Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

I liked this surprisingly well given my usual distaste for dystopian fiction and particularly climate fiction, as it hits too close to home given my work and I prefer not to be depressed when reading fiction. But the author’s prose and the inclusion of folklore bring this novel up a notch to actually enjoyable for me.

Téa Obreht writes in a distinct style, able to fold surreal elements into realism seemingly effortlessly. Her two previous novels shared these dreamlike qualities, The Tiger's Wife exploring her native Yugoslavian history and Inland, the American wild west. The reader could find themselves upended and being disconnected, with Serbian folklore scattered throughout. In The Morningside, she attacks climate change in this original, disquieting manner, with questions left unanswered. Syl and her mother have been uprooted, finding themselves in a repopulated area reminiscent of the Upper West Side of Manhattan, but no names give this away, just a sense. The once glamorous, sparkling city has been flooded, and Morningside is a former luxury building inhabited by survivors who remember the past. Constantly in the background, a pirate radio station gives reports phoned in anonymously. While I usually shy away from dystopian material, this held my attention thanks to Obreht's beautiful imagery and impeccable prose.

3.5 stars, rounded up. I adored Obreht's debut novel, the Balkan Wars magic realist family saga The Tiger's Wife, and admired her second, the parched revisionist Western Inland.

I'm still digesting my reactions to her third, The Morningside, which she wrote during the pandemic, as an expansion of a short story she published in The New York Times Magazine's Decameron Project in 2020. Set in a deeply lived-in retro-nostalgic future reminiscent of an alternate-universe flooded Upper Manhattan, this is an awkward hybrid of a post-apocalyptic climate refugee drama and a Balkan folktale of dark sorcery.

How many sacrifices would you make as a parent in a time of ecological collapse and political uncertainty, knowing that you are powerless to prevent your child's life from becoming far more uncertain and perilous than your own?

Preteen Silvia and her mother are fleeing an unspoken trauma in their unnamed Southeastern European homeland, where their village was destroyed by vaguely-sketched environmental degradation and paramilitary violence. A shadowy government repopulation scheme moves them into a decaying old luxury high-rise, full of cranky Upper West Side oldsters, where her aunt Ena is the superintendent. Meanwhile, her mother works as a salvage diver in the drowned urban ruins, seeking to make enough money to buy a local café and live a quiet life of exile.

Ena enchants Silvia with Balkan folktales, and she becomes convinced that Bezi Duras, a wealthy artist who lives in the building's towering penthouse, is a powerful and malevolent sorceress from the old country, whose three giant wolfhounds are shape-shifting men. Driven by the standard New York YA-novel trope of childish curiosity, Silvia seeks to unravel the mystery of this mysterious neighbor's identity, making a frenemy with another girl in her building, meeting mysterious strangers, exploring dangerous urban backwaters, and making Faustian bargains with powerful forces.

Obreht provides pointillistic touches that make this future world feel like a lucid dream: streets drowning in the tide, elevated railways that end in midair, an ancient jar of fig jam, nests of rook crane eggs, delicatessens serving illegal meat, collapsing flooded basements. Her prose style is dependably evocative and poetic, but couldn't make these disparate elements cohere, despite the emotional stunner of the final chapter's revelations.

Many thanks to Random House and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC, in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. The US publication date is March 19, 2024.

This strange and mysterious novel held my attention throughout, but, like "Inland," it would be a stretch to describe what it was about. It's a very assured book with fully-realized characters who demand your attention. Tea Obreht's imagination is rich and deep, and much of this novel has a dream-like quality. It's frightening, it seems almost like a prediction.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a digital review copy of this curious and entrancing book.

Nobody seems to notice when Silvie's mother and her take over as superintendents of their apartment building (from Silvie's aunt).

There are some rather strange "goings on".

Dystopian novels aren't my preferred genre; I'm not sure why I was drawn by The Morningside. The Morningside held my attention and I'm glad that I stepped out of my comfort zone to read this one.

Goodreads shows that Tea Obrecht (born in 1985 in the former Yugoslavia) is a contributor to George Orwell's Animal Farm. That stuck with me in the back of my mind as I read The Morningside; I could definitely imagine her writing the forward or introduction or commentary.

Thank you to NetGalley for introducing me (yet once again) to a "new to me" author. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House (the publisher) for approving me request to read the advance read copy in exchange for an honest review. 304 pages in the advance read version; publication date is March 19, 2024.

I loved this book . imaginative, surreal , with a brilliant story line.. Tea' is one of my favorite authors
.

