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The Morningside
From the critically beloved, New York Times bestselling author of The Tiger's Wife and Inland, a magical novel of mothers and daughters, displacement and belonging, and myths both old and new.
There’s the world you can see. And then there’s the one you can’t. Welcome to the Morningside.
After being expelled from their ancestral home, Silvia and her mother finally settle at the Morningside, a crumbling luxury tower in Island City where Silvia’s aunt Ena serves as the superintendent. Silvia feels unmoored in her new life because her mother has been so diligently secretive about their family's past. Silvia knows almost nothing about the place where she was born and spent her early years, nor does she know why she and her mother had to leave. But in Ena there is an a person willing to give the young girl glimpses into the folktales of her demolished homeland, a place of natural beauty and communal spirit that is lacking in Silvia's lonely and impoverished reality.
Enchanted by Ena’s stories, Silvia begins seeing the world with magical possibilities and becomes obsessed with the mysterious older woman who lives in the penthouse of the Morningside. Bezi Duras is an enigma to everyone in the building. She has her own elevator entrance and leaves only to go out at night and walk her three massive hounds, often not returning until the early morning. Silvia’s mission to unravel the truth about this woman’s life, and her own haunted past, may end up costing her everything.
Startling, inventive, and profoundly moving, The Morningside is a novel about the stories we tell—and the stories we refuse to tell—to make sense of where we came from and who we hope we might become.
There’s the world you can see. And then there’s the one you can’t. Welcome to the Morningside.
After being expelled from their ancestral home, Silvia and her mother finally settle at the Morningside, a crumbling luxury tower in Island City where Silvia’s aunt Ena serves as the superintendent. Silvia feels unmoored in her new life because her mother has been so diligently secretive about their family's past. Silvia knows almost nothing about the place where she was born and spent her early years, nor does she know why she and her mother had to leave. But in Ena there is an a person willing to give the young girl glimpses into the folktales of her demolished homeland, a place of natural beauty and communal spirit that is lacking in Silvia's lonely and impoverished reality.
Enchanted by Ena’s stories, Silvia begins seeing the world with magical possibilities and becomes obsessed with the mysterious older woman who lives in the penthouse of the Morningside. Bezi Duras is an enigma to everyone in the building. She has her own elevator entrance and leaves only to go out at night and walk her three massive hounds, often not returning until the early morning. Silvia’s mission to unravel the truth about this woman’s life, and her own haunted past, may end up costing her everything.
Startling, inventive, and profoundly moving, The Morningside is a novel about the stories we tell—and the stories we refuse to tell—to make sense of where we came from and who we hope we might become.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published March 19, 2024
About the author
Téa Obreht
14 books1,525 followersTéa Obreht was born in 1985 in the former Yugoslavia, and spent her childhood in Cyprus and Egypt before eventually immigrating to the United States in 1997. Her writing has been published in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Harper’s, Zoetrope: All-Story, The New York Times, and The Guardian, and has been anthologized in The Best American Short Stories and The Best American Non-Required Reading. Her first novel,
The Tiger’s Wife,
was published by Random House in March 2011. She has been named by The New Yorker as one of the twenty best American fiction writers under forty and included in the National Book Foundation’s list of 5 Under 35. Téa Obreht lives in Ithaca, New York.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 291 reviews
January 21, 2024
The Morningside by Téa Obreht is a Family and Literary Fiction Story Sprinkled With Magical Realism and Set in a Dystopian and Post-Apocalyptic World!
Holy-Moly! There's a lot going on in this story...
Silvia knows little about where she's from, why they had to leave, or why her mother keeps their past so secretive. The only thing she knows is now they're living at The Morningside, an aging luxury high-rise in Island City where her Aunt Ena has lived and worked for the past ten years.
Silvia loves her conversations with Aunt Ena, who feeds her imagination with stories about the homeland she doesn't remember. Silvia becomes enamored by Ena's tales and her imagination spills over with thoughts about the mysterious resident living in the penthouse. She makes it her focus to discover the truth about this woman's life...
The Morningside is a Dystopian and Post-Apocalyptic story written in the first-person narrative of curious eleven-year-old Silvia. Silvia is quiet, bright, and observant and possesses keen senses for a child her age. Perhaps it's due to being raised by a mother who shares little that Silvia is driven to find answers on her own.
Silvia meets two individuals she develops friendships with and it's through these connections the story becomes more about the characters and relationships and less about the changing world described in Obreht's lovely writing.
The story can feel cramped with melodrama and distractions, jumping from one catastrophe to the next, and taking abrupt turns through unexpected decisions by the characters. For me, it added additional layers and interest.
The Morningside is creative and original storytelling about a mother-daughter relationship, finding family, and discovering your place in the world. I recommend it to readers who enjoy a well-written character-driven Family and Literary Fiction story with touches of Magical Realism like I do. I plan to look at Téa Obreht's backlist for more to read while I wait for her next book!
4⭐
Thank you to Random House and Téa Obreht for a physical ARC, and a DRC of this book through NetGalley. It has been an honor to give my honest and voluntary review. Due to publish 3/19/24!
Holy-Moly! There's a lot going on in this story...
Silvia knows little about where she's from, why they had to leave, or why her mother keeps their past so secretive. The only thing she knows is now they're living at The Morningside, an aging luxury high-rise in Island City where her Aunt Ena has lived and worked for the past ten years.
