“Powerful. . . . a revelation.” —The New York Times “With a literary authority rare in a debut novel, it places Native American voices front and center before readers’ eyes.” —NPR/Fresh Air One of The New York Times 10 Best Books of the Year and winner of the PEN/Hemingway Award, Tommy Orange’s wondrous and shattering bestselling novel follows twelve characters from Native communities: all … 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.
One of the Best Books of the Year: The Washington Post, NPR, Time, O, The Oprah Magazine, The Dallas Morning News, GQ, Entertainment Weekly, BuzzFeed, San Francisco Chronicle, The Boston Globe
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I enjoyed learning more about the things that Native Americans are facing nowadays. Well written story that kept me interested in learning more.
One of the best books I have ever read, especially because it presented an inside look into the mind of a Native American. It is not light reading but moves along at an engaging pace. I highly recommend this literary work.
What a realistic and Informative novel about native Americans and their current situation. Our country sure didn’t treat them well!! Thanksgiving will never be viewed the same. An important story we all should read
A new voice and unpredictable but I didn’t care for the choppy writing style and dialogue driven story.
I highly recommed this debut novel to book groups or anyone looking to diversify their reading lists.
I completely agree with all the kudos Tommy Orange is getting for THERE THERE. This book is dramatic, simply and beautifully written, amazingly powerful, well-crafted and leaves a lasting impression. Quite impressive for a debut novel.
The book is structured like a series of short stories, each chapter about different individuals, all of them anticipating an upcoming Indian gathering, in Oakland, CA. Some characters are old, some young. Each has its own distinct and believable voice. Some chapters relate stories that are decades old, others unfold as you read them. And many characters eventually wind up connected.
Each story is a rich snapshot of contemporary Native American life, where people must continually confront so many of the daily demons faced by marginalized people. Poverty, prejudice, and political powerlessness are just the beginning. Physical abuse, unplanned pregnancies, obesity, drug abuse, unemployment, parental neglect and abandonment, and alcoholism– lots of alcoholism– are themes that recur throughout the novel.
This is not what I would characterize as an enjoyable read. It’s intensely suspenseful, but the stories are generally not happy ones. The picture Orange paints of Native American life in the US is dark, tragic, and sad. And as a white American, I was left feeling shamed. But I’m glad I read the book because I came away from it feeling I had greater understanding for this often ignored segment of American life. And I don’t think any other book I’ve previously read has so clearly made personal all that this country has done and continues to do to Native American peoples.
I will read this book again. It gave n
Me a glimpse into American Indian way of life in today’s world.
I love that this is set in Oakland, CA. These seemingly unrelated story threads coalesce to a devastating finale. This is voice that needs to be heard: the story of “urban” Indians, who through the beauty, depth, richness, and utter tenacity of their culture, manage to hang on to their heritage in the face of impossible odds. I’m still thinking about these characters long after I finished reading.
I did not connect the characters from the separate stories for awhile. I will read the book again and track the characters. Tommy Orange is now my favorite Native American writer. His people are real people with real problems and interesting ways of dealing with their lives.
Penetrating portraits written in an original style. After reading the Rise and Fall of the Empire of the Summer Moon, it is interesting to have revealed here what has happened to the First Nations People in the 21st century and consider what westward-bound settlers did to them in the 1800’s.
The thousand year death knell of Native Americans alternates between a soft lullaby and the uneven and out-of-context gun pop in a gathering of hardship. It is a tableau of destitution, restitution and institution. Somewhere, somehow, people live through these stories either by time or by conscience.
I recommend this book which provides great insight into the indigenous people living in Oakland. Their reality is compelling portrayed and the novel moves along quickly.
I can say that I’ve never read another book that told our story with so much real talk and truth. I fell in love with all of the characters and felt so moved like he was inside all of us while writing this book. I can’t recommend it enough, I think it should be in every school and home.
This is the best book I have read so far in 2018! A bold, brilliant, look at Native American life today. A page-turner!
