Téa Obreht

Inland

The New York Times bestselling author of The Tiger's Wife returns with "a bracingly epic and imaginatively mythic journey across the American West" (Entertainment Weekly). In the lawless, drought-ridden lands of the Arizona Territory in 1893, two extraordinary lives unfold. Nora is an unflinching frontierswoman awaiting the return of the men in her life--her husband, who has gone in search of water for the parched household, and her elder sons, who have vanished after an explosive argument. Nora is biding her time with her youngest son, who is convinced that a mysterious beast is stalking the land around their home. Meanwhile, Lurie is a former outlaw and a man haunted by ghosts. He sees lost souls who want something from him, and he finds reprieve from their longing in an unexpected relationship that inspires a momentous expedition across the West. The way in which Lurie's death-defying trek at last intersects with Nora's plight is the surprise and suspense of this brilliant novel. Mythical, lyrical, and sweeping in scope, Inland is grounded in true but little-known history. It showcases all of Téa Obreht's talents as a writer, as she subverts and reimagines the myths of the American West, making them entirely--and unforgettably--her own. Advance praise for Inland "A frontier tale [that] dazzles with camels and wolves and two characters who never quite meet . . . [Obreht] returns with a novel saturated in enough realism and magic to make the ghost of Gabriel García Márquez grin. . . . Will take your breath away."--Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "This is no boilerplate Louis L'Amour yarn--there are ghosts, camels and other fantastical elements."--Newsday (Best Summer Books 2019) "The long-anticipated second novel from Téa Obreht transports readers to the Wild West through the juxtaposed stories of a frontierswoman whose husband and sons have gone missing, and of an outlaw on the run."--Bustle

Fraser Simons

3.5 rounded up

I think, had I not read Whiskey When We’re Dry and Blood Meridian pretty recently I would have liked this more. 

What I liked the most was the structure and the plot. While the former serves up mixed results—sometimes serving to propel the pacing pretty well and effectively cutting away to build tension and interest—it also sometimes hampers the pacing as often as it helps, imo. It’s most satisfying than a straightforward linear and chronological progression though. Which means that the point of view, which made it difficult to get attached to any character, might have just exacerbated an otherwise small issue for some readers. 

The plot though, I feel is quite strong. It’s highly evocative and when the narratives dovetail it is very satisfying. Heavy themes on loss and guilt, the nature of nourishment and growth, all made it compelling to me despite the authorial voice not being my favourite. 

Had the overall craft surrounding character and dialogue been stronger I think this would have been a 5 star read, so I can easily understand why many people have it such a high ranking. Equally, I can see why it’s a polarizing book. It alienates genre enthusiasts and it takes quite a while for the structure of the plot to break ground. More than normal, this might heavily depend on if you just really dig the voice or not.

Nicholas Hertz

Tea Obreht

FEATURED ON BARACK OBAMA'S 2019 READING LIST SHORTLISTED FOR THE SWANSEA UNIVERSITY DYLAN THOMAS PRIZE 'SPECTACULAR' Guardian 'A WONDER' Daily Mail 'SPARKLING' The Times 'EXQUISITE' Observer 'MAGNIFICENT' TLS 'EPIC' Entertainment Weekly 'A TRIUMPH' LitHub 'INFECTIOUS' Financial Times 'A MASTERPIECE' Sunday Express Nora is an unflinching frontierswoman awaiting the return of the men in her life, biding her time with her youngest son - who is convinced that a mysterious beast is stalking the land around their home - and her husband's seventeen-year-old cousin, who communes with spirits. Lurie is a former outlaw and a man haunted by ghosts. He sees lost souls who want something from him, and he finds reprieve from their longing in an unexpected relationship that inspires a momentous expedition across the West. Mythical, lyrical, and sweeping in scope, Inland is grounded in true but little-known history. It showcases all of Téa Obreht's talents as a writer, as she subverts and reimagines the myths of the American West, making them entirely - and unforgettably - her own. NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY: Guardian, Time, Washington Post, Entertainment Weekly, Esquire, Good Housekeeping, The New York Public Library 'Should have been on the Booker longlist' Claire Lowdon, Sunday Times 'Magnificent... Brings to mind Gabriel García Márquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude or Toni Morrison's Beloved' Times Literary Supplement 'Exquisite ... The historical detail is immaculate, the landscape exquisitely drawn; the prose is hard, muscular, more convincingly Cormac McCarthy than McCarthy himself' Alex Preston, Observer

The New York Times bestseller from the award-winning author of The Tiger's Wife

Eva Ströberg

Olivia

katrina montgomery

Peter Read

Reiko Fu

Clara Moore

Ari Hertz

In the lawless, drought-ridden lands of the Arizona Territory in 1893, two extraordinary lives collide. Nora is an unflinching frontierswoman awaiting the return of the men in her life, her husband, a newspaperman, who has gone in search of water for the parched household, and her elder sons who have vanished after an explosive argument. Nora is biding her time with her youngest son, who is convinced that a mysterious beast is stalking the land around their home, and her husband's seventeen-year-old cousin, who communes with spirits. Lurie is a former outlaw and a man haunted by ghosts. He sees lost souls who want something from him, and he finds reprieve from their longing in an unexpected relationship that inspires a momentous expedition across the West.

A Novel

Lisa Sieverts 

Gwen Chodur

Aaron Chan

Esme Chiverton 

Tawnya Christensen

Hannah Anderson-Hale 

Abigail F

Sameer Vasta

In the lawless, drought-ridden lands of the Arizona Territory in 1893, two extraordinary lives collide. Nora is an unflinching frontierswoman, alone in a house abandoned by the men in her life -- her husband, who has gone in search of water for the parched household, and her two older sons, who have gone in search of their father after his return is delayed. Nora is biding her time with her youngest son, a boy with a bad eye who is convinced that a mysterious beast is stalking the land around their home, and a seventeen year old maid named Josie, her husband's cousin who communes with spirits. Lurie is the son of a dead dockworker, a former outlaw, and a man haunted by ghosts. He sees lost souls who want something from him, and he finds reprieve from their longing in an unexpected relationship that inspires an epic journey across the West.

Ashley

Heather Ellis

« Il y a des blessures qui affectent le temps, d’autres les gens. Parfois les gens se remettent de leurs blessures, mais le temps, lui, ne le peut pas. » Arizona, 1893 Dans son ranch, Nora attend désespérément le retour de son époux parti chercher de l’eau, tandis qu’elle tâche d’apaiser les craintes de son plus jeune fils, convaincu qu’une bête mystérieuse rôde sur leur domaine. En parallèle, Lurie vagabond orphelin à la « tête de Turc » et recherché par les autorités, se retrouve à accepter une mission insolite traverser la Californie à dos de chameau. Les existences de Nora et de Lurie finiront par se télescoper lors d’une improbable rencontre dans un décor spectaculaire de beauté. Un somptueux roman qui ravive le genre du Western, et questionne de manière unique les fondations de l'Amérique Dans un style poétique, l’épopée âpre et poignante de deux nouveaux américains, prêts à tout pour faire de leur terre sauvage une maison.

Aaron Lewis