Silvia loves her conversations with Aunt Ena, who feeds her imagination with stories about the homeland she doesn't remember. Silvia becomes enamored by Ena's tales and her imagination spills over with thoughts about the mysterious resident living in the penthouse. She makes it her focus to discover the truth about this woman's life...
The Morningside is a Dystopian and Post-Apocalyptic story written in the first-person narrative of curious eleven-year-old Silvia. Silvia is quiet, bright, and observant and possesses keen senses for a child her age. Perhaps it's due to being raised by a mother who shares little that Silvia is driven to find answers on her own.
Silvia meets two individuals she develops friendships with and it's through these connections the story becomes more about the characters and relationships and less about the changing world described in Obreht's lovely writing.
The story can feel cramped with melodrama and distractions, jumping from one catastrophe to the next, and taking abrupt turns through unexpected decisions by the characters. For me, it added additional layers and interest.
The Morningside is creative and original storytelling about a mother-daughter relationship, finding family, and discovering your place in the world. I recommend it to readers who enjoy a well-written character-driven Family and Literary Fiction story with touches of Magical Realism like I do. I plan to look at Téa Obreht's backlist for more to read while I wait for her next book!
4⭐
Thank you to Random House and Téa Obreht for a physical ARC, and a DRC of this book through NetGalley. It has been an honor to give my honest and voluntary review. Due to publish 3/19/24!
March 24, 2024
Thank you, Random House, for the free copy of the book.
What a different little book. A dystopian world with some hints of magic, mythology, and fantasy.
About the book: “From the critically beloved, New York Times bestselling author of The Tiger's Wife and Inland, a magical novel of mothers and daughters, displacement and belonging, and myths both old and new.
There’s the world you can see. And then there’s the one you can’t. Welcome to the Morningside.”
Silvia and her mother move into the Morningside, a dilapidated tower on a strange island. Her aunt Ena is the superintendent of the building and regularly shares folk stories of their homeland.
Eventually, Silvia develops an interest in Bezi, the woman who lives in the penthouse of the building. She’s mysterious and keeps to herself, and that makes Silvia even more keen on figuring out her secrets.
The Morningside is set after a climate disaster alters the world. It’s a story of mothers and daughters and deep family secrets of the past. It’s enveloping and the magical realism is done so well. Silvia comes of age within these pages, and this is such a unique character-driven story. The dystopian side begs you to ponder the possibilities of what life could look like one day. A quick and fulfilling read where a touch of whimsy balances the hard truths.
Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram: www.instagram.com/tarheelreader
What a different little book. A dystopian world with some hints of magic, mythology, and fantasy.
About the book: “From the critically beloved, New York Times bestselling author of The Tiger's Wife and Inland, a magical novel of mothers and daughters, displacement and belonging, and myths both old and new.
There’s the world you can see. And then there’s the one you can’t. Welcome to the Morningside.”
Silvia and her mother move into the Morningside, a dilapidated tower on a strange island. Her aunt Ena is the superintendent of the building and regularly shares folk stories of their homeland.
Eventually, Silvia develops an interest in Bezi, the woman who lives in the penthouse of the building. She’s mysterious and keeps to herself, and that makes Silvia even more keen on figuring out her secrets.
The Morningside is set after a climate disaster alters the world. It’s a story of mothers and daughters and deep family secrets of the past. It’s enveloping and the magical realism is done so well. Silvia comes of age within these pages, and this is such a unique character-driven story. The dystopian side begs you to ponder the possibilities of what life could look like one day. A quick and fulfilling read where a touch of whimsy balances the hard truths.
Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram: www.instagram.com/tarheelreader
September 2, 2023
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 (or vice-versa).
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
March 19, 2024
For the first time, Téa Obreht has leaped into the future, though it’s still a future very much invested in the past. Her new novel, “The Morningside,” grew from a short story published in the New York Times Magazine during the covid-19 pandemic. One doesn’t necessarily need to, but considering that story alongside this novel raises curious questions about the differences between these two forms, their strengths and functions. Is a novel a short story all grown up? Is it satisfying to read a novel that fills in a short story’s evocative lacunae?
“The Morningside” takes place in Island City, a swampy version of Manhattan after climate change has flooded the coast. Rather than detailing the political structure of this battered place, Obreht drops provocative hints about the latest efforts to rebuild the city’s infrastructure and the government’s image. So many citizens have fled the rotting metropolis that federal authorities have recruited desperate refugees from abroad to participate in a Repopulation Program. Lured by the promise of a better, safer, more stable life, the huddled masses yearning to breathe free have arrived from Back Home.
As always, what they find is not what they were promised, but they’re cheap, eager labor, and the National Bureau of Posterity admonishes them to keep the faith. Just a little more belt-tightening, a little more hard work, and surely they would find themselves “back in the Island City of before. The city as it had always been, and still was, under or above water: The city of fanfare and electric autumns, of lamplit streets and music and dazzling marquees, of lovers tangling furtively in windows, of lush parks, of townhomes glowing warmly on a moonless night. The ensuing party would be magnificent.”
To read the rest of this review, go to The Washington Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/...
