The Last Tiger: The emotive story of a young boy's fight to save the last Tasmanian tiger

**  Runner-up Not The Booker Prize  ** 'Striking, wildcard originality' (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD) 1909. Twelve year-old Myko and his family have fled the Czarist occupation of their native Lithuania for the freedom of America only to discover their ship has arrived in Tasmania. Myko wonders what will become of them as he watches his father and mother become anxious about how they will survive in this new land, settled by the wild sons of convicts and, where tigers roam. Myko has never seen a tiger before except in his picture books and is filled with fear as stories of the tigers vicious attacks upon the island s settlers are retold to him. He wishes his brother, Jurgis was with him but knows his sibling s disappearance is something he should force out of his mind. But when his father takes work as a tiger trapper and Myko discovers the den of the last tigers, the family are thrust into a fight over the last of these beautiful, wild beasts that will force dark secrets to the surface - and pit son against father. A mesmerising tale of loss and the bonds of family, set in a stark, sweeping landscape, The Last Tiger is a bold and heartbreaking novel from bestselling author Tony Black. 'A beautiful, powerful tale to move the hardest heart' THE SUN'A compelling and convincing portrayer of raw emotions in a vicious milieu' THE TIMES'Unexpected, moving and magical. A new direction for Tony Black, and a bold one too' Emlyn Rees, International bestseller'A rare and heartfelt fable of an immigrant boy torn between his fears for an endangered species and the father who's employed to kill off what remains of that breed' Paul Sayer, Whitbread-winning author'It's great, a real departure from the dark arts of crime fiction but a successful one as it creates a genuinely engaging picture of strangers in a strange land, as well as carving a haunting space between historical reality and timeless fable' Nick Barlay, Granta 'Best of Young British Novelists''In this, his next book, Tony Black demonstrates what a talented and versatile writer he is. We're in Tasmania with a family of immigrants and the father is paid to hunt the very last Tasmanian tiger - and his son is horried. His prose is at times spare and at times poetic as Tony delivers up a fascinating and moving novel about family ties and the truths we don't want to face' Michael Malone, author of The Guillotine Choice'The Last Tiger is Tony Black's most brilliant and resonant novel so far' Barry Graham, Winner of the American Library Association book of the year'Striking, wildcard originality' SYDNEY MORNING HERALD'Black does such an excellent job of showing the tigers in the wild and making them seem real, important and wonderfully strange ... It's a pretty impressive recreation of an animal we know very little about'THE GUARDIAN'Very well executed ... Delivered with insight, this tale of society's outsiders is poignant and moving' THE BIG ISSUE'The Last Tiger will bruise your heart and prowl in your mind. A lyrical, mystical masterpiece' CREATIVE NOVOCAINE