Book Review - The Morningside by Téa Obreht

 

The Morningside by Téa Obreht is about a young girl, Silvia, and her mother moving to a new country to start over. Silvia and her mother came to live at the Morningside, an aging luxury tower located on Island City after fleeing from their ancestral home. At the Morningside, Silvia’s aunt Ena serves as the superintendent. 

Silvia is excited to spend time with her aunt Ena since her mother has always been secretive about their past and family. Silvia wishes her mother would tell her more, including why they had to leave their home. The only thing Silvia knows is that her new home is sinking. Silvia feels that her aunt would be receptive to her curiosity and questions.

Ena is excited to have her niece living with her and fills Silvia’s mind with stories from her past, her homeland, and folktales. Silvia is entranced by the stories and begins to see magic in her everyday life. She believes the older woman, Bezi Duras, who lives in the penthouse is a witch. No one knows anything about Bezi other than she only goes out at night and takes her three massive dogs with her and returns early in the morning. Silvia is determined to find out the truth about Bezi and her own past. 

I was torn on this novel. It had an interesting premise but I didn’t quite understand where the author was trying to go with this book. Was it a coming of age story? Was it a fantasy novel? Or was it to warn people about the dangers of global warming? I felt like it was all over the place.

There were times that the author went into a lot of details for certain things, but then for other things there was nothing given. For example, the author never explains why eating meat is frowned upon and why it’s something done in secret. The book also hints at magical elements but the author nor the characters never explain more details about it.  It made the story feel odd and disjointed. The novel moved very slowly and I found the writing confusing. The ending felt like it didn’t resolve anything and that I was left with more questions than answers.