“The Morningside” takes place in Island City, a swampy version of Manhattan after climate change has flooded the coast. Rather than detailing the political structure of this battered place, Obreht drops provocative hints about the latest efforts to rebuild the city’s infrastructure and the government’s image. So many citizens have fled the rotting metropolis that federal authorities have recruited desperate refugees from abroad to participate in a Repopulation Program. Lured by the promise of a better, safer, more stable life, the huddled masses yearning to breathe free have arrived from Back Home.
As always, what they find is not what they were promised, but they’re cheap, eager labor, and the National Bureau of Posterity admonishes them to keep the faith. Just a little more belt-tightening, a little more hard work, and surely they would find themselves “back in the Island City of before. The city as it had always been, and still was, under or above water: The city of fanfare and electric autumns, of lamplit streets and music and dazzling marquees, of lovers tangling furtively in windows, of lush parks, of townhomes glowing warmly on a moonless night. The ensuing party would be magnificent.”
To read the rest of this review, go to The Washington Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/...
February 25, 2024
I picked this book up because I recognized the author from The Tiger's Wife (which I have yet to read) and wanted the chance to read some of her work.
Description:
There’s the world you can see. And then there’s the one you can’t. Welcome to the Morningside.
After being expelled from their ancestral home, Silvia and her mother finally settle at the Morningside, a crumbling luxury tower in Island City where Silvia’s aunt Ena serves as the superintendent. Silvia feels unmoored in her new life because her mother has been so diligently secretive about their family's past. Silvia knows almost nothing about the place where she was born and spent her early years, nor does she know why she and her mother had to leave. But in Ena there is an a person willing to give the young girl glimpses into the folktales of her demolished homeland, a place of natural beauty and communal spirit that is lacking in Silvia's lonely and impoverished reality.
Enchanted by Ena’s stories, Silvia begins seeing the world with magical possibilities and becomes obsessed with the mysterious older woman who lives in the penthouse of the Morningside. Bezi Duras is an enigma to everyone in the building. She has her own elevator entrance and leaves only to go out at night and walk her three massive hounds, often not returning until the early morning. Silvia’s mission to unravel the truth about this woman’s life, and her own haunted past, may end up costing her everything.
Startling, inventive, and profoundly moving, The Morningside is a novel about the stories we tell—and the stories we refuse to tell—to make sense of where we came from and who we hope we might become.
My Thoughts:
This dystopian world was set somewhere in the United States after some type of climate disaster that included drought and flooding which the people haven't really been able to recover from. The story is told from the point of view of Silvia who lives with her mother. They have been part of a Relocation Project and are living with her Aunt Ena. Silvia's mother won't talk about the past, so Silvia doesn't really know where she came from and what happened in the past. Aunt Ena provides information to Silvia and shows pictures, but Silvia doesn't know what is true and what her mother is hiding. This is the story of a mother and daughter relationship and of hidden secrets. It was interesting to see the two worlds competing in Silvia's mind - the one on the surface and the one Aunt Ena described with her stories of a Vila and scary negotiations the Vila made. This is an interesting book with magical realism and a coming of age story. It is character driven and the characters are well drawn and have depth.
Thanks to Random House through Netgalley for an advance copy. Expected publication on March 19, 2024.
Description:
There’s the world you can see. And then there’s the one you can’t. Welcome to the Morningside.
After being expelled from their ancestral home, Silvia and her mother finally settle at the Morningside, a crumbling luxury tower in Island City where Silvia’s aunt Ena serves as the superintendent. Silvia feels unmoored in her new life because her mother has been so diligently secretive about their family's past. Silvia knows almost nothing about the place where she was born and spent her early years, nor does she know why she and her mother had to leave. But in Ena there is an a person willing to give the young girl glimpses into the folktales of her demolished homeland, a place of natural beauty and communal spirit that is lacking in Silvia's lonely and impoverished reality.
Enchanted by Ena’s stories, Silvia begins seeing the world with magical possibilities and becomes obsessed with the mysterious older woman who lives in the penthouse of the Morningside. Bezi Duras is an enigma to everyone in the building. She has her own elevator entrance and leaves only to go out at night and walk her three massive hounds, often not returning until the early morning. Silvia’s mission to unravel the truth about this woman’s life, and her own haunted past, may end up costing her everything.
Startling, inventive, and profoundly moving, The Morningside is a novel about the stories we tell—and the stories we refuse to tell—to make sense of where we came from and who we hope we might become.
My Thoughts:
This dystopian world was set somewhere in the United States after some type of climate disaster that included drought and flooding which the people haven't really been able to recover from. The story is told from the point of view of Silvia who lives with her mother. They have been part of a Relocation Project and are living with her Aunt Ena. Silvia's mother won't talk about the past, so Silvia doesn't really know where she came from and what happened in the past. Aunt Ena provides information to Silvia and shows pictures, but Silvia doesn't know what is true and what her mother is hiding. This is the story of a mother and daughter relationship and of hidden secrets. It was interesting to see the two worlds competing in Silvia's mind - the one on the surface and the one Aunt Ena described with her stories of a Vila and scary negotiations the Vila made. This is an interesting book with magical realism and a coming of age story. It is character driven and the characters are well drawn and have depth.
Thanks to Random House through Netgalley for an advance copy. Expected publication on March 19, 2024.
