Tea Obreht Reads from her Unreleased Novel at Hunter College Distinguished Writers Series

Tea Obreht (b Serbia 1985) moved with her mother to the US in 1997.  She studied in CA & published her first novel with great acclaim "The Tiger's Wife" in 2011.  This amazing debut novel received an Orange Prize & was a finalist for the Nat'l Book Award.  This stunning work is a complex & creative story.  The heroine, Natalia, is a young female Dr.  Natalia lives in an unspecified Balkan country during the recent Balkan wars. The story traverses Natalia's life in the present coping with the casualties of war while trying to return home to her gravely ill beloved grandfather.  The clever storytelling travels back a 1/2 C through tales told her as a young girl by her grandfather.  These tales are historic & mythical.   The miring of fact/fiction is an artful way of recording monumental events & making them into imposing, unforgettable legends.  The genius of Obreht's writing is found in her descriptive prowess & haunting magical imageries.  We fortunate guests at the Distinguished Writers Series at Hunter College were treated to a reading by Tea Obreht of her yet to be released second novel entitled "Inland."  Even with this small sampling by Obreht's exhilarating reading, it's clear "Inland" shares her fascination of historic events & family sagas while blurring fable with crystal descriptive prowess.  Her writing mysteriously merges two young boys living in the US in the mid 19th C.  One lad comes to the US from Turkey just prior to the Civil with his father.  The two find work as grave robbers until his father's death which sets him on ventures out west where he runs afoul of the law.  The other leading character is a boy living with his mother & 2 older brothers in the rustic landscape of what will become AZ.  This boy has a vivid imagination that may or may not be founded in reality. Obreht serves as an excellent orator of her enticing work.  She was kind enough to answer a few Q&A's with pensive responses.  She spoke of her love for research particularily reading journals & old maps.  Obreht is currently a Prof. at Hunter College.  This was a very rare & special preview to Ms. Obreht's next novel.  Hopefully, her novel will be published & available next year.  My curiosity & anticipation for "Inland" is immense.