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A review by gobooksgo
There There by Tommy Orange
5.0
“This is the thing: If you have the option to not think about or even consider history, whether you learned it right or not, or whether it even deserves consideration, that’s how you know you’re on board the ship that serves hors d’oeuvres and fluffs your pillows, while others are out at sea, swimming or drowning, or clinging to little inflatable rafts that they have to take turns keeping inflated, people short of breath, who’ve never even heard of the words hors d’oeuvres or fluff.” (pages 137-138)
There There is a beautifully told story of twelve seemingly unrelated people who have more in common than they know. Orange captures the everyday lives of these twelve self described “urban Indians” living in Oakland, CA. He is brilliant at weaving these separate stories together as the plot moves along. One theme that is present is the community’s struggle to preserve the Native American culture while simultaneously wanting to move forward with new traditions and forget the people’s brutal history. Indeed, all of the characters are unique but are still affected by the role that history continues to play in the community today. This is a character driven novel with a narrative that moves forward with force. The anticipation I felt as I approached the end of the book was substantial, in a good way.
I highly recommend this book to everyone, even if this genre is out of your comfort zone. It offers a unique view into an underrepresented culture in popular literature today. When you finish reading I promise your heart will explode with empathy.
There There is a beautifully told story of twelve seemingly unrelated people who have more in common than they know. Orange captures the everyday lives of these twelve self described “urban Indians” living in Oakland, CA. He is brilliant at weaving these separate stories together as the plot moves along. One theme that is present is the community’s struggle to preserve the Native American culture while simultaneously wanting to move forward with new traditions and forget the people’s brutal history. Indeed, all of the characters are unique but are still affected by the role that history continues to play in the community today. This is a character driven novel with a narrative that moves forward with force. The anticipation I felt as I approached the end of the book was substantial, in a good way.
I highly recommend this book to everyone, even if this genre is out of your comfort zone. It offers a unique view into an underrepresented culture in popular literature today. When you finish reading I promise your heart will explode with empathy.