The book unfolds through separate characters that are then brought together in a way that works to give a sense of both separation and connection.
There There, the debut novel by Tommy Orange, follows a large cast of Native Americans who live in Oakland, California. Orange does a masterful job of setting up his narrative with a prologue about the history of Native Americans and the power of who tells those stories, whether by white people or others. Then he unfurls the narrative with each of his characters stories like a patchwork quilt weaved with sadness and regret and remorse. All his characters are troubled and, unfortunately for them and the reader as well, there will be no light at the end of their tunnel. The narrative is a dirge, figuratively and literally. It’s a heavy story but one that needed to be told and listened to. I think it’s important to hear the stories of all Americans, most importantly the marginalized.
Having a happy ending is not a requirement for me but to invest in these characters then have their lives end in the way it does in this novel is like a sucker punch. It’s a cheap shot. But these characters’ lives are worth reading about. Hope is a powerful subtext; I just wished for a little more of it.
Orange does a curious thing by mixing first, second, and third person narration. His first-person narration is particularly effective, as his characters’ personalities jump off the page. The second-person choice even makes sense in the chapter where it’s used. But the third-person choice is a head-scratcher. Why offer some of these marginalized characters the power of narrating their own stories then deny some others by using a mysterious narrator? Why not let them tell their own stories? The only thing the third-person narration did was confuse me. Why aren’t they telling their own story? Why does Tony speak for himself but Bill doesn’t? It’s an odd choice and one I’m surprised his editor didn’t question. Maybe Orange was showing off like a juggler adding burning bowling pins to his set of rubber balls.
Overall, a good read with some exceptional writing, although the end left a little to be desired. I would give this novel a 3.75 stars.
This was an excellent book! This book took you right into the lives and souls of several interesting American Indian families. Readers wanted to root for Orvil and his brothers early on! In fact, there were several characters, like Blue and Edwin, that were likable and easy to relate to.
Well written and easy to read. I learned a lot about our Native Americans.
The ending was a little too ambiguous.
There There is, quite simply, a book that every American should read, if for nothing else, to remind us that our country’s success came at a great price – the genocide of a people who today wander their lives as “insignificant remainders.”
Angry, despondent, yet resilient and defiant, There There is a debut novel about the modern-day Native American, written by modern-day (Oakland-born) Native American Tommy Orange. His story read with the same vast and sweeping motion as Christopher Nolan’s film, Dunkirk—told from multiple perspectives (12, to be exact) that began to intertwine as the story wound closer and closer to the final climax.
Mr. Orange’s writing is rich and lyrical, yet tinged with an edge I’m sure he acquired from his upbringing in Oakland, Calif. Certain moments of There There will punch your conscience, when (for example) Mr. Orange writes about, “If you were fortunate enough to be born into a family whose ancestors directly benefited from genocide and/or slavery, maybe you think the more you don’t know, the more innocent you can stay … Look no further than your last name.”
Others brought out the beauty of his culture and will make you fall in love, such as, “Being Indian has never been about returning to the land. The land is everywhere, or nowhere.”
While I genuinely enjoyed much of his book, certain parts slowed for me, perhaps because he was writing from various perspectives. I sometimes felt as though I were reading a series of short stories that wound together, thus preventing me from falling into his characters the way I’d hoped.
I can’t say I loved the ending. There There does finish with a sad hopefulness, yet the main question I’d wanted answered was left unfinished. A little too ambiguous for my taste.
Overall, this is a book that should not go unread. It holds the weight of generations that never had the chance to scream, and now, Mr. Orange is screaming for them. I felt their cries reading his book, held their hearts in my soft palms, and wished so desperately that I could fix the wrongs for them.
But then, Mr. Orange wouldn’t want that. No, I believe he’s telling us that his people don’t need fixing, or pity, or help. They might have been broken, but they are strong. They are still here. And dammit, they’re proud.
Stars: 4/5
Great story