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marmoset737's review against another edition
3.0
Not terrible - some interesting frontier life tidbits and an amazing camel sidekick - but ultimately I think will be slightly forgettable.
tevreads's review against another edition
3.0
Due mid-August, Obreht has crafted an original and intriguing story that mixes the nuances of historical fiction with the subtleties of magical realism. However, this was simply a story I couldn't fully get into. Perhaps it was because of hearing such good things about The Tiger's Wife, but I was constantly teetering on the edge reading this book, waiting for that moment where I'd finally be pulled in.
Towards the end of the novel, 'Evening', seemed to be the moment the story clicked for me, the characters were given life and the ending became memorable. Prior to that, I found myself reading for plot development, and not character development, the rhythm and feel of the story just didn't seem to spark my interest. I'm sure many will love this story, Obreht's intricacies and attention to historical detail are admirable, and some passages satiated the senses, but it wasn't for me.
Towards the end of the novel, 'Evening', seemed to be the moment the story clicked for me, the characters were given life and the ending became memorable. Prior to that, I found myself reading for plot development, and not character development, the rhythm and feel of the story just didn't seem to spark my interest. I'm sure many will love this story, Obreht's intricacies and attention to historical detail are admirable, and some passages satiated the senses, but it wasn't for me.
annebennett1957's review against another edition
5.0
Whoa! I had to clutch my chest when I finished listening to this book. The ending was so, so, so amazing.
Now I should confess that I nearly abandoned the book about one third of the way through. Since it has two narrators and it does not seem possible they will ever meet, it is very confusing. But as the story, which has some magical or other-worldly aspects, comes round, I warn you that you will not be prepared.
I am so glad I stuck it out with this book. And now I want to talk to anyone who has read it also, though I doubt I will not suggest this title for book club. The beginning is so confusing.
My review: https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/2019/12/review-and-quotes-inland.html
Now I should confess that I nearly abandoned the book about one third of the way through. Since it has two narrators and it does not seem possible they will ever meet, it is very confusing. But as the story, which has some magical or other-worldly aspects, comes round, I warn you that you will not be prepared.
I am so glad I stuck it out with this book. And now I want to talk to anyone who has read it also, though I doubt I will not suggest this title for book club. The beginning is so confusing.
My review: https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/2019/12/review-and-quotes-inland.html
amlagunas's review against another edition
3.0
A little more descriptive then I would've liked, making it slow, didn't really hold my attention. Interesting premise though!
marissalevien's review against another edition
4.0
This is a slow burn of a book, all character and all mood. Things properly come to a head at the end, but you're going to ride on glorious description and character work up til that point. Which isn't strictly a problem. After all, Tea Obreht can f@$!ing WRITE.
heathssm's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
gregj's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
amberzieg's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars. This book conjured loneliness and expanse and confusion and thirst. I thought the two storylines could have been brought together a little more effectively but overall thought the weaving together of stories was skillfully done. I wasn’t a huge fan of the third voice brought in toward the end but I think listening to it on audio made it more jarring than reading it would be.
vspinazola's review against another edition
5.0
Damn near perfect novel. Incredible imagining of the stories behind the ghost camels of the West. Some favorite passages -
The longer I live, Burke, the more I have come to understand that extraordinary people are eroded by their worries while the useless are carried ever forward by their delusions.
Because man is only man. And God, in His infinite wisdom, made it so that to live, is to wound another. And He made every man blind to his own weapons, and too short-living to do anything but guard jealously his own small, wasted way. And thus we go on.
You have stood on bluffs planted up with scorched saplings where the ground was pocked with exhalations, with ruts belching white gobs of mud as if the earth were breathing. You have walked the rim of a jaundiced gulch, veined high and low with bands of ore, through which the whitecaps of a nameless river went roaring.
Unsettling, how a person could be so easily recognized at a distance, not by feature or coloring, but by the composite gestures particular to himself alone.
She would never move herself again, of course. They would watch for it in the coming years, but it never happened, and thinking of it afterward Nora would come to wonder why substantiation always seemed to kill the things that had survived so long on faith alone.
Brilliant!!
The longer I live, Burke, the more I have come to understand that extraordinary people are eroded by their worries while the useless are carried ever forward by their delusions.
Because man is only man. And God, in His infinite wisdom, made it so that to live, is to wound another. And He made every man blind to his own weapons, and too short-living to do anything but guard jealously his own small, wasted way. And thus we go on.
You have stood on bluffs planted up with scorched saplings where the ground was pocked with exhalations, with ruts belching white gobs of mud as if the earth were breathing. You have walked the rim of a jaundiced gulch, veined high and low with bands of ore, through which the whitecaps of a nameless river went roaring.
Unsettling, how a person could be so easily recognized at a distance, not by feature or coloring, but by the composite gestures particular to himself alone.
She would never move herself again, of course. They would watch for it in the coming years, but it never happened, and thinking of it afterward Nora would come to wonder why substantiation always seemed to kill the things that had survived so long on faith alone.
Brilliant!!