There There by Tommy Orange
Here is a story of several people, each of whom has private reasons for travelling to the Big Okland Powwow. Jacquie Red Feather is newly sober and trying to make it back to the family she left behind in shame. Dene Oxendene is pulling his life together after his uncle's death and has come to work at the powwow to honour his uncle's memory. Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield has come to watch her nephew Orvil Red Feather, who has taught himself traditional Indian dance through YouTube videos and has come to the powwow to dance in public for the very first time. There will be glorious communion, and a spectacle of sacred tradition and pageantry. And there will be sacrifice, and heroism, and unspeakable loss.
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This book has had me reeling from the moment I finished it. Not my usual genre but there are so many book reviewers who I follow and trust recommending this novel that I had to read it for myself. I can see now why it's a critically acclaimed novel. The writing was superb and the story had me sucked in right from the prologue. It's definitely not a happy, light read so be prepared for heartache when entering this one. It's also definitely not a thriller but it had me at the edge of my seat for the entire second half of the book.
This novel follows glimpses into the lives of 12 different characters with very different lives and how they eventually find themselves on the same path leading up to the big powwow in Oakland, CA. It's a Native American heritage story, showing small glimpses into the lives of "the forgotten" culture of Native Americans. Glimpses into the bloodshed from so long ago and how the effects are reverberating through time to present-day. The prologue (and throughout the book) has snippets of the massacre's that took place during colonization to bring you back to the reality of why life has been so hard for so many of these characters. It kept you grounded in the fact that, even though this is a fictional book, the lives of the people in this book are a reality for many.
I got attached to a few specific characters and storylines and there were also a few that felt a little flat. My favourites were the Red Feather women and their extended, complicated families and I do think they really took the lead in this book. From Jackie and Opal who had a rough life in the foster system, to long-lost children just looking for a place to belong, to grandchildren struggling in present-day to stay in touch with their heritage and tradition. The writing brought these characters to life, made them real and, in finishing the book, it was really tough to say goodbye. Especially since their fates are left unknown. What did they do next with their lives? Did they achieve what they always dreamed?
The writing style was excellent, not only so realistic in characterization but the small snippets into each life building up to the finale of the powwow was exciting. Witnessing how all these loose threads came together in one common event kept me hooked. There was a lot of realism in the book as well, lot's of common everyday occurrences and situations that we don't typically talk about or acknowledge in books or movies. It was messy and dirty and sometimes cringe-worthy but it was real, mimicking real life occurrences. I respect the author so very much for how accurate his writing was.
Like I said earlier, it's not a happy story. There is unspeakable violence threaded throughout building up to a violent end to the story. We are left hanging, unknowing what happens next, and I think that shock factor really drove home the helplessness/hopelessness feeling of what it would be like in that type of situation. Not knowing. I'm angry for how the author chose how to end it yet also can't see any other way that he could have ended it. I'm still in shock and have so many thoughts about it.
All in all, it was an excellent read. I did read it as an audiobook so it was a bit confusing following all the different characters and storylines, I'd definitely recommend reading it in hard copy just to better keep track of the story (I had to rewind a lot). It was also a very slow pace at the beginning. I was definitely in the mindset of a 3 star read until I got to the last 1/3 of the book and it was just all built up so brilliantly that I can't give it anything but a 5 star recommendation. Read it.