January 10, 2024
3.5, rounded up. I adored Obreht's debut novel, the Balkan Wars magic realist family saga The Tiger's Wife, and admired the technical accomplishment and plot mechanics of 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 you'd bump into on line at the smoked fish counter at Zabar's), 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 out 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 (cue: From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler) 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 all of 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.
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 you'd bump into on line at the smoked fish counter at Zabar's), 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 out 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 (cue: From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler) 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 all of 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.
January 26, 2024
Obreht's third novels takes her strengths from her two previous books and meshes them together in a speculative novel set in the future. From The Tiger's Wife we have the Eastern European folklore and heritage, from Inland we have a gradual but careful plot with high emotional stakes. They were very different from each other but now that we have The Morningside to connect them you can see Obreht's work as a novelist starting to come together with a point of view. I read it in a single day!
The phrase "cli-fi" gets tossed around a lot, and sometimes these novels that consider a future after climate change are heavy handed, sometimes it doesn't seem to care about much except the futuristic setting, but Obreht gets it just right. Not only does she build a realistic future where a partially flooded island city that was probably once Manhattan struggles to become habitable again, but she keeps a keen eye for the political issues and class divides that created the crisis in the first place.
The young protagonist and the initial looseness of the story make it seem like this is one kind of book, but give it time. I found it compelling and enjoyed exploring the world Obreht set up for us, where Silvia and her mother, refugees from a wartorn country, end up as caretakers for an old building with a mix of mostly wealthy residents as part of a rehabitation program. Initially we follow Silvia's curiosity at this new world, especially the conflict between her mother and aunt about the world they came from and the world they live in now. The two women can't seem to agree on any of it, and Silvia finds herself drawn to her aunt's version of the world, one where the legends of the old world are still alive around them.
But eventually it feels less like a world of fairy tales and more like a very real place full of dangers. And yet, it does feel like maybe these stories could all be true. The line between realism and surrealism is always blurred in this novel, which works so well to show us how Silvia sees things. And then, somehow, we find ourselves in a story that is no longer loose and wandering but tense and taut, where all the things Silvia doesn't know will lead her down dangerous paths.
It's the kind of novel that when it's over you realize you ended up nowhere near where you thought you were going to go, which for me is a real pleasure. It's also a novel where you feel like you are in the hands of a writer who knows what she's doing, another real pleasure.
I think Inland was overlooked, perhaps it was because it was so different from The Tiger's Wife and that book was so celebrated. But I adored Inland, and I hope that everyone gives Obreht another look with this little gem.
The phrase "cli-fi" gets tossed around a lot, and sometimes these novels that consider a future after climate change are heavy handed, sometimes it doesn't seem to care about much except the futuristic setting, but Obreht gets it just right. Not only does she build a realistic future where a partially flooded island city that was probably once Manhattan struggles to become habitable again, but she keeps a keen eye for the political issues and class divides that created the crisis in the first place.
The young protagonist and the initial looseness of the story make it seem like this is one kind of book, but give it time. I found it compelling and enjoyed exploring the world Obreht set up for us, where Silvia and her mother, refugees from a wartorn country, end up as caretakers for an old building with a mix of mostly wealthy residents as part of a rehabitation program. Initially we follow Silvia's curiosity at this new world, especially the conflict between her mother and aunt about the world they came from and the world they live in now. The two women can't seem to agree on any of it, and Silvia finds herself drawn to her aunt's version of the world, one where the legends of the old world are still alive around them.
But eventually it feels less like a world of fairy tales and more like a very real place full of dangers. And yet, it does feel like maybe these stories could all be true. The line between realism and surrealism is always blurred in this novel, which works so well to show us how Silvia sees things. And then, somehow, we find ourselves in a story that is no longer loose and wandering but tense and taut, where all the things Silvia doesn't know will lead her down dangerous paths.
It's the kind of novel that when it's over you realize you ended up nowhere near where you thought you were going to go, which for me is a real pleasure. It's also a novel where you feel like you are in the hands of a writer who knows what she's doing, another real pleasure.
I think Inland was overlooked, perhaps it was because it was so different from The Tiger's Wife and that book was so celebrated. But I adored Inland, and I hope that everyone gives Obreht another look with this little gem.
October 16, 2023
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 disoriented, 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.
September 23, 2023
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.
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.
April 18, 2024
At some unknown time in the future after obvious world-wide climate catastrophes, we are introduced to new residents of an apartment building in the City, The Morningside. Eleven year old Silvia (Sil) and her mother have arrived from their destroyed country, part of the Repopulation Program designed to populate areas of this city and country that are to be rebuilt after floods, landslides, forest fires, all types of natural disasters. Sil and her mother have been directed to The Morningside because her Aunt Ena works there as a superintendent.
As they settle in, we learn more of Ena’s folk lore beliefs brought from the old country and see their influence on Sil. Throughout this novel, the tension between the world of magic and the problems of the very real physical world create an at times all-consuming strain on Sil who finds it impossible to talk with her mother about her worries. She is convinced there is a magical person living at The Morningside and worries about her purpose. Sil is at an impressionable age. I found myself trying to imagine myself at 11 or 12 in this type of life shattering situation and couldn’t.
