Name: Marcy Pursell 's review of There There by Tommy Orange
Item: There There
Rating: 3
Author: Marcy Pursell

Tommy Orange

Twelve Native Americans came to the Big Oakland Powwow for different reasons. 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 the powwow and to honor his uncle's memory. Edwin Frank has come to find his true father. Bobby Big Medicine has come to drum the Grand Entry. Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield has come to watch her nephew Orvil Red Feather. Orvil has taught himself Indian dance through YouTube videos, and he has come to the powwow to dance in public for the very first time. Tony Loneman is a young Native American boy whose future seems destined to be as bleak as his past, and he has come to the Powwow with darker intentions -- intentions that will destroy the lives of everyone in his path.

There There

lauren amitirigala

I told him about Mom being in bed all the time and he cried. He wasn’t even drunk.

Nina 

Marcy Pursell 

The writing is phenomenal!!! I don’t always love multiple POVs but this was done exceptionally well. I liked how we got to revisit some characters through their interactions with others, and seeing the differences between their perception of self and their actions versus other people’s perceptions of the same. 

I appreciated the varying depictions of the characters’ relationships to their culture. As a person from a colonised people, it was heartening to see the many different and opposing ways people can relate to their own culture, because there is no monolith as is often depicted in media. Because of this, the stories felt real and the characters all felt well-rounded.

I really enjoyed the addition of the discussion questions at the end because they helped further my analysis of the story and encouraged me to deepen it more than I had done. It felt like I was back in an English university class. 

Kierce

The writing is phenomenal!!! I don’t always love multiple POVs but this was done exceptionally well. I liked how we got to revisit some characters through their interactions with others, and seeing the differences between their perception of self and their actions versus other people’s perceptions of the same. 

I appreciated the varying depictions of the characters’ relationships to their culture. As a person from a colonised people, it was heartening to see the many different and opposing ways people can relate to their own culture, because there is no monolith as is often depicted in media. Because of this, the stories felt real and the characters all felt well-rounded.

I really enjoyed the addition of the discussion questions at the end because they helped further my analysis of the story and encouraged me to deepen it more than I had done. It felt like I was back in an English university class. 

First, the characters smash your privilege with a sledgehammer. Then, the finale shatters you whole. 

Frederik De Bosschere

what if we all killed ourselves. the most heartbreaking thing i’ve read since the wars. does everything write, the seeping simmering misery, the brutal tension, the vicious climax. you don’t want any of it to happen. you get hit again and again and again by death. it’s the worst, it’s the best. cried my fucking eyes out.

Who wants to get kicked in the chest by a book? Because if you do, I have good news… 

Apiecalypse Jen

Molly M

Hannah Yoon

It was hard to stick to it at the beginning but when I got to the second part, I couldn't stop reading. It was poetic, beautiful and sad all at once. Find the Spotify "There There" playlist and you can see the scenes of the book unfold in your head.

Sonia Grgas

Solid 4, very well written. Recommended for those who want to get more insight into the Native American experience of living in a city.

A book I picked up during Native American Heritage Month. Told from different perspectives with different narrators for each character, this was a good listen, giving me insight into Native American heritage. It felt slow at the beginning with the introduction of all of the characters, but as the book progresses, I wanted to see how they all came together, and how their stories finished. That said, I don't feel like the book ends with everything tied up in a bow, but rather with cliffhangers, and the reader is meant to decide what they think happened at the end.

jack

this was not great! disagreed with nearly every artistic choice orange makes. so many characters for very little payoff for that choice, and leaving me confused on whose life i was getting back into with each chapter as well as not really giving proper endings to most of them. it felt very incomplete. the mf doom reference made me cringe a great deal. the whole chapter written in second person was also pretty tough. ending with a fucking transformers metaphor. 

on the bright side: viewing gentrification as a continuation of america's war on natives was incredibly interesting and something ive never really thought about. a lot of the ideas were really interesting here and the story itself was really cool! i loved the character of edwin black! he's, unfortunately, the only character i remember and i only finished the book a couple of hours ago. so it goes.

this review is poorly written as my thoughts are still relatively scattered on this besides me really just not vibing with it.

