ellieb_reads 's review for:

There There by Tommy Orange

4.0

emotional sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

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This is a really powerful book and a very heavy read. Tommy Orange is an exceptional and creative writer, and There There manages to be profoundly emotional and educational at the same time. There are a lot of characters to keep track of - I’m always a bit skeptical when a book starts with a character list - but each of them taught me something (and just about all of them made me cry). I do wish that their narratives had intersected earlier in the book. It was a little difficult to get into the novel at the beginning with such short vignettes of (at that point) unconnected stories. But when they did come together, I couldn’t put it down. I imagine the ending is polarizing among readers. It’s abrupt and heartbreaking and vague. I can’t say the ending was satisfying the way you normally want a book to be, but I think the Orange’s choice to leave it open-ended has meaning that is both sad and hopeful. Eager to read his latest book sometime soon!