I found this a difficult novel at times. I wonder if some of that difficulty is related to the age of the narrator, Sil, or the amount of unknowns in her life. I liked the premise behind the story and so many of the characters and their situations seemed realistic, sadly. But the flow seemed inconsistent.
Rating 3.5* rounded to 3.
Thanks to Random House and NetGalley for an early copy of this book. This review is my own.
As they settle in, we learn more of Ena’s folk lore beliefs brought from the old country and see their influence on Sil. Throughout this novel, the tension between the world of magic and the problems of the very real physical world create an at times all-consuming strain on Sil who finds it impossible to talk with her mother about her worries. She is convinced there is a magical person living at The Morningside and worries about her purpose. Sil is at an impressionable age. I found myself trying to imagine myself at 11 or 12 in this type of life shattering situation and couldn’t.
I found this a difficult novel at times. I wonder if some of that difficulty is related to the age of the narrator, Sil, or the amount of unknowns in her life. I liked the premise behind the story and so many of the characters and their situations seemed realistic, sadly. But the flow seemed inconsistent.
Rating 3.5* rounded to 3.
Thanks to Random House and NetGalley for an early copy of this book. This review is my own.
April 19, 2024
Tea Obreht offers a unique narrative experience through the eyes of Silvia (Sil), whose life unfolds within the confines of the Morningside, a high-rise in Island City. With dystopian elements, 11-year old Sil shares her journey as part of a repopulation program sometime in the near future, alongside her secretive mother, who doesn’t talk about her past. Sil finds solace in the folktales shared by her Aunt Ena, the superintendent, while navigating the intricacies of her daily routine and forming an obsession with Bezi, a penthouse recluse who lives with 3 wolfhounds. Sil forms an unlikely connection with a middle-aged black character named May who occasionally “creeps” into her life from time to time. I found his backstory fascinating.
Despite initial struggles with the pacing and disorientation in space and time, the story gradually unravels into an engaging exploration of relationships, mysteries, and the power of storytelling. At its core, “The Morningside" delves into Sil's evolving bond with her mother and the unraveling of a compelling mystery that kept me rapt till the very end. Overall, I found the book to be a captivating and immersive read once the story gained momentum. Through Sil’s journey, this novel is a poignant coming- of-age story highlighting her resilience and growth amidst a changing world.
Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group- Random House for a copy of this ARC.
Despite initial struggles with the pacing and disorientation in space and time, the story gradually unravels into an engaging exploration of relationships, mysteries, and the power of storytelling. At its core, “The Morningside" delves into Sil's evolving bond with her mother and the unraveling of a compelling mystery that kept me rapt till the very end. Overall, I found the book to be a captivating and immersive read once the story gained momentum. Through Sil’s journey, this novel is a poignant coming- of-age story highlighting her resilience and growth amidst a changing world.
Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group- Random House for a copy of this ARC.
March 18, 2024
A mother and her daughter Silvia (11) arrive at the Morningside, a fine old luxury residence tower, to live with their aunt Ena who is the superintendent for the building. They are displaced people in a war-torn world that is also being destroyed by the floods and fires of climate change. Silvia is fascinated by her aunt's stories of her childhood and the folk tales that enriched it. When Ena claims the three giant dogs owned by the old woman living in the penthouse are really three men turned into dogs by an enchantment, Sil sets out to prove it.
And so we have a different sort of coming-of-age story--a young girl living under mother's thumb but squirming to break free, being led astray by the stronger personality of a new friend and not really understanding the dangers that could be lying in wait. Sil thinks her mother's insistence that they not speak their old language is just plain silly but this new country is not 'all forests and toadstools and magic violins' like in Ena's stories.
Many thanks to the author and publisher for granting me an arc of this new novel through NetGalley. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.
And so we have a different sort of coming-of-age story--a young girl living under mother's thumb but squirming to break free, being led astray by the stronger personality of a new friend and not really understanding the dangers that could be lying in wait. Sil thinks her mother's insistence that they not speak their old language is just plain silly but this new country is not 'all forests and toadstools and magic violins' like in Ena's stories.
Many thanks to the author and publisher for granting me an arc of this new novel through NetGalley. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.
Read
August 26, 2023This 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 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.
April 15, 2024
"The Morningside" is a creatively brilliant story of the haves and the have nots in a near future dystopian city under water. People living with violence and scarcity are lured by a government promise of a bright future if they will just work hard and due without for a while longer. What could possibly go wrong? I couldn't turn the pages fast enough to find the answers, and the ending was just right.
I received a drc from the publisher via NetGalley.
I received a drc from the publisher via NetGalley.
April 3, 2024
Happy publication day and cheers for a new book to treasure from a favorite author who excels in telling tales of uplifting resilience with magical realism!
Obreht is intentionally vague with origin place names and language references, but it seems both climate change and war have created refugees.
A mysterious quest in an atmospheric near future dystopian "Island City" –very similar to Manhattan, New York– celebrates urban wildlife and a magical fabled shapeshifter (vila) of Slavic origin.
An immigration resettlement program, a backbone in this story, inspires disagreement and politically heated arguments.
Our young heroine Sylvia, along with her mom, Aunt Ena, and many other fellow residents of the Morningside are refugee immigrants enduring injustice, including climate disaster aftermath.
Among the visceral elements: recognition of irrepressible wildlife—notably in the guise of enormous otherworldly “rook crane” birds, pointed support of vegetarianism, clear class distinctions among characters, and a dark fairytale layer.