Jessie Farris

Best book I have read all year! Heartbreakingly beautiful.

Lizelle G

Tough stories rendered beautiful and hurt at the same time, masterfully knit together. It’s been days since I’ve finished it, and fragments keep coming back to me, revealing layer after layer, detail after detail. There’s so much pain in the history of the land, and it feels impossible to think it’ll ever stop hurting those who have always been under attack.

Here is a voice we have never heard--a voice full of poetry and rage, exploding onto the page with stunning urgency and force. Here is a story of several people, each of whom has private reasons for travelling to the Big Oakland 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. Fierce, angry, funny, heartbreaking, There There is a relentlessly paced multi-generational story about violence and recovery, memory and identity, and the beauty and despair woven into the history of a nation and its people. A glorious, unforgettable debut.

A Novel

Andrew John Kinney

I loved about the first 100 pages of this book. The descriptions of the actual events that took place between the Indians and the Pilgrims were horrific and well worth reading, though I did know about the massacre of the Pequots from background reading for Moby-Dick in college. The initial introduction of characters was compelling, but the sheer number of characters finally made me feel a bit lost in trying to follow the narratives and the various characters relationships to each other. Also, even though it may reflect reality, I felt the characters were too often depicted as damaged or desperate, or both, and that ultimately made it a bit of a downer, which sounds like a glib complaint, considering what Native Americans have suffered, but this is after all a work of fiction primarily.

I wish there had been more closure at the end, but I was actually okay with how the denouement unfolded. I'll be interested to see what Tommy Orange writes next.

Orange's voice is clear, and the characters are well-formed and real. Taught a book set in Oakland while living in Oakland made me connect to this experience in special ways. Having been the powwows, I could feel the descriptions of the drumming and singing. 

The book begins with a list of characters and descriptions, and each chapter focuses on a particular character. This could easily translate to a play. I appreciated this method. 

Traci Wilbanks

Orange's voice is clear, and the characters are well-formed and real. Taught a book set in Oakland while living in Oakland made me connect to this experience in special ways. Having been the powwows, I could feel the descriptions of the drumming and singing. 

The book begins with a list of characters and descriptions, and each chapter focuses on a particular character. This could easily translate to a play. I appreciated this method. 

Wow. This book was a sucker-punch to the gut by the end, but such a poignant and important read. I appreciated the mix of the author’s personal voice on more fact-based pieces interspersed throughout the book and I loved the large cast of characters. Tommy Orange did a wonderful job weaving together the lives of so many in a believable and riveting way. I highly recommend this book, but prepare to be devastated by the end.

Angie Van Sprang

Karis Ryu

the multi-pov epic! the simultaneous qualities of difference and sameness in that frustrating mass of amorphous yet bound substance that is culture all at once. the poetry! the ending!

ONE OF THE 10 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR--THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW WINNER OF THE CENTER FOR FICTION FIRST NOVEL PRIZE One of the Best Books of the Year: The Washington Post, NPR, Time, O, The Oprah Magazine, San Francisco Chronicle, Entertainment Weekly, The Dallas Morning News, Buzzfeed, BookPage, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews NEW YORK TIMES BEST-SELLER Tommy Orange's "groundbreaking, extraordinary" (The New York Times) There There is the "brilliant, propulsive" (People Magazine) story of twelve unforgettable characters, Urban Indians living in Oakland, California, who converge and collide on one fateful day. It's "the year's most galvanizing debut novel" (Entertainment Weekly). As we learn the reasons that each person is attending the Big Oakland Powwow--some generous, some fearful, some joyful, some violent--momentum builds toward a shocking yet inevitable conclusion that changes everything. 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 back together after his uncle's death and has come to work at the powwow to honor his uncle's memory. Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield has come to watch her nephew Orvil, who has taught himself traditional Indian dance through YouTube videos and will to perform 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 loss. There There is a wondrous and shattering portrait of an America few of us have ever seen. It's "masterful . . . white-hot . . . devastating" (The Washington Post) at the same time as it is fierce, funny, suspenseful, thoroughly modern, and impossible to put down. Here is a voice we have never heard--a voice full of poetry and rage, exploding onto the page with urgency and force. Tommy Orange has written a stunning novel that grapples with a complex and painful history, with an inheritance of beauty and profound spirituality, and with a plague of addiction, abuse, and suicide. This is the book that everyone is talking about right now, and it's destined to be a classic.

