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abrockli's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
hannahyorkey's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Racism, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts
dahlface's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
“A bad thing doesn’t stop happening to you just because it stops happening to you.”
From the 1864 Sand Creek Massacre to the present day gun violence and opioid epidemic, Tommy Orange traces the Redfeather family tree and reveals how each generation’s trauma feeds the next.
Passages in this beautifully written recounting of Native American trauma - filled with the wrongs of white men and women - made me stop in awe, so heartbreaking in their truth. So plain in their understanding of survival, loss, longing, and hopelessness. Passages like:
“I'd taken an idea about second wind for myself. That if you could last through what seemed hardest, you got more, and that there lived somewhere in the body the ability to keep going even though it felt like you no longer could, some reserve of strength and power, to endure, that took its share but not all of you; that you could save some part of you, hidden away in a true place, even from yourself, for when you needed it most—to believe in that felt powerful enough to make it true.”
“You get a light behind you when what feels like the worst that can happen to you happens to you. It never goes away. In lives behind you. It's there whenever you need it. The light shoots through, bright and wide and says: At least I'm not there.”
“Selfish is the most likely thing to become if you've been abandoned, I think. Being abandoned means you don't think anyone else is really there for you when it comes down to it. So it's just you. Yourself. Being how you would be if there was no one else there.”
Told from the perspective of several generations, Wandering Stars stacks personal histories like stones in a cairn, leaving you with a monument to each experience so that you will never forget.
From the 1864 Sand Creek Massacre to the present day gun violence and opioid epidemic, Tommy Orange traces the Redfeather family tree and reveals how each generation’s trauma feeds the next.
Passages in this beautifully written recounting of Native American trauma - filled with the wrongs of white men and women - made me stop in awe, so heartbreaking in their truth. So plain in their understanding of survival, loss, longing, and hopelessness. Passages like:
“I'd taken an idea about second wind for myself. That if you could last through what seemed hardest, you got more, and that there lived somewhere in the body the ability to keep going even though it felt like you no longer could, some reserve of strength and power, to endure, that took its share but not all of you; that you could save some part of you, hidden away in a true place, even from yourself, for when you needed it most—to believe in that felt powerful enough to make it true.”
“You get a light behind you when what feels like the worst that can happen to you happens to you. It never goes away. In lives behind you. It's there whenever you need it. The light shoots through, bright and wide and says: At least I'm not there.”
“Selfish is the most likely thing to become if you've been abandoned, I think. Being abandoned means you don't think anyone else is really there for you when it comes down to it. So it's just you. Yourself. Being how you would be if there was no one else there.”
Told from the perspective of several generations, Wandering Stars stacks personal histories like stones in a cairn, leaving you with a monument to each experience so that you will never forget.
amb3rlina's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-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
4.5
I don't remember being blown away by There, There - but I really connected with this one. So much longing and searching. Orange said a lot even with the incomplete stories.
mamaquiereleer's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-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
4.25
sarahwiltshire's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Wow - a very powerful book, with lives and histories that so need to be told. Highly recommend everyone read this one. Writing the day before the Booker 2024 shortlist is announced - very much rooting for Wandering Stars to be on the list.
kuhnoah's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
lbewley's review
dark
emotional
reflective
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
4.0
alisonburnis's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
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
4.0
Because I was reading this as part of the Booker longlist, I waffled a bit on if I should read There There first - a book that’s been sitting on my TBR for a while but I haven’t read yet. Ultimately I decided to read this first, and I don’t think that was a bad idea, since it’s both a prequel and a sequel, following the ancestors of the characters and bringing them through to the events of There There. I also wanted to approach it as a standalone work, since many people may see it on the list and read it by itself, as I have.
Starting with Jude Star, Orange follows his family through the generations, all the way to the present day, situating it as a family saga centred on the North American Indigenous genocide. I really enjoyed the historical part of the book; each character was distinct and Orange did some really excellent things with narrative view. The second part, set in contemporary times, was good but more conventional.
This is a complex family story, but one worth the adventure. Orange is a talented and incredibly nuanced writer, and his characters were a masterclass in creating multiple voices. A beautiful addition to the longlist.
Starting with Jude Star, Orange follows his family through the generations, all the way to the present day, situating it as a family saga centred on the North American Indigenous genocide. I really enjoyed the historical part of the book; each character was distinct and Orange did some really excellent things with narrative view. The second part, set in contemporary times, was good but more conventional.
This is a complex family story, but one worth the adventure. Orange is a talented and incredibly nuanced writer, and his characters were a masterclass in creating multiple voices. A beautiful addition to the longlist.
l_nguist's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0