New York Times Best Seller The best-selling 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
New York Times Best Seller
The best-selling 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.
Praise for Inland
“As it should be, the landscape of the West itself is a character, thrillingly rendered throughout…. Here, Obreht’s simple but rich prose captures and luxuriates in the West’s beauty and sudden menace. Remarkable in a novel with such a sprawling cast, Obreht also has a poetic touch for writing intricate and precise character descriptions.” (The New York Times Book Review – Editors’ Choice)
“Beautifully wrought.” (Vanity Fair)
“Obreht is the kind of writer who can forever change the way you think about a thing, just through her powers of description…. Inland is an ambitious and beautiful work about many things: immigration, the afterlife, responsibility, guilt, marriage, parenthood, revenge, all the roads and waterways that led to America. Miraculously, it’s also a page-turner and a mystery, as well as a love letter to a camel, and, like a camel, improbable and splendid, something to happily puzzle over at first and take your breath away at the end.” (Elizabeth McCracken, O: The Oprah Magazine)
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The Old American West Inland is basically two separate stories that are slowly and methodically woven as they build and merge. Inland is historical fiction with a dose of magical realism playing a role in both central characters journey.In 1893, Nora has settled in the Arizona Territory. At the beginning of the book her husband has left home to meet a water delivery after an extended drought. He leaves her with her two older sons that help publish the townâs newspaper, a younger son who lost sight in…
I’D GIVE IT 10 STARS IF I COULD! â â â â â â â â â â I grew up reading about the American West. I thrilled to the adventures of the cowboys and gunfighters and woodsmen and buckaroos, who, in my boyish fantasies, represented everything good about humankind: they were brave, strong, fearless, heroic, yet polite and good-hearted. My grandfather gave me a set of James Fenimore Cooper’s “Leatherstocking Tales” when I was 9 or 10 and I immediately began reading every page, often after my folks thought I was asleep. When I was old enough to go downtown…
A Long Treck Inland This novel is set in late nineteenth century Arizona Territory. There are a paltry number of instances in which Obreht’s prose verges on poetry. The author leads the reader through the desiccated desert landscape and the difficulties of an arid lifestyle in that setting. These paltry instances are overshadowed by significant problems with the writing style of the novel. First, the events of the novel are repeated and overly described. Where was the editor with a sharpened pencil? Most of…