I remember being impressed by Obreht's first novel, "The Tiger's Wife," when it came out about a decade ago. She was an up-and-coming author who was pretty young to have written such a great book out the gate. So, I was excited to see she has written something else since. I think this novel might be sort of misunderstood if the Goodreads reviews are anything to go by. It's not perfect by any means (it's a little slowly-paced and the ending had some ambiguity), but there was a lot to like too.

The story is divided into two parts: Lurie, an outlaw who travels with an intriguing partner, and Nora, a homesteader in 1893 who's struggling to keep her sons going while her husband is away. I was completely invested in these characters and felt pained when they experienced sorrow. There were a few twists to the story that I wasn't expecting and that kept me intrigued. Above all, I was blown away by how authentic this book felt, both in time and place. Obreht was born in Yugoslavia and is quite young to have been able to create this incredibly accurate setting and tone.

I also loved the supernatural and ghost elements of the story - they created a more modern twist on the Western genre. Definitely curious to see what Obreht writes next!

Tea Obreht is a stunning writer with a gift for magical realism and historical relevance. Her books are smart, challenging, and rewarding.

A slow starter (or rather a slow middle) but by the end.... I was in tears by the end. The plot should have been ludicrous but somehow wasn't - the characters distinct and finely drawn, and deeply imperfect.

I tried getting through this book twice and made it about 25% on the second try and just couldn’t get further. The pacing of this one is so incredibly slow, even for a character focused book. I found myself not caring about what happened to any of the characters.

The Tiger's Wife by this author is one of my all-time favorite books. I did not like this book as much... but it was still very good. Extremely well-written, but the author wanders in her writing, so it kind of dragged. However, the characters grow on you, and the story grows on you as well. I will always read every book by this author due to her imaginative and exquisite prose.

Unfortunately I had a hard time getting into this book and decided not to complete it. I will still try to read anything Obreht writes in the future since I loved her first book.

Good read! The author was creative and created a relatable character for the reader to sympathize with.

Although a little long winded at times, this gorgeous reminagination of the West explores what it means to be haunted by both the past and the constant threat of death. Stunning psychological insight packed into unforgettable characters and historical setting.

This story is told between shifting points of view, one from Nora, a wife and mother trying to survive in Arizona with a dwindling water supply, and the other pov is Lurie, a former outlaw.

Lurie is a man on the run--he's running from his past, he's running from the law, and he's running from the ghosts that won't leave him alone. Nora, on the other hand, is waiting. She is waiting for her husband to bring water to their remote home on the frontier of Arizona, waiting for her older sons to return after a fight, and waiting for the terrible beast that her youngest son saw to make a move.

I was captivated by Obreht's debut novel The Tiger's Wife and I have been anxiously waiting for her to publish another book. I enjoyed Inland too, but the two stories are very different. A western gives a writer a unique vantage to examine how much people need each other, and how we are often very alone. Nora finds herself holding the household together by herself and even when neighbors and friends stop by, she knows that she alone is responsible for the safety and well-being of her family. Lurie recounts his backstory to someone who is unknown for a good portion of the story. He recalls coming to the United States, his loneliness after his father's death, and his experiences joining outlaws, pickpockets, and a group transporting livestock across the Southern states. It is only then that readers learn he has been talking to a camel this whole time.

While Inland is inarguably a Western, it is also a ghost story. We love the creepy feeling of a dark house, but there is something nerve-wracking about the great expanse, when the only thing between you and your closest neighbor is the danger of the desert. The ghosts who haunt the characters in this story aren't malevolent, but there is a feeling of unease throughout--things are not as they should be, and Lurie and Nora aren't sure what they should do next.

The characters and setting of Inland are instantly familiar--we all know the vicious outlaw, the strong woman on the frontier, and the kindly town doctor. But Obreht turns every piece just a bit. It is just enough to throw the reader off-balance and make them desperate to find out what happens next. The United States lacks the mythology of older nations (at least if we are uninformed about the history and folklore of Native Americans). Tea Obreht suggests we can find a communal American story (and American ghosts) on the frontiers of the Wild West. I can't wait to read what she writes next.

