Review by tatar_khan (2009-02-27)
Sharpe’s Tiger is the novel by Bernard Cornwell, a well known historical fiction writer. The novel is also based around the well known historical fiction character that by this time is already has been celebrated through movies. Sharpe’s Tiger is a definite historical fiction novel that describes the British campaign in India. So let’s look at the book.
The book’ cover is perfectly reflects the military theme of the book and also reflects exactly the location the action of the book takes place making the book very attractive and the cover is in line with the plot.
The use of the language is great. The language is not simple but is not either too delicate to ruin the novel about the military actions and the history of India. The military terms are well applied. The narration is done in third person from the perspective of the different characters in the book for the purpose of allowing the reader to know more about all the main characters of the book and the events that influence them or led them to current situation. In this case the perspectives are mostly from the point of view of the French Colonel, Sharp and Colonel of the East India Company.
The character development is also very nicely done. The character of Sharpe develops through the book as he goes from one out look on the army and the officers to the other. The book focuses on these changes to show how the characters of a person could be influenced by the event. The other characters are mostly defined and behave in fashion that is very delimitative of them. The use of these characters allows to see the wider picture of the war and the outlook on the events from different perspectives. The characters are very realistic; the Indians who are fighting against the British are not portrayed as evil enemy and the British as the good guys. All characters have their virtues and weaknesses. Both sides are shown as fighting the war no of morals but rather due to political and economic reasons. The Tippoo sultan who leads the Indians is shown as brave fighter and wise ruler.
The themes of the book is that armies of the period and current ones too are hard places to live in not only due to the rigid discipline and training, but due to the interaction between the officers and the apparent unfairness the soldiers perceive is being done to them. At the same time reader is exposed to the difficulties of the command decisions. The book highlights the fact that officers often are unable to understand the soldiers and difficulties they face. Another theme is the discrimination present in the British rank not only against the Indians, but Irish and Scots. The discrimination as the book shows is unjust as all the soldiers of different ethnicities perform their duties properly and also shows that it is the English officer and sergeant who prove incapable or a coward. The portrayal of the enemy as an equal opponent rather than evil tyrant is another theme. While the common soldiers are shown to hold the opinion that their enemy is evil, the higher ranks do not share it. The causes of conflict are shown as more political and economic rather than moral. Finally, it is possible to see the theme that the person out of the slums could given the opportunity turn out to be a hero for all the selfish reasons.
The plot moves along with a good speed, moving the events towards the reader and keeping him interested. The action is described also perfectly to make it vivid for the readers about what is happening. The fights are also described in the details. The story that is based on actual historic events is fitted perfectly into the historical events. There is nice touch by the author of putting in the historical note on the end of the book to allow the reader to see how the plot has been fitted into the history.
The only flaw of the book that could be pointed out is a fact that Sharpe seems a bit being too good at fighting, thinking up plans and etc. This gives a small superhuman like feel to his character. However many novels use such device therefore it is hard to blame this one.
In conclusion Sharpe’s Tiger is amasing book that presents history in interesting fashion but still with a lot of accuracy and very little bias. The book is entertaining and at the same time the reader walks away from it with the feeling of learning something new. This is what makes this book amasing. It is great casual read, and for serious read it is good as well.