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missy_evanko's review
3.0
Alternating between two different perspectives: one is a woman waiting for her husband, on a trip for water, and two older sons, unexpectedly gone, to come home; the other is an outlaw on a camel. The outlaw's story was more interesting to me as it played out over the course of his life, while the woman's storyline took place in one day, with many flashbacks to fill you in on her life story, but ultimately left you feeling like nothing was happening.
This had a slow start and a very wordy writing style which failed to catch my interest. I kept reading because I'd heard there was the most perfect ending ever to a story. While the ending was good, it was overhyped.
This had a slow start and a very wordy writing style which failed to catch my interest. I kept reading because I'd heard there was the most perfect ending ever to a story. While the ending was good, it was overhyped.
erincampbell87's review against another edition
I’m so conflicted about this book. It started as overwrought and almost too densely packed with detail to carry its many narratives. By the end, at least one of the main character’s journeys came beautifully into view, but it left the other storyline feeling wane and underdeveloped, to me - as if he were more of a narrative device than a character with his own journey.
arielamandah's review
4.0
What a curious and wonderful book. Two haunted stories weave together in the parched, turn-of-the-century southwest. Obreht’s writing is thoroughly readable and her characters are complicated in the right sorts of ways. There’s heartache here, and love, and adventure.
And camels.
And ghosts.
And camels.
And ghosts.
saracat's review against another edition
3.0
The book shifts between telling about one set of characters and events told in first person and another set of characters and events told in third person. I am still not sure how I feel about the writing style and word choses for the novel. The author would drop in words that were not English and only some of the time was their enough context clues to let you begin to guess their meaning. I'm not one to use a dictionary while reading and have always taken the approach of trying to glean what you can of the meaning of words you don't know, but even by the books end, there were words I would have to take the time to look up. The frequency and moments the author used such words felt natural to the story and I do think that if the author had outright defined the words it would have broken the flow of the story. Though, I do wish that there had been some more creative attempt to at least over time give a bit more feel for what the words might mean.
One more note about language of the book. While I've never researched into how people might have spoken during that time period, the book did not read like modern English as used and spoken in the US, so it did have the feeling when reading the book that you were not in the present.
As for the story and the characters, it was interesting and by the end I was wanting to know and understand what happened and how everything connected together. However, it took quite a while for me to get there. I'm not sure I would have pressed on had this book not been for my bookclub. There definitely is depth and complexity to each character. The way in which the author tried to wrap things up in the final few pages was quite unsatisfying to me. I like the idea of how the author tried to end things. But I don't really like the execution of it.
One more note about language of the book. While I've never researched into how people might have spoken during that time period, the book did not read like modern English as used and spoken in the US, so it did have the feeling when reading the book that you were not in the present.
As for the story and the characters, it was interesting and by the end I was wanting to know and understand what happened and how everything connected together. However, it took quite a while for me to get there. I'm not sure I would have pressed on had this book not been for my bookclub. There definitely is depth and complexity to each character. The way in which the author tried to wrap things up in the final few pages was quite unsatisfying to me. I like the idea of how the author tried to end things. But I don't really like the execution of it.
kimkelly80's review
1.0
Slow, boring and I lost interest so often I completely lost the plot of the story. Love story to a camel?
livlovelit's review against another edition
3.0
I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.
Obreht is undoubtedly a beautiful writer, but I just could not figure out what was going on in this book. It’s written from two perspectives, both of which reveal more through time. Just when I felt like I was starting to get my bearings in the story it would switch to a totally different character and setting in a way I just couldn’t follow. I liked The Tiger’s Wife, and I’ll certainly read future books by Obreht, but this was was just not my favorite.
Obreht is undoubtedly a beautiful writer, but I just could not figure out what was going on in this book. It’s written from two perspectives, both of which reveal more through time. Just when I felt like I was starting to get my bearings in the story it would switch to a totally different character and setting in a way I just couldn’t follow. I liked The Tiger’s Wife, and I’ll certainly read future books by Obreht, but this was was just not my favorite.
balletbookworm's review against another edition
3.0
Finally finished, which I had to since I’m the book club leader tonight.
Téa Obreht’s lovely sentences saved this “novel” - which was comprised of two drastically different, cheaply foreshadowed, novellas that converged (finally) at the end of the book. In my opinion, she should have chosen either Nora’s story or Lurie’s story and developed an emotionally compelling, complete story. As it is, I found neither compelling. I would like to talk to her editor.
Content warning for racism toward non-white people on the page, particularly Native Americans (extremely to-period but it isn’t easy to read).
Téa Obreht’s lovely sentences saved this “novel” - which was comprised of two drastically different, cheaply foreshadowed, novellas that converged (finally) at the end of the book. In my opinion, she should have chosen either Nora’s story or Lurie’s story and developed an emotionally compelling, complete story. As it is, I found neither compelling. I would like to talk to her editor.
Content warning for racism toward non-white people on the page, particularly Native Americans (extremely to-period but it isn’t easy to read).
jrenouard's review against another edition
4.0
Richly written story, not your classic Western tropes told through two characters, a middle eastern immigrant, orphaned as a child in the mid-west, joins a camel train - a woman struggling with loss, drought, family and survival in the Arizona territory. Through it all, themes of water and scarcity, death and ghosts, hanging onto the past vs moving forward.
ddale's review against another edition
4.0
Pop sugar reading challenge prompt a western. I loved this book! Perhaps it was the strong female character, but I enjoyed it more than Lonesome Dove.