Inland
By Tea Obreht
Random House August 2019
384 pages
Read via Netgalley

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.As someone born in Arizona and spent a portion of my childhood there, I have always been drawn to the desert and old west stories. Tea Obrecht really brought the Old West to life in Inland. Nora is a captivating and well-written character. Several great suspenseful moments woven throughout the book, that kept me turning pages.

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.

This one just never grabbed me. Told from two POVs, Lurie, a wanted man from Missouri, and Nora, a frontier woman awaiting the return of her husband and older sons; unfortunately, it was choppy and stilted. Both are haunted by ghosts. In Laurie’s case, they literally make demands of him. And his narrative is directed to the camel he leads across the west. Nora holds conversations with her dead daughter.

I debated just putting this one down numerous times. The pace of this book is as slow as a desert tortoise. The story also meanders across time and place. To be honest, I only kept reading because other reviews mentioned how great the ending was (and it was worth finishing for the ending).

This book was really hard to get into. I love Tea Obreht. I loved The Tiger's Wife, but there was so much going on and it was hard for me to discern between the characters in the beginning. I ended up buying a physical copy--I'm just not sure this is a book to read on an e-reader.

Epic! A fluid, perfectly-crafted, smart story about folks I may not have cared about if described by anyone else. Inland gives us parallel narratives of a woman crazed by lack of water and fiercely protective of her fracturing family, and a cameleer fleeing his past. How they relate is for you to discover. The writing is so lush and dense, I know I missed details along the way-- all the better reason to reread soon. An immediate favorite, highly recommended.

I've been a fan of Obreht's since Tiger's Wife, but I struggled with this one a bit. I adore her writing, but the American West isn't my favorite setting/time period. Still, Obreht is such a beautiful writer, I stuck with her and ended up loving the journey.

I am thankful to the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. The following is my review, as posted on Goodreads:

I don’t feel like anything actually happened in this book. I really had to push myself to get through it. It just seemed like a LOT of words for very little actually happening. I had been intrigued by this book because of the notion of a western interweaved with magic but really felt it didn’t live up to the hype. I also didn’t feel like the two story lines really tied together...I think I understand what the author was going for, but for me personally, it just fell short.

I loved this book. The way Obreht steadily built tension between these two (seemingly) disparate storylines was fantastic. It has an ending that I'll think about for a long time.

Inland is one of those books where I say, who knew this topic could be so compelling to me? I understand that plenty of people would find it compelling, but I am not always as open-minded as the rest of you when it comes to certain historical fiction topics. Obreht’s mythic narrative captures the vast, lawless Arizona territory in stunning detail. Despite the little-known history of the time, her characters come to life in a world that is moving and deeply intimate. There is suspense and drama—it’s the wild west, after all—in this gem of a book.

I loved The Tiger's Wife and really wanted to love this one, too, but I just couldn't get into it. The characters felt flat and the story took too long to get going. I might go back to it because it's gotten some great reviews and I want to support the author.

If you decide to read this book, and I wouldn’t recommend that you do, get ready for the wild west meets the supernatural. I began reading this book on four separate occasions. I kept putting it down thinking it was my frame of mind and reading it at a later time would make it more appealing. I felt obligated to read and finish it because I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review and also other reviewers said the end was worth suffering through the boring story line.. So once again I picked it up and struggled to finish. The 5 percent good finish is not worth the 95 percent torture of reading the rest.

There are two unrelated story lines, each boring in its own right. You keep wondering how these so far apart stories will come together. There is not one single likable character to get behind to keep you interested. The storyline and timeframe are all over the map. There is no clear vision of where either story takes place outside of someplace in the American west. The writing is rambling and drawn out. I finished but it was torture. I gave it two stars for the authors wild imagination and the trouble of actually writing the story.