A review by cassiealexandra
There There by Tommy Orange

emotional sad tense medium-paced

4.75

I was immediately drawn into this story of Natives preparing for and traveling to a powwow in Oakland, CA. The short chapters from multiple perspectives, the interesting characters, and the different voices held my attention throughout. The writing was beautiful and I paused so many times to think about phrases and ideas included. The chapters could almost stand alone as short stories rather than a whole book. I especially liked the chapter from Thomas Frank’s POV. Unlike some reviewers, I found the non-linear framing and the unresolved ending added to the experience of reading. The characters and storylines connect together in this beautiful, fragile, spider’s web. While violent and crude at times, I felt like I was getting a truthful look at the lives of these characters, a perspective not unlike the documentary that Dene Oxendene is filming in the book. The content was dense and emotional, and there were a couple of times when I wondered, “is there a message or point I’m missing?,” as if parts were going over my head. But, to be clear, I didn’t feel that way out of the author’s pretension at all. There were also moments I had to flip back and forth trying to remember character names and how each was related to another, which only made me want to reread it slower and more intentionally, mapping the plot and family tree. 

The bottom line: A tragic and beautiful story that’s kind of like Motown music, which one of Orange’s characters says, “asks you to carry sadness and heartbreak but dance while doing so.”

— NOTES —
Genres: literary fiction
POV: multiple, some in first, some in third
Content: an abundance – drug use, gun violence, domestic violence, alcoholism, rape (off-page), strong language

— MY RATING CONSIDERATIONS
(all out of 5)
Pace: 5
Enjoyment: 4
Craft: 5
My Gut Feeling: 5
Total Stars: 4.75
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