At the beginning of the novel, Ji Lin leads two different lives-one as a dressmaker’s apprentice and one as 'Louise,' a dance-hall instructor. How does this novel portray gender dynamics in colonial Malaya? How do Ji Lin, Lydia, and the other women in the novel either conform to or rebel against societal expectations? What parallels do you see with today’s world?Ħ. Ji Lin is a more talented student than her stepbrother, Shin, but because she is a girl, she isn’t allowed to continue on to medical school with him. What is his relationship to the local people, specifically the young women he sleeps with? Do you think his impact on the community is ultimately positive or negative? What does this novel have to say about race and class more generally?ĥ. As a surgeon in Batu Gajah, William Acton straddles two worlds, that of the locals and that of the foreigners. Does Ren’s desire to bring the finger to his former master’s grave come from a place of love or fear? How is Ren’s life shaped by the masters for whom he works, and how does he determine his own fate?Ĥ. How do their narrative styles and worldviews compare? Do you prefer one to the other? How would the novel have been different had it only been from one perspective?ģ.

Discuss the structure of the novel, alternating between Ren’s and Ji Lin’s perspectives. The novel’s title evokes the story of the were tiger, 'a beast who, when he chooses, puts on a human skin and comes from the jungle into the village to prey on humans.' What is the significance of that Malayan folktale in the novel? What does it represent for the different characters?Ģ.

Book the night tiger