that shows some real staying power rather than a one season, one hit wonder.

Not good

Badly written trash. Her book about the Murphys was terrific. She can write well....why didn't she in this case?
Adolescent diary not beguiling. No sympathy on my part for any of the subjects.

Waste of Time --

What would have made Tigers in Red Weather better?

The narrator grated on me. I think I might have stayed with this book if I had read it rather than listened to it. Oftentimes, I cant' get into a book until mid-point (a la Gone Girl) and then the story grabs me and I'm glad that I persevered. This audiobook was a complete waste of time. "14", by Peter Clunes was next on the list, so I pulled the plug, so to speak, to move on to that book and I'm soooooo glad I did.From now on I will make note of the narrator and if it is Katherine Kellgren, I will not buy the book.

Would you ever listen to anything by Liza Klaussmann again?

Yes.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

She was attempting a haughty East Coast upper-class snobbiness in her tone of voice and it was very fake to me -- like fingernails on a chalkboard. Like very bad acting. I could not concentrate on the story line, because I could not get past the narrating.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Tigers in Red Weather?

I didn't listen to enough of the book to answer this intelligently.

Kept My Interest

Where does Tigers in Red Weather rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It's among the top ten for sure, this book kept me listening. I just had to know what was going to happen next. I loved hearing each characters side of an incident.

What three words best describe Katherine Kellgren’s performance?

She was good but not enough change to her voice for the different characters. Sometimes I didn't realize there was a different person talking.

Didn't want it to end

Loved this one! I was pulled in immediately. Love the narration and view points from every character. The ending was a wonderful twist, I didn’t want the book to end.

Narrator sounded like Nazi general

What made the experience of listening to Tigers in Red Weather the most enjoyable?

Three fourths of the narration was fine but about one fourth of the time the narrator harshly spewed out "he said" "she said" etc. It became distracting and soon found myself thinking why in heavens name did the author write this over and over again?
Plot good, story intriguing but narration left something to be desired.

Great characters - abrupt ending

I am not familiar with this author beyond this writing, so can't compare this book to her other work, but it is an odd package: compelling story told in a serial fashion with each character telling the tale from their own viewpoints. Interesting. Several climactic events which change the course of people's lives in ways the reader can believe might have happened, but with a bit of operatic flare. Also interesting. One character is not what he/she appears to be to the family until emotions flare. Interesting again. ...and then it stops. No resolution of any character's situation. No moral conveyed. No one either has a happy ending OR gets their "just desserts." It just quits in the course of a scene. Wholly unsatisfying.

Not one of my favorites, rather slow, and predictable.
Sister recommended it, she really liked it.

Love the narrator of this book!

What made the experience of listening to Tigers in Red Weather the most enjoyable?

The narrator was captivating! It made the book. I don't know that I would have enjoyed reading the book as much as I did listening.

What about Katherine Kellgren’s performance did you like?

Her voices for each character set each apart and gave them a clear idea in my mind of how they would look.

Who was the most memorable character of Tigers in Red Weather and why?

Definitely Nick.

Not compelled to finish

Any additional comments?

I may finish this one, or I may not. If not for the reference to F. Scott Fitzgerald in the book summary or the lovely cover art, I wouldn't have taken a chance on this story. Having listened to about 45 minutes of it, I don't think the Fitzgerald comparison is earned. It's been a while since I've read Fitzgerald, but what I remember was his ability to write vivid descriptions of the world his characters lived in. Klaussmann has plenty of descriptions, but mainly it's clothing, perfume, and drinks... This sounds like a weak complaint, but when Nick's outfit and hair is described, followed by a bit of a sex scene or thoughts about sex, it feels like just another romance novel. Not my favorite genre.