THE SUNDAY REVIEW | THERE THERE – TOMMY ORANGE

I loved the premise of this book. It’s about twelve different Native American characters who live in urban settings, and what it’s like for them in their different walks of life. It shows which parts of their experiences overlap, where they diverge and where they connect – and they all do connect – in sometimes unexpected ways – as they all move towards the climax of the story: The Big Oakland Powwow.

It’s now been a few months since I finished this book (why oh why don’t I ever sit down and write a review as soon as I finish a book?), and partly due to that and partly due to the fact that I listened to the audiobook, I’ve forgotten some of the details. But the feeling of the book has stuck with me in a way that always indicates a lifelong favourite in the making. I loved being immersed in this world, and though the story jumps around from one character to another, I felt equally connected to them all. Usually if I’m reading a book with split narratives, there’s always at least on I slog through to get back to the character whose story I really care about. Which one I’m enjoying and which I’m slogging through can change throughout the book, but it’s rare for me to be equally invested in all of them. In this book, I was.

The real strength of this story is the author’s portrayal of both the characters on the page and the common experiences they represent, the history that all Native Americans share, and the inherited pain they carry as they try to navigate the modern world without losing the history and culture of their people. There is a lot of pain here, inherited by generations and passed down in one way or another. But there’s also a cultural pride for those who feel that deep connection to their heritage, or who are looking for a way to connect with it. There’s also anger at the history of Native Americans’ treatment at the hands of invading White settlers, and the racism that continues to affect each character and mark their journey through the world. These emotions are electric on the page, and will shock every reader into awareness of where they fit in history – for me, as a White reader, that place is not one of which I am proud, but it is one that must be acknowledged, explored and put into context.

To say that this book is powerful is an understatement. Tommy Orange has somehow managed to capture the complexity of both the positive and negative aspects of being Native American in today’s urban world. Of knowing that the streets you walk were laid on top of the land your ancestors inhabited for thousands of years, and yet to feel like an unwelcome intruder on a world made white. To belong to a place in the very depths of your soul but to be told that you have no claim on it. To be made to feel that your very existence only serves as an inconvenience or a reminder of an uncomfortable history most people around you would prefer to forget ever happened. The power of this book lies in its insistence that you not move past the characters portrayed here, but that you stop and really see them. That you look, and don’t turn away. It demands that we all see what our ancestors have done, or what has been done to them. There is no denying the power of this call to bear witness, and there is no way to read this book and not be changed by it, no matter how familiar you already are with Native American history.

There are so many issues covered here, from gang violence to addiction to sexual assault to domestic abuse. But none are wedged in for the sake of making a point. These stories and the issues the characters are dealing with all feel completely integrated. This may be a debut novel, but Tommy Orange is the master of the universe he has created here. No strand is out of place, no detail is superfluous. This is the work of a writer who is fully in command of his craft. There There is full of so many layers and characters that come to life off the page that it’s a deeply satisfying read.

I will definitely be keeping an eye out for Tommy Orange’s next work, and I am so glad I finally got around to reading this book. It’s one of my favourites of the year so far, and that’s saying something because it has been a very good reading year so far. The audiobook was likewise engaging and beautifully narrated, so I’d recommend that format if you’re an audiobook fan. If you haven’t already, do yourself a favour and pick this book – in whatever format you can!

Tommy Orange’s wondrous and shattering novel follows twelve characters from Native communities: all traveling to the Big Oakland Powwow, all connected to one another in ways they may not yet realize. Among them is Jacquie Red Feather, newly sober and trying to make it back to the family she left behind. Dene Oxendene, pulling his life together after his uncle’s death and working at the powwow to honor his memory. Fourteen-year-old Orvil, coming to perform traditional dance for the very first time. Together, this chorus of voices tells of the plight of the urban Native American–grappling with a complex and painful history, with an inheritance of beauty and spirituality, with communion and sacrifice and heroism. Hailed as an instant classic, There There is at once poignant and unflinching, utterly contemporary and truly unforgettable. – Goodreads

Book Title: There There
Author: Tommy Orange
Series: No
Edition: Hardback/Audiobook
Published By: Knopf
Released: June 15, 2018
Genre: Fiction, Native American, Family, Interconnected Stories
Pages: 294
Date Read: February 23-March 17, 2021
Rating: 9.5/10
Average Goodreads Rating: 3.98/5 (130,075 ratings)