[ book tip by Dita Matejckova ] William Saroyan was born in 1908 in California, but he was an Armenian. After his father died, his mother didn´t have enough money and so he, his brother and two sisters had to go to the orphanage. He returned home in 1916. After primary school, he didn´t continue in studying. William sent his first literary experiments to the English section of Hairenik – an Armenian magazine. He signed himself as Sirak Goryan.

Financial troubles dogged him throughout his life, maybe because of his hobby – gambling. The works he´s known for are: Tracy´s tiger, Troubles with tigers, The summer of beautiful white horse and The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze. He died of cancer in 1981.

This book is about a young man whose name is Thomas Tracy. When he was little, he heard someone saying the word 'tiger' and decided – no matter what the TIGER is – to get it. A few years later, he saw a lot of pictures and documentaries, but nothing was really HIS tiger. He found his tiger at the age of 15, in the ZOO. Actually, it was a black panther, but it was exactly what he was looking for. He never returned to the ZOO – he didn´t have to, the tiger was always with him.

I really, really like this book! It´s a nice, poetic story, like a fairytale for adults. The author engages in the problems that affect everyone, such as love, passion for money... The story is set in New York and the main characters are Tracy, Laura Luthy, and – of course – tiger.

[ Favourite quote ] 'That is the story about Thomas Tracy, Laura Luthy, and the tiger, which is love.'

[ book info ] Saroyan;, William: Tracy´s tiger / Tracyho tygr. (Book language: English/Czech)