A hunter loses his way in the jungle as he pursues a barking deer he has wounded. When he realizes he is being stalked by a tiger, he clambers up a tree and, after a night of terror and self-pity, finally musters enough courage to confront the king of the jungle. The outcome of the encounter is unexpected.
Based on this simple plot, Sila Komchai has written an extremely rich and complex novel about self-discovery, coloured with superb descriptions of the Thai jungle.
The hero, an archetypal 1970s left-wing militant, discovers that most of his fears and woes are self-created, and learns the paramount importance of self-control and peace of mind. In its intensity and focus, The path of the tiger could have been titled “The young man and the jungle”, as it has strong parallels with The Old Man and the Sea.