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A review by ourxstorybegins
There There by Tommy Orange
4.5
This was a really great book. The stories of individual Native people from Oakland and their stories intertwining in small ways until they all come together at a pow wow. I read the audiobook and the performances of the narrators were absolutely incredible. I had characters I was able to root for and characters I couldn’t stand, but was still able to see and understand their perspectives in a lot of ways.
There were a couple of things that I think were well done, but still threw me off:
- The author shifted points of view when he shifted characters. Some stories were told in first person, most in third person, and one character’s story was written in second person? I ended up getting distracted trying to figure out the purpose of the POV shifts, especially when it came to the character that was told from 2nd person.
- There were a lot of different characters and storylines to keep up with. I found myself going back to previous chapters because once everyone came together, it was hard to remember who was who.
All that said, the story was still incredibly well-crafted, and I really enjoyed it overall.
There were a couple of things that I think were well done, but still threw me off:
- The author shifted points of view when he shifted characters. Some stories were told in first person, most in third person, and one character’s story was written in second person? I ended up getting distracted trying to figure out the purpose of the POV shifts, especially when it came to the character that was told from 2nd person.
- There were a lot of different characters and storylines to keep up with. I found myself going back to previous chapters because once everyone came together, it was hard to remember who was who.
All that said, the story was still incredibly well-crafted, and I really enjoyed it overall.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Death, Gun violence, and Fatphobia