Reviews with content warning for Excrement - There There

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There There by Tommy Orange

20 reviews

readingwithgoose's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character

5.0

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stellahadz's review against another edition

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challenging dark 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

3.75

Tommy Orange can definitely write - the prologue was powerful and pulled me right into the book. It was interesting to read about urban Indigenous people in the US, and I really liked the premise of the story. That being said, I felt like there was something missing, but I can't put my finger on exactly what it is - maybe there were too many characters? It took me a while to remember who was who, which I think made the story drag a bit. There are quite a few loose ends by the end of the book, which is odd because the ending itself feels extremely rushed. I know there's a sequel (which I will probably read), but I feel like the story could have been wrapped up in a single book.

If you liked this book (particularly the multiple-narrator technique), you might also enjoy Katherena Vermette's The Break (and the two follow-up novels, The Strangers and The Circle). It follows various members of a Métis community in Winnipeg and recounts the story of a crime and its aftermath through all of their perspectives.

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language_loving_amateur's review

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challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

4.75

I feel like I would need a second read through with a character chart to understand the basics of what is happening in There There, let alone fully understand it.

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marissasa's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

I always love a story where we get multiples POVs, and especially if they are people whose individual narratives all connect to each other by the end. This book delivered that along with a lot of emotional and heavy truths about Native Americans' experiences in the past and in the modern time. The essays in the beginning really set the tone for the book and leave you breathless. I liked the exploration of many different themes in this book, with a big emphasis on identity, family ties, and participating in your culture. While all these things were done well and the buildup to the ending was anxiety-filled and tense as intended, the book was also on the short side which resulted in a lot of the 12 characters who were given a POV not getting as much development as they could've. Some were fleshed out and we got to dive in and hear their backstories, while others felt more like a toe dip in the pool only getting to the surface level. Regardless, this book will keep you engaged and make you feel things while learning about life for the indigenous people who live in a land that is theirs but also stolen from them.

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