Monday, August 12, 2019

Téa Obreht's 6 favorite novels shaped by place

Téa Obreht was born in Belgrade, in the former Yugoslavia, and grew up in Cyprus and Egypt before eventually immigrating to the United States. Her debut novel, The Tiger’s Wife, won the 2011 Orange Prize for Fiction, and was a 2011 National Book Award finalist and an international bestseller.

Obreht's new novel is Inland.

One of the author's six favorite novels shaped by place, as shared at The Week magazine:
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison (1970).

Morrison's first novel, about a childhood in small-town Ohio, has remained my favorite, possibly owing to the particular claustrophobia produced by its clash between place and person-hood, and its suggestion that how you experience the world is governed by age, race, and whether or not one grows up loved.
Read about the other entries on the list.

The Bluest Eye is among Jeff Somers's ideal starter novels for 10 “must read” authors, George Saunders' six favorite books, James McBride's six favorite books, and Susheila Nasta's top ten cultural journeys.

--Marshal Zeringue