INLAND by Tea Obreht

As historical fiction, this book is a worthwhile read.  Camels as conveyances for supplies and mail in the mid-nineteenth century?  That was news to me.  One of the two main characters in this book is a camel driver during that time, but he is also a murderer on the run.  His timeline eventually intersects with that of Nora, a wife and mother in Arizona in the 1890s.   Her husband has been missing for three days, leaving her in desperate need of water but at times too proud or embarrassed to ask for it.  For me, Nora is the more intriguing character, but she makes some bad decisions with dire consequences.  She is also a prolific liar, stating at one point that lying is just as easy as saying nothing.  Many of her lies are cover-ups for cowardice, and in one case she admits the truth to her almost-lover, who spills the beans.  Living with her and her three sons is Josie, an orphaned distant relative, who also is harboring a whopper, and, ironically, Nora threatens her with a beating in order to drag the truth out of her.  Nora also berates Josie for her claimed ability to contact the dead, while Nora herself carries on conversations with her dead daughter, who is generally available to offer advice.  In other words, Nora is a supreme hypocrite.  She may be admirable in her strength, referring to herself as a “hard woman,” but I found her exasperating.  I am OK with that type of character in a novel, but here I felt that the storyline moved along a level plane, without enough highs and lows.  This is a pleasant enough read, but suspense is in short supply.