Few literary devices are more rewarding than a successful novel-within-a-novel, but pulling it off ain’t easy ... It all mostly comes together in the end, but the various plots fall prey to a tendency to artificially withhold information in favor of narrative twists, and the book itself is ultimately subsumed by Obreht’s desire to comment on the current state of the world, specifically the current state of men ... Things start to falter at about this point. The prose is overwritten ... Nina eventually reappears, but the tenor of part two of her story is drastically different from her introduction, again because it feels as if Obreht just didn’t want to reveal Nina’s true motivations so as to be able to pull the rug out from under readers.
Electrifying ... This revisionist Western has real teeth and first-rate plotting. Descriptions feel viscerally real, and at first, it may seem to emphasize atmosphere and character over story, but pay close attention—and keep going. In a puzzle-novel like this, when connections between different facets take time to materialize, one hopes the payoff will be worth it. Is it ever! The finale surpasses all expectations in this powerful, unique novel that asks why some stories are celebrated while others remain hidden.
Obreht is riveting in each time frame as she exults in emulating and subverting tales of the Old West while exposing the poisonous complexities of gender, taboo love, myth, history, and our desecration of the wild in a breathtaking, shocking, and reverberating survival story.
Obreht has created quite a challenge for herself here, and she delivers a virtuoso performance. In her hands, these three narratives aren’t just satisfying on their own. They illuminate each other in ways that are both elegant and emotionally deep. An adventurous, rewarding novel from a writer who just gets better and better.
