The author discusses how reflecting elements of his own identity and lived experiences made writing his new page-turner, The Tiger and the Cosmonaut, so difficult…
By Stephan Petar
Set in a fictional remote town in British Columbia, Eddy Boudel Tan’s The Tiger and the Cosmonaut sees Casper Han return to his family home after the disappearance, and eventual safe return, of his father. Casper and his siblings question their father’s actions and how it relates to the night Casper’s twin, Sam, went missing two decades ago. As the family launches an investigation into Sam’s disappearance, their past and present converge, leading to discoveries about themselves and the world around them with the realization that they need to make their voices heard to reclaim what’s been taken from them.
Boudel Tan’s latest work is a haunting and suspenseful page-turner that tackles themes of identity, resilience and connection. The author is no stranger to approaching these topics with an element of mystery in his writing, and it’s thanks to Stephen King. “I grew up reading a lot of King. He is so talented at using horror to enlighten truths about humanity and life,” he tells IN Magazine. “At the end of the day, all of his stories are about people who are struggling against forces that are in and out of their control, and about how people and communities respond when they’re faced with something terrifying.”
Identity is a core part of Boudel Tan’s writing, but tackling the topic in this novel was different. “It is perhaps the one novel, or even story, I’ve written that most closely reflects the different elements of my own identity and lived experience,” he explains, sharing that the book was one of the most difficult things he has ever written. “Casper and I are very different people, but much of what he has gone through is reflective of my experience.”
A big part of his identity journey was digging deeper into his family history as an adult. “Growing up, I knew my parents struggled coming to Canada…but I never truly interrogated it. I never thought to understand it until I became older and started asking questions about my history,” he says. Learning more about his parents’ immigration story to Canada led to the realization that his grandparents had fled to Brunei as refugees from China – a similar journey taken by the Han family.
As Boudel Tan continued exploring his family’s experiences, he began to learn more about Canada’s treatment of Chinese immigrants. “That’s when I started learning all about the [Chinese] head tax, the Chinese workers on the railway and the oppression that [Chinese immigrants to Canada] suffered over the past hundred-plus years.…They were having their homes burned, their businesses attacked and racial slurs thrown at them. They weren’t able to live like every other Canadian.”
Parts of this broader Canadian history were incorporated into the narrative, something Boudel Tan felt was important from a preservation standpoint. “It’s so easy to forget and it’s stunning to think how recent it really was, over the course of two to three generations,” he says. These histories not only showcase stories of injustice, but illustrate the sacrifices made for future generations and honour the courage of immigrants.
Boudel Tan also shared how a big part of the novel was him processing the duty he felt towards his parents, to do and say what they couldn’t as newcomers. “My parents just weren’t in a position to stand up for themselves, stand up for their rights.” This feeling is something Casper and his siblings experience as they grasp how their parents, and other immigrants in their town, have been minimized and pushed aside by their communities, fuelling a need for the younger generation to break the cycle and take a stand.
COVID-19 also influenced Boudel Tan’s writing, thanks to a realization that occurred in the darkest days of the pandemic, when he and his friends recognized their parents were aging and would eventually pass. “That was really the driving force of this novel: the reckoning with the fact that my parents were getting older and weren’t going to be around forever. That made it a truly challenging story to write because it was a constant reminder of that fact.”
Difficulties aside, Boudel Tan found the book incredibly fun to write as he got to explore family dynamics and invent the small town of Wilhelm. “I enjoy creating places that feel like they could be real. Places that are informed by the cultural and geographical context but are essentially a segment of my imagination.”
When asked where the novel’s title came from, he said it just came to him and felt right. While the references may seem random and completely separate, they represent the costumes worn by the twins on the night of Sam’s disappearance as well as highlighting Chinese culture and the essence of both boys. “The tiger is a Chinese astrological sign. It is Casper and Sam’s sign. The cosmonaut is perhaps a modern-day element of space and the universe,” Boudel Tan explains. “It also felt like a fitting visual representation of the two distinct boys. Sam, who is born of this world, who loves this world and is grounded. Casper, whose head is always in the clouds, is always dreaming about space, of leaving this earth.”
The Tiger and the Cosmonaut by Eddy Boudel Tan will be available to purchase on April 29, 2025.
STEPHAN PETAR is a born and raised Torontonian, known for developing lifestyle, entertainment, travel, historical and 2SLGBTQI+ content. He enjoys wandering the streets of any destination he visits, where he’s guaranteed to discover something new or meet someone who will inspire his next story.
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