Gratitude to the author and to the publisher for this mysterious, suspenseful, engaging, heart-rending, relatable and especially worthwhile read for fans of folklore, coming-of-age storytelling, magical-realism, nature-urban-wildness-wildlife, and humor!
Originally a short story within the pandemic inspired anthology The Decameron project. It's interesting to discover details that changed when they became part of this full novel, almost like getting to see this writer's process.
Excellent synopsis from Sara Beth West in Shelf Awareness
https://www.shelf-awareness.com/thesh...
Obreht is intentionally vague with origin place names and language references, but it seems both climate change and war have created refugees.
A mysterious quest in an atmospheric near future dystopian "Island City" –very similar to Manhattan, New York– celebrates urban wildlife and a magical fabled shapeshifter (vila) of Slavic origin.
An immigration resettlement program, a backbone in this story, inspires disagreement and politically heated arguments.
Our young heroine Sylvia, along with her mom, Aunt Ena, and many other fellow residents of the Morningside are refugee immigrants enduring injustice, including climate disaster aftermath.
Among the visceral elements: recognition of irrepressible wildlife—notably in the guise of enormous otherworldly “rook crane” birds, pointed support of vegetarianism, clear class distinctions among characters, and a dark fairytale layer.
Gratitude to the author and to the publisher for this mysterious, suspenseful, engaging, heart-rending, relatable and especially worthwhile read for fans of folklore, coming-of-age storytelling, magical-realism, nature-urban-wildness-wildlife, and humor!
Originally a short story within the pandemic inspired anthology The Decameron project. It's interesting to discover details that changed when they became part of this full novel, almost like getting to see this writer's process.
Excellent synopsis from Sara Beth West in Shelf Awareness
https://www.shelf-awareness.com/thesh...
November 6, 2023
Tea Obreht is a wonderful writer and in this unusual book she does a very good job of using her talent to world-build a dystopian future. By referring to the past oblique fragements the story takes on a mysterious feel which I found very engaging. This is more of a coming of age/mystery novel than a dystopian story but the two aspects work well together. The plot is sublte and paced very well. I recommend you pick this up if you are looking to break out of a reading rut and try something a bit different.
April 21, 2024
I read The Tiger’s Wife years ago so I like the author’s writing well enough to finish the book but I honestly didn’t get this. It’s a dystopian novel that explores issues of climate change and immigration but there’s also a folk tale woven throughout the narrative. I wasn’t sure what was real and what was the narrator’s imagination. Which might have been the point? I just don’t know.
Thank you to Goodreads Giveaways and Random House for the book.
Thank you to Goodreads Giveaways and Random House for the book.
August 16, 2023
the morningside is a villa in an unknown locale. silva, or rather sil, helps run the villa with her mother. they are from paraiso and are part of a repopulation program. it is imperative that sil and her mother speak and write english according to those who run the program. sil's mom is incredibly gifted when it comes to languages, but she dislikes the disorder and messiness of english. there is a colorful, bizarre, odd cast of characters that are so fun.
this novel is short, sweet; mystical, and realistic at the same time. it's so lovingly strange. sil is a character that i just couldn't help but adore. she's industrious, intelligent, and intuitive to those around her. she reminds me of myself, as she is the daughter of immigrants with limited english. я тоже! to live in an english-centric society as an immigrant or the child of immigrants is to detach yourself from your culture. but sil? she is in tune with her identity. this novel feels like a love letter to her mother.
thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review!
this novel is short, sweet; mystical, and realistic at the same time. it's so lovingly strange. sil is a character that i just couldn't help but adore. she's industrious, intelligent, and intuitive to those around her. she reminds me of myself, as she is the daughter of immigrants with limited english. я тоже! to live in an english-centric society as an immigrant or the child of immigrants is to detach yourself from your culture. but sil? she is in tune with her identity. this novel feels like a love letter to her mother.
thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review!
April 8, 2024
A compelling, moving mash-up of a dystopian near-future story set in an unnamed island city (that seems pretty obviously a largely submerged Manhattan) and lightly drawn magical realism that plays itself out in a story of imported tensions from the eternal Balkan conflicts, written in Obreht’s inimitable style. The story is told from the viewpoint of 10-year-old Silvia (Sil), whose fiercely protective, secretive mother finds them refuge in the increasingly dilapidated Morningside building, after years of wandering as environmental refugees. There, Sil meets her great-aunt Ena, a relative she’d no idea she had, who regales her with family stories her mother had never shared, but most especially with folkloric tales of the old country. It’s little wonder that impressionable Sil becomes obsessed with a mysterious older woman who lives in their building, who Sil is convinced is a powerful magical figure whose three dogs are humans in disguise. Sil’s young life to this point has been a record of loss upon loss, and she will experience more as the story unfolds, but we are left in the end with a (muted) sense of hope and optimism.
March 16, 2024
3.5 rounded up to 4 stars
"The Morningside" is a captivating coming-of-age tale amidst the backdrop of a not-so-distant, dystopian future. At its core, is the universal quest to find belonging.
