Three English M.F.A. alumni have gained praise in early reviews for their first novels. The Cornell Store will host two of the writers, Téa Obreht and Alexi Zentner, both M.F.A. '09, at a joint fiction reading and book signing, April 4 at 4 p.m.

"The Tiger's Wife," based on Obreht's M.F.A. thesis, was published by Random House March 8. Obreht was previously named by The New Yorker as one of the 20 best American fiction writers under age 40 and was included in the National Book Foundation's "5 Under 35" list.

Entertainment Weekly calls the novel a "tale of such marvel and magic in a literary voice so enchanting that the mesmerized reader wants her never to stop." Publisher's Weekly says that "Obreht is talented far beyond her years, and her unsentimental faith in language, dream and memory is a pleasure."

Zentner's "Touch" will be published April 4. Publisher's Weekly, in a starred review, calls it an "eerie, elegiac debut." Author Lauren Groff also praised it as "full of a sinister magic straight from the tradition of the Brothers Grimm ... such savagery, however, only illuminates the deeply human love in the marrow of this novel, which Zentner achieves with incredible grace and greatness of heart." Zentner has been honored as a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers pick.

"What You See in the Dark" by Manuel Muñoz, M.F.A. '98, was published March 29 by Algonquin Books. Muñoz has also published two collections of short stories, "Zigzagger" and "The Faith Healer of Olive Avenue." His debut novel is set in a 1950s California drenched in madness, movies and murder. Publisher's Weekly deems it "stellar ... with a subtlety worthy of Hitchcock himself."

Laura Furman, series editor of the PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories collections, says, "'What You See in the Dark' is beautifully written and perfectly told, an irresistible novel about desire that will keep you reading through the night."

Stephanie Vaughn, acting director of Cornell's Creative Writing Program, characterizes these simultaneous debuts as spectacular "for a program that admits only four fiction writers each year."

Molly Kerker is a staff member in the Department of English.