Téa Obreht creëert verhalen die zich verdiepen in ingewikkelde familiedynamiek en de aanhoudende mysteries van het verleden, vaak gesitueerd tegen de achtergrond van post-conflict samenlevingen. Haar proza kenmerkt zich door een lyrische kwaliteit en beeldende taal die lezers diep in haar verhalen trekt. Door haar schrijven verkent ze thema's als herinnering, identiteit en de onuitwisbare band tussen generaties. Obreht beheerst de kunst van het creëren van sfeer en personages die lang na de laatste pagina resoneren.
Sil und ihre Mutter fliehen in die versinkende Inselstadt Island City, wo die Mutter als Bergungstaucherin arbeitet. Im maroden Wohnturm «Morgenlicht» begegnen sie der geheimnisvollen Bezi Duras und einer neuen Freundin. Als die Mutter verschwindet, steht Sil vor der Entdeckung ihrer Vergangenheit. Téa Obreht schildert eine poetische Suche nach Wahrheit und Hoffnung.
Weaving a brilliant latticework of family legend, loss, and love, Téa Obreht has crafted a timeless novel that showcases her as a vibrant, original author of her generation. In a Balkan country healing from conflict, Natalia, a young doctor, arrives at a seaside orphanage on a mission of mercy. As she and her lifelong friend Zóra begin to inoculate the children, age-old superstitions and secrets emerge around them, including those of the cheerful hosts and a strange family digging in the vineyards. Simultaneously, Natalia grapples with a personal mystery: the inexplicable circumstances of her beloved grandfather’s recent death. After telling her grandmother he was headed to meet Natalia, he instead traveled to an unfamiliar settlement and died alone. A renowned physician, he must have known he was too ill to travel, leaving Natalia to unravel the riddle of his departure. Grieving and searching for clues, she reflects on the stories he shared during her childhood, including tales of a “deathless man” and a haunting winter in his village during WWII, where a tiger lurked in the shadows. Ultimately, Natalia discovers that these narratives run like secret rivers through her grandfather’s life, leading her to the answers she seeks.