A young girl grows up believing in the superstitions fostered by her aunt. Limited by those beliefs, she sees dangers at every turn. Meanwhile, her mother is doing everything she can to to survive in a society that is hostile to refugees like them. With a more courageous friend, the girl experiences people and places she would not have found before, growing into a mature young woman who can look back with her mother and marvel at the people and places that have shaped them.

A post-apocalyptic novel about a mother and daughter who have escaped a no-longer-safe homeland to an apartment building (The Morningside). The building has many empty apartments and the people who remain are strange group. The weirdest tenant is the woman who lives in the penthouse with three large dogs. The location appears to be Manhattan after it has been inundated with water. It is a curious place as food is available only through vouchers, but there are still police and ambulance services.

While the novel appears to be a simple story about a mother and daughter, Obreht includes commentary about climate change, along with searching for the past as well as running away from it. She adds a dash of fantasy to spice up the imagination of the daughter.

This marvelous novel offers a masterclass in novel writing. It has memorable characters, a vivid sense of place, and sly commentary about life.

A crumbling, decaying, crime-filled city. Immigrants fleeing their countries of origin due to war, famine, and climate disasters. Mismanaged and stolen funds intended to support families who are resettling and repopulating a dying city. Is this a dystopian novel or a truthful account of our world today? Morningside was incredibly moving and beautifully written. Obreht has done it again.

I loved The Morningside but it’s definitely an odd, beautiful book and won’t appeal to everyone. It reminded me of The Rabbit Hutch, except written by someone who actually knows poverty instead of who’s just good with prose, but set in a mystical, climate-ravaged, war-torn dystopian future.

Silvia and her mother are refugees from the mysterious Back Home, a place Sil must never speak of, a language called Ours she can only speak to her mother, lest people make assumptions about which side they were on. I actually liked how so few details about the war were given; enough is teased that you can make inferences from the beauty of the withholding. They are resettled into an apartment building called The Morningside, where Sil’s mother is building superintendent. I kept wondering which side Sil’s mother was on even after the revelations came out about their mysterious new neighbors.

Egged on by the mystical stories of a dead, beloved relative with rose-colored memories of their homeland, 12-year-old Sil becomes obsessed with the eccentric old lady living in the penthhouse suite. She becomes convinced that the artist and her three large dogs are actually werewolves led by a Vila, a monstrous evil spirit, and seeks proof. A new family moves into the building who has a girl her age, more brazen than her, and the two step up their investigation, to disastrous results.

I loved all the characters in this. Every side character was colorful and complex, and I liked how Sil and her mother were often unlikable but fascinating figures. I enjoyed the magic system in this; magical realism at its finest, but you were never certain if the magic was real or just made up to make people feel better. I liked how you were never certain of their past; did the jam jar Sil’s aunt Ena told stories about really come from her mother’s orchard or just the corner store? The prose was also beautiful; it made me want to check out the author’s back catalogue.

The pacing maybe focused too much on the mysterious Bezi and not enough on the dark secrets of Mila’s family, but I liked it and thought it appropriate for the perspective of an adult protagonist looking back at her childhood.

Overall I found this a fascinating, hopeful book, a story of people finding community and family against all odds in a hollowed out world with no future.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance review copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Great Author, Great Story, Loved it more than her others. A great book for a lazy weekend afternoon for an escape. Thanks

What an unusual book!
This gem takes place some time in the near dystopian future. Introducing, The Morningside, located in a villa, a suburb of New York perhaps. Silva ("Sil") helps her mother run the villa. They have relocated as part of the repopulation program.

The book moves slowly as Obreht weaves a story of an adolescent coming of age. Sil is an immensely likable character. Obreht ties in magical realism via Sil's imagination as she tries to determine where she is from and how she fits in. A beautiful and unforgettable story for any immigrant or person who knows what's it like to try to fit in. #RandomHouse #themorningside #TeaObreht

This post-apocalyptic novel was thought-provoking and beautifully written, just as I’d expect of another book by Tea Obreht.

This was a very unique and beautiful book. It was post apocalyptic, yet everyday life felt normal, it was magical, but wasn't a fantasy, it was based on a future immigrant story, yet could be describing anyone in that situation today. The book was based on so much hope for a better future, for promised opportunities to occur.

Sil is a smart and hardworking young woman who believes that tokens hidden in certain places will protect her and her mother, and that an answer to a secret must be earned. She believes that a tenant in the building she and her mother mange is a Vila with dogs that turn into men when not in view, and and that the building punishes her for sneaking into a place she should not have gone.

It was a well written story and as a reader I really wanted things to work out for Sil and her mother.

