Reviews with content warning for Animal death - There There

Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

There There by Tommy Orange

41 reviews

sarahbythebook's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense

4.0

I'm not totally sure how to feel after finishing this book, but I can say that There There is a powerful story. If you can handle the content warnings, it's worth reading.

"The problem with indigenous art in general is that it's stuck in the past. The catch or the double bind about the whole thing is this: if it isn't pulling from tradition, how is it indigenous? and if it is stuck in tradition, in the past, how can it be relevant to other indigenous people living now? How can it be modern?"

Tommy Orange's debut novel answers his own question as it weaves together the lives and experiences of 12 Native people coming together in Oakland, California, for a massive powwow. Their strings are all tangled together in ways clear and confusing, and Orange uses these characters and their experiences to bring front and center the lives of "Urban Indians" for his readers. Through their lives, readers are able to see the struggles, challenges, and failures that Native society is forced to navigate while highlighting the culture that still exists despite colonizers' best efforts.

As much as I enjoyed this book, I struggled with the sheer number of points of view and keeping them all straight, especially the young men. As the book progressed, that got better, but the beginning in particular was rough for me. I think this would have been better with a physical or digital copy of the book rather than the audiobook.

The ambiguity at the end is frustrating, but I also think it's perfect for this book. The lives of Native and Indigenous people are not static and do not have an ending; this story, a glimpse into that reality, should not have an ending either. Instead, readers should take it as a call to action to do the work to improve the lives of Native communities around them, boosting a beautiful culture so that the youth can break the cycles of poverty that white Americans forced them into years and years ago.

Content Warnings

tomnoor's review against another edition

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3.5

In terms of themes there were so many that were intriguing, but I largely felt they were underdeveloped. There were also so many characters to keep track of that I often felt confused, and it was hard to form an emotional connection with any of them since we spent so little time with each before moving to the next, which ultimately made it difficult to care much about the events at the climax. I would’ve liked there to be another hundred pages or so to flesh things out more.

Content Warnings

gilnean's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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mekaylynn's review against another edition

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challenging emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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jenny_d's review against another edition

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emotional sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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marjoleinvanderspoel's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This is a wonderfully moving and enlightening novel about the lives of various native Americans in Oakland, California. Tommy Orange manages to give each character a distinct voice, but maintains a coherence throughout. The plethora of characters provides a broad and nuanced picture of native Americans today, but the downside is that it is a little hard to keep track of names and relationships (familial and friendships included) along the way. Still one of the most interesting books I've read in a long time.

Content Warnings

ashylibrarian's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

I finished the audiobook of There There by Tommy Orange yesterday. The stories are raw. They are real. They are emotional.

Orange tells the story of twelve (12) characters who live intertwined lives with one another. They all attend a powwow in Oakland, California, for different reasons, though their lives are not all to different from one another.

I was immediately drawn in to the ties and knots that connected each character together. Orange crafted the lives of each character so individualistically but also so very interconnectedly.

I won’t make any spoilers here, but the ending truly ripped a piece of me and left me frustrated, sad, upset, and confused. These stories may be fictional, but I can only assume there is truth behind the words that Orange wrote, sharing Native voices and stories, expanding hidden truths, and exposing unseen traumas.

Content Warnings