Lynn

I don’t really have a strong opinion on this. Listened to the audibook, which might have been the wrong choice here. The stories were all quite heavy and straining, which I think was the point - to tell true native american urban stories. It just felt like too many characters, all interrelated in ways that were too complex when not keeping a chart of sorts. It builds to this big ending scene, but then leaves off in the middle of the aftermath. The importance of telling these stories and the knowledge I gained about Natives in modern America make this a 3 star, but it just wasn’t for me.

Really beautiful writing and a compelling story. It felt a bit unfinished to me though. 

Julia Rivera

 is another one of those books that I’ve been meaning to read for years, and I’m glad I finally picked it up. The prologue of this book, comprised of the first ten pages, is one of the most powerful and moving essays I’ve ever read. Even before the story itself had begun, I understood how profoundly important this book was, and I completely understood why it was so lauded and both nominee and winner of such a variety of awards.

This story follows twelve disparate prospective characters who all have one thing in common: they are all heading to the Big Oakland Powwow. Whether they know much about their heritage or not, whatever their interest level in it might be, this gathering and shared identity are what bind them. I found all of the characters interesting, though I think this would have been a stronger story with half as many minds to jump between. But that’s personal preference. They were all very believable and varied and well written. 

However, I have to confess that I found the front half stronger than the back half. While I understand what Orange was going for once our massive cast of prospective characters finally all met at the powwow around which the story revolved, I found it tedious to read. I also find the ambiguous literary ending decision to be hit or miss and, in this case, I felt that it was a miss. I’m all for leaving loose threads, so that the story continues to live on in the minds of readers, but in this case there was no resolution on any front. Again, I understand why he made this decision, but I as a reader found it incredibly frustrating.

Overall, this was a worthwhile reading journey. I’m glad that I read 

, and I feel like I not only learned a lot, I was able to put myself in the shoes of people in a way I’ve rarely experienced. Because I wasn’t a huge fan of the way things ended, I’m not positive I would ever reread this story, but it’s still a story that I definitely believe is worth reading once.

Celeste Richardson

There There is another one of those books that I’ve been meaning to read for years, and I’m glad I finally picked it up. The prologue of this book, comprised of the first ten pages, is one of the most powerful and moving essays I’ve ever read. Even before the story itself had begun, I understood how profoundly important this book was, and I completely understood why it was so lauded and both nominee and winner of such a variety of awards.

This story follows twelve disparate prospective characters who all have one thing in common: they are all heading to the Big Oakland Powwow. Whether they know much about their heritage or not, whatever their interest level in it might be, this gathering and shared identity are what bind them. I found all of the characters interesting, though I think this would have been a stronger story with half as many minds to jump between. But that’s personal preference. They were all very believable and varied and well written. 

However, I have to confess that I found the front half stronger than the back half. While I understand what Orange was going for once our massive cast of prospective characters finally all met at the powwow around which the story revolved, I found it tedious to read. I also find the ambiguous literary ending decision to be hit or miss and, in this case, I felt that it was a miss. I’m all for leaving loose threads, so that the story continues to live on in the minds of readers, but in this case there was no resolution on any front. Again, I understand why he made this decision, but I as a reader found it incredibly frustrating.

Overall, this was a worthwhile reading journey. I’m glad that I read There There, and I feel like I not only learned a lot, I was able to put myself in the shoes of people in a way I’ve rarely experienced. Because I wasn’t a huge fan of the way things ended, I’m not positive I would ever reread this story, but it’s still a story that I definitely believe is worth reading once.