'Persons who weren't thieves and shifters were janglers, a term Ena and my mother used to denote the kind of person who wore all their jewelry at once.'

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

Such an intriguing book! I'm not sure the end totally paid off in the way I might have wanted. I can tell I will want to revisit this book again. Love the creativity on display here.

Thank you so much NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the e-ARC!
Expected publication: March 19, 2024

A story about family, displacement, and the power of storytelling set in a unique post-apocalyptic world in a not-too-distant future

What I liked:
I thought the world this book takes place in is unique and incredibly realistic—even though the setting is a post-apocalyptic world it felt like this could be our reality one day.

Complex mother-daughter relationship explored and told through the eyes of the daughter, a young girl named Silvia.

I enjoyed how the touches of fantasy blend with Silvia’s childlike imagination to the point where I was confused about what was real or not to the story! I can see how some readers may not enjoy this but it worked well for me.

This was a surprisingly emotional read for me, especially towards the end of the book. This is a touching story about a young girl’s search for truth about where she came from and the desire to protect those we love in a world where hope is fleeting.

What I didn’t like:
The story was a bit too slow-paced for my liking and it took me a while to get invested in the characters and the story.

Review posted on:
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/welen

I have read and enjoyed Téa Obreht’s previous books (The Tiger’s Wife and Inland), so I was eager to read an ARC copy of her forthcoming novel, The Morningside, to be published in March 2024.

The Morningside is a difficult book to characterize. It’s sort of dystopian, but a not-very-far-off and completely believable kind of dystopia. It’s sort of fantasy, but really more a meld of Old World myth and New Age magic. At its heart, though, The Morningside is a coming-of-age tale about a young girl trying to find the “world underneath the world.” However characterized, it’s a delightful ride! It’s an inventive and engaging tale from beginning to end, jam-packed with Téa Obreht’s always refreshing turns of phrase and gorgeous writing.

The Morningside . . . is about secrets, discovery, and keeping the people we love safe in a world that is suddenly unfamiliar and fraught with danger. Téa Obreht creates a beautiful, otherworldly experience . . . so just jump in and enjoy the ride!

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on March 19, 2024.

4.5 stars, rounded up. Highly recommended.

2.5 stars rounded up

Set in a city on the eastern coast somewhere, in the not-too-distant post-apocalyptic-future, the unnamed city has been inundated with flooding, and this is where a relatively young girl and her mother have come to live after leaving their former country. The Morningside is the name of the building they live in, with the mother taking on the job of manager/maintenance for this high-rise building as this begins.

This building (and this story) are filled with some strange and seemingly secretive characters, and two young girls. One, the daughter of the woman who is the manager of the building, and the other a girl around her age. The daughter of the manager and her friend are obsessed over a woman who can occasionally be seen through her window, and whom she believes has “dogs” that transform into human males.

There is more to this story, but this is one that others will either love or it won’t appeal to them at all. For me, I felt it would have been a better read if the author had not thrown so many disconnected and difficult to believe themes / stories together. A little (often a lot) heavy on the ‘woo-woo” side for me.



Pub Date: 19 Mar 2024


Many thanks for the ARC provided by Random House Publishing Group - Random House, Random House

This is a post-apocalypse novel, set in New York City after flooding has destroyed most of the city. (The author never says that the city in which the novel takes place is New York City, but this reader certainly thought it was.) The main character is a girl who has moved with her mother from another country. Their move is part of the Repopulation program designed to bring people back into the City. The mother becomes the manager and maintenance person for an old high rise building known as The Morningside (even the location on the “island” ties to NYC). The building is inhabited and frequented by some interesting people, including an ex-professor and the “janglers”, who are older ladies who wear lots of jangly jewelry. The main character believes that one inhabitant of the building has supernatural powers, and the main character and her friend try to get to the basis of some strange things going on in the building, which the girls believe are caused by the “witch”.
I felt that the author did a lovely and interesting job of describing NYC post-flood. Everything from the changes to the landscape and the flooded buildings to the deprivations and new rules made for entertaining reading.
My issue with the book was that I did not realize it involved fantasy, and I am just beyond witches and supernatural powers at this point. This is my fault – I should have checked more carefully before requesting this novel.
I think someone who enjoys reading fantasy – particularly someone who knows New York City – would enjoy this novel.

I've enjoyed Tea Obreht's other books but this one left me scratching my head. Maybe I'm just not smart enough but I just didn't get the point of it and I was largely confused throughout the tale. I suppose it's the dystopian future and life is bleak but separating a young girl's magical imaginings from the plot was challenging.
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.