Téa Obreht’s latest novel, The Morningside, is set in the future but deals with the inescapable past. The story takes place in a world not unlike our own, and centres on the lives of 11-year-old Silvia and her mother, both refuge seekers looking for a fresh start through a repopulation programme which has been set up to breathe new air into the lungs of a dying city.

They move into a flagging, century-old building called The Morningside, whose superintendent is Silvia’s aunt Edna. On its 33rd floor penthouse, meanwhile, lives Bezi Duras, an enigmatic painter with secrets to unravel. What follows is a striking blend of folklore and mystery, told through perfectly poised prose and a cast of characters that feel distinctive and alive.

The one character that never fully comes to life in The Morningside is the building itself, which only ever feels like a plot device containing the people who are directly involved in the plot, but this doesn’t detract much from a compelling novel which – despite the seriousness and complexity of its ideas – never swaps story for subtext. Obreht’s characters find hope in a dystopian setting; there can hardly be a more pertinent subject for modern readers.