Abiiii

Bumped to five because of the last 30 pages or so. Wow. I’m not crying, you’re crying.

Jayme Bosio

This book is so good that I had to go back and change the ratings on some of the books I read because I was apparently throwing out 5 star reviews all willy nilly. Every character’s story was compelling, from the kid who sits in front of the computer all day to the postal carrier with spiders in her legs, and the writing is just a gut punch. When writing can create a visceral reaction you know it’s good. 10 stars!

Ashlyn

I find some stylistic elements lacking the second read, but still a great book.

Taylor Thompson

I originally grabbed this to read in November 2020 for Native American Heritage Month but other books slipped in... you know how it goes.
This book deserves all the accolades it's received. 
The book takes place in Oakland, CA and follows twelve Indian stories (I'm using the terminology used in the book) that all revolve around an upcoming event, The Big Oakland Powwow. The way the author intertwines the characters throughout the story with other characters keeps the plot moving forward but without it seeming forced. What I really liked about the book was how complex the characters were, and how they handle being Indian in the inner cities and grappling with issues in their community, and what it means to be Indian to each individual in modern time. Prior to reading this, I had read "The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America from 1890 to the Present" to have a better understanding of Native Americans and the oppression they've endured from a factual standpoint. The author does an interesting job by tying in past events/massacre's/tragedies and bringing them into modern translation. I really thought this was a cool type of writing and overall made me even more thrilled to know what event the author was referencing. 
Overall, really great read.

Jenna

I keep hearing There There by Tommy Orange described as important and eye-opening. I agree with those things. It’s also well written. But... I just never got fully invested or absorbed by the stories.

There There follows a large cast of Native American characters as their lives converge towards the Oakland Powwow, where you know an act of violence will unfold. The characters here are “urban Indians” and demonstrate that though they’ve been disenfranchised and repeatedly stolen from, they are not all the same and they are not a stereotype. The chapters all focus on one character, and kind of read like short stories. I had heard it could be hard to keep track of who was who because of this, so I paid extra attention and didn’t find it too difficult to remember and could just flip the pages back if I forgot something.

I’ve posted a lot about how I struggle with short stories, and feeling connected to or moved by them. I think that’s why I never fully felt invested in each character in this book, or overly concerned about their fate. The short story-esque style made this book less enjoyable for me - I honestly felt bored at times and just wanted to get to the next character, and I feel bad saying that.

The way the stories come together at the end is masterful, but I felt like I missed a big emotional impact because of the way the chapters jump around from person to person so quickly.

My favorite parts of the book were in Orange’s own voice in the prologue and interlude. He writes straightforwardly and unflinchingly about the history of Native Americans, from his perspective, and those parts were truly eye opening and compelling to me. I’d be inclined to read a nonfiction book of essays or something by him.

Overall, I wish I could say that I loved this one. Although it wasn’t my favorite, I do think it’s a well written book about people we don’t get to hear much about. I would encourage people to read it for themselves, at least for the history and different perspective it brings.

Barbara Williford

This book had so much potential but it was just meh.  Grab a notebook when reading because this book has so many characters.  To make it worse, the characters are so undeveloped that the reader is not even invested in them.  Follow twelve native Americans in Oakland as they finally gather at a Pow Wow that ends in a disaster.  There is really now resolution to any of them.

I understand that Native Americans have been taken advantage of by the “white man” and government.  There is also so much misinformation and stereotypes associated with native Americans.  This was a chance to change that perspective but instead the author fed into those stereotypes with bad writing.  Not only are the characters weak but so is the story line and the writing.

Trigger warnings:  gang violence, rape, alcohol and substance abuse, pedophilia, and strong language.

Marcy Pursell &
There There by Tommy Orange

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Marcy Pursell &There There by Tommy Orange

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Marcy Pursell &
There There by Tommy Orange