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Book Review of Inland: A Novel

Inland: A Novel
Inland: A Novel
Author: Téa Obreht
Genre: Literature & Fiction
Book Type: Hardcover
reviewed on + 16 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1


I'm not entirely sure how to review this story. None of it will probably make sense, but here's hoping it will.

I read the first fifty-five percent, got audible and had a credit left and thought, what the hell, I'll listen to this story. I don't know why, 'cause I was loving every page of that fifty-five percent, but it's whatever.

I think at its core, this is a story about family and how death and other hardships shapes its overall dynamic. On one side you have Nora and her family which is unique in a way I won't spoil for you. On the other, you have Lurie who had his own unique family. And his own unique circumstances.

Throughout this book you'll be drawn into their lives, past and present, until both their worlds meet. It's a story too about family history.

What's so hard about reviewing this book? The above is really nothing you can't get from the synopsis. What's difficult to explain is why you should finish this book. Why you should read it in the first place.

That's difficult because not a lot happens, while at the same time so very much happens. It's plodding, but thrilling. Unique but familiar. Emotional in every way imaginable. Every character, every moment, is precisely placed. Nothing is superfluous. The writing is tremendous.

I keep thinking of this story, as a 'days in the life of' sort of story. And I think that's the best way to look at it. You're getting a lot of history, with snapshots of the present. It's thrilling, but overall there isn't an overall story arc. It's ore an experience than anything.

I enjoyed the heck out of it. I hope you check it out.