The Tiger Flu

The Tiger Flu is divided into five distinct parts, each of which is marked with three time stamps: One for the year in Cascadian time, another for the year in the “United Middle Kingdom Cycle,” and lastly with the Gregorian year. Why did the author choose to structure the novel in this way?

In Part 1, the book opens with Kiri lovingly harvesting Peristrophe’s organs; in Part 5, the novel closes with Kiri wondering if she will ever see Peristrophe again. In a dystopian world of survival, what does this structure reveal about the novel’s treatment of love?

There are three epigraphs at the beginning of the book, each of which comes from an author/figure with a distinct national background: A British poet (William Blake), a French novelist (Monique Wittig), and a Chinese author (the Yellow Emperor, translated by Fredric Henry Balfour). How do these epigraphs highlight and emphasize the book’s messaging, especially around its themes regarding the fragmentation of society?