Sil and her mother, displaced by the ravages of war and climate change, find refuge in Island City through the Repopulation efforts. Their residence in the enigmatic Morningside, overseen by Sil's Aunt Ena, becomes a catalyst for discovery. Through Ena's revelations about their past and the rich tapestry of folklore from their homeland, Sil begins to unearth her identity and forge connections long yearned for.
Inventive and imaginative, Sil drives the narrative finding herself on an adventure as she straddles the world she sees and the one that lies just beneath looking for connection and understanding that could jeopardize her everything she holds dear.
"The Morningside" is a testament to the power of storytelling, offering readers an inventive and compelling exploration of identity, community, and the sacrifices demanded by the pursuit of truth.
Thank you NetGalley Tea Obreht and Random House Publishing Group for an advanced e-copy of this book. Grab your copy March 19th, 2024!
"The Morningside" is a captivating coming-of-age tale amidst the backdrop of a not-so-distant, dystopian future. At its core, is the universal quest to find belonging.
Sil and her mother, displaced by the ravages of war and climate change, find refuge in Island City through the Repopulation efforts. Their residence in the enigmatic Morningside, overseen by Sil's Aunt Ena, becomes a catalyst for discovery. Through Ena's revelations about their past and the rich tapestry of folklore from their homeland, Sil begins to unearth her identity and forge connections long yearned for.
Inventive and imaginative, Sil drives the narrative finding herself on an adventure as she straddles the world she sees and the one that lies just beneath looking for connection and understanding that could jeopardize her everything she holds dear.
"The Morningside" is a testament to the power of storytelling, offering readers an inventive and compelling exploration of identity, community, and the sacrifices demanded by the pursuit of truth.
Thank you NetGalley Tea Obreht and Random House Publishing Group for an advanced e-copy of this book. Grab your copy March 19th, 2024!
August 13, 2023
This is one of the most unusual and strange books I have ever read. It is a novel of the future, but it is not science fiction, it is about artists with mystical powers and dogs that are really transformed children, but it is not fantasy. Whatever it is, this is a hypnotic and beautifully written novel about a young girl and her mother, refugees from some southern country, who come to live with a relative in a formerly luxurious high rise building in a partially drowned city which could (or could not0 be New York.
There is a woman in the penthouse, an artist, who might (or might not) be a Vila, a mythical creature who lives in the heights above a village and demands sacrifices from those whom she guards. We never really find out for sure if Ms. Duras is one, or do we?
Silvia, or Sil as she is called, is an intelligent and hard-working pre-adolescent child who supports her mother, who works, at first, as Superintendent of The Morningside, this high rise (wherever it is). She leaves Sil to perform the superintendent job to earn more money by becoming a salvage diver deep below the underwater city buildings. Sil is later befriended by a local writer and later by a new girl, Mila who is braver and more adventuresome than Sil.
Readers of The Deluge or The Heat Will Kill You First will see here the results of global warming in frightening detail (not so far from our own current reality), but this novel will chill you as it fascinates you and leaves you thinking for a long time after you close the last page.
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Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early copy.
There is a woman in the penthouse, an artist, who might (or might not) be a Vila, a mythical creature who lives in the heights above a village and demands sacrifices from those whom she guards. We never really find out for sure if Ms. Duras is one, or do we?
Silvia, or Sil as she is called, is an intelligent and hard-working pre-adolescent child who supports her mother, who works, at first, as Superintendent of The Morningside, this high rise (wherever it is). She leaves Sil to perform the superintendent job to earn more money by becoming a salvage diver deep below the underwater city buildings. Sil is later befriended by a local writer and later by a new girl, Mila who is braver and more adventuresome than Sil.
Readers of The Deluge or The Heat Will Kill You First will see here the results of global warming in frightening detail (not so far from our own current reality), but this novel will chill you as it fascinates you and leaves you thinking for a long time after you close the last page.
.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early copy.
March 19, 2024
I really did not enjoy this book very much. It is from the perspective of an 11 year old girl, which is why I had a hard time getting into it. The future dystopian representation of Manhattan was interesting, as well as the Morningside, which is the building where they lived. The references to the past kept me motivated to finish this book. However, it is really a young adult book. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. This was my first book by this author.
March 20, 2024
My first by Tea Obreht, this was an interesting mother-daughter magical realism tale set in a unique alternate world. Part mystery, part fantasy, part domestic drama While this was good on audio narrated by Carlotta Brentan, it just didn't grab me like I was hoping it would. Unfortunately this won't be a very memorable read for me this year but I did still enjoy the audio experience. Many thanks to @prhaudio for a complimentary ALC in exchange for my honest review!
December 21, 2023
The Morningside is a lyrically imaginative story with a plot that is striking yet a bit scattered. While I enjoyed getting immersed into a near-future world where climate change has reshaped the coasts of Island City, which is reminiscent of our New York City, I struggled at really connecting with the characters and the plot in the same way.
The story follows 11-year-old Silvia (Sil) and her mother as they are forced to relocate to a now-crumbling luxury building called The Morningside as part of a repopulation program for those that had to leave their ancestral homes. Sil’s aunt Ena was a superintendent in the building and they became close during the time they spent together, with Ena always telling stories of folklore and magic. Sil later befriends Mila, a new girl that moved into the building, and together they embark on adventures to investigate the truth of some of Ena’s tales, specifically revolving around a mysterious artist that lives in the penthouse, as well as the truth about their own pasts.
