New voices: Tea Obreht, 'The Tiger's Wife'

By Bob Minzesheimer, USA TODAY

The young writer's debut novel is about a Serbian doctor in search of the folktales of his childhood.

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  Random House

  Tea Obreht's The Tiger's Wife was inspired by her grandfather's death.

Random House

Tea Obreht's The Tiger's Wife was inspired by her grandfather's death.

What it's about:�Debut novel narrated by a Serbian doctor, who, after her grandfather's death, goes in search of the stories and folktales he told her as a young girl.

Why it's notable:�Obreht is the youngest member of The New Yorker's "20 Under 40" list of exceptional writers.

Opening line:�"In my earliest memory, my grandfather is bald as a stone and he takes me to see the tigers."

The author

Quick bio:�Obreht, 25, was born in Belgrade, immigrated at 7 to Cyprus, then Egypt, then to Lawrenceville, Ga., and Palo Alto, Calif. She lives in Ithaca, N.Y., where she received a master's degree in writing from Cornell.

Title: 'The Tiger's Wife'

Author: Tea Obreht

Publisher/price: Random House, $25

Novel's origins:�A short story, "more outline than a story," written for a Cornell workshop and inspired by her grandfather's death.

Literary influence:Gabriel Garcia Marquez's novel Love in the Time of Cholera. "I love how he plays with the reader."

What's next:�"I'm in the opening phases of a novel, I think. But mostly, I'm trying to let go of The Tiger's Wife and accept it's no longer a project. It's fully realized. It's out there."

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