There was a lot about this book that worked for me, but there was also a lot that left me unsettled and unsure. While it may have just taken some time to settle into the narrative and style of the writing, the first quarter or so felt particularly unsettling, without anything I could really grab onto to keep me grounded in the story. As it continued, the plot felt a little firmer and I could follow much more easily, but I still ended up struggling to connect with it despite the lovely and surreal prose. I really appreciated the mother-daughter relationship depicted throughout the pages, and I enjoyed reflecting on the messages and themes of how things and people change over time, and how we adapt to move forward. Although there weren’t an overwhelming amount of characters to keep track of, there were still times that the side-characters and tangential storylines strayed me away too far from the heart of the book.
There is certainly an audience that will be swept away by the descriptive, immersive writing in this surreal, lyrical story. While that part certainly worked for me as well, the characters and plot just felt like they were constantly right beyond my grasp, and I would’ve loved to connect with both a little more. Thank you so much to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
The story follows 11-year-old Silvia (Sil) and her mother as they are forced to relocate to a now-crumbling luxury building called The Morningside as part of a repopulation program for those that had to leave their ancestral homes. Sil’s aunt Ena was a superintendent in the building and they became close during the time they spent together, with Ena always telling stories of folklore and magic. Sil later befriends Mila, a new girl that moved into the building, and together they embark on adventures to investigate the truth of some of Ena’s tales, specifically revolving around a mysterious artist that lives in the penthouse, as well as the truth about their own pasts.
There was a lot about this book that worked for me, but there was also a lot that left me unsettled and unsure. While it may have just taken some time to settle into the narrative and style of the writing, the first quarter or so felt particularly unsettling, without anything I could really grab onto to keep me grounded in the story. As it continued, the plot felt a little firmer and I could follow much more easily, but I still ended up struggling to connect with it despite the lovely and surreal prose. I really appreciated the mother-daughter relationship depicted throughout the pages, and I enjoyed reflecting on the messages and themes of how things and people change over time, and how we adapt to move forward. Although there weren’t an overwhelming amount of characters to keep track of, there were still times that the side-characters and tangential storylines strayed me away too far from the heart of the book.
There is certainly an audience that will be swept away by the descriptive, immersive writing in this surreal, lyrical story. While that part certainly worked for me as well, the characters and plot just felt like they were constantly right beyond my grasp, and I would’ve loved to connect with both a little more. Thank you so much to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
September 18, 2023
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 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
Want to read
December 29, 2023Oh at last a new book by Téa Obreht! I've been googling "tea obreht new book" almost every week since I read her Inland three years ago.
April 5, 2024
I tend to avoid dystopian novels, I find a sameness to them all, and anyway we’re living in that dystopian future so why spend my time reading about it. This one, though, is different. Dystopian, yes, with migrants and immigrants and wars that have torn people apart, water-logged, and more, but hope runs through it, as does folklore, magical realism, and an engaging narrator, 11 or 12 when the narrator, Silvia, comes to the building called The Morningside, on a city island that might be Manhattan, with her mother, the two of them having survived war in their own country. Captivating.
Thanks to Random House and Netgalley for the ARC.
Thanks to Random House and Netgalley for the ARC.
March 19, 2024
Unfortunately this was a novel I did not resonate with and could not get through. While I loved the author’s debut novel, The Tiger’s Wife, The Morningside did not work for me. The premise is interesting- refugees in a dystopian world and a young girl learning about her hidden past, their family and folktales. The delivery for me fell flat. It was disconnected and confusing. It may have been too dystopian and abstract for my taste and could very well appeal to readers who enjoy highly speculative fiction.
I tried to connect with the characters but continually felt distant from them. The story was bleak with bursts of magical realism that, for me, didn’t make sense.
The world building was very good, and Obreht’s writing was lyrical and well crafted as usual. I wanted to like this, but kept finding it a chore to read. Ultimately I was too disinterested and confused to push through to the end.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for my advanced digital copy. Publication day is set for March 19th.
I tried to connect with the characters but continually felt distant from them. The story was bleak with bursts of magical realism that, for me, didn’t make sense.
The world building was very good, and Obreht’s writing was lyrical and well crafted as usual. I wanted to like this, but kept finding it a chore to read. Ultimately I was too disinterested and confused to push through to the end.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for my advanced digital copy. Publication day is set for March 19th.
March 20, 2024
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 stars.
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 stars.
March 2, 2024
This book has a ton of hype, but it just wasn’t for me. Set in a post-apocalyptic world, it follows a young girl and her mother as they move into a fancy apartment building as its caretakers.
The world-building was great, but I never connected to the characters. Most of the story is told through the eyes of an 11-year-old which is just too young for me to really get a handle on and I wasn’t sure what to make of the allusions to magic - is it supposed to be real or a child’s explanation for what happens?
The pacing also hurt it - the last 30 pages or so were interesting and I wish that had been the halfway point, rather than the end.
The world-building was great, but I never connected to the characters. Most of the story is told through the eyes of an 11-year-old which is just too young for me to really get a handle on and I wasn’t sure what to make of the allusions to magic - is it supposed to be real or a child’s explanation for what happens?
The pacing also hurt it - the last 30 pages or so were interesting and I wish that had been the halfway point, rather than the end.
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