Scan barcode
A review by princessfabulous
Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Tommy Orange is a treasure. His writing has a way of making you feel exactly what his characters are going through while opening your eyes to the true plight of Native Americans. While Wandering Stars is technically a sequel to his outrageous debut There There, this second novel attempts so much more than the first's direct narrative did (ever so well, in my opinion.
Wandering Stars is an epic family saga that takes our well-known characters Orvil Red Feather and Opal Bear Shield and pushes back several generations to see where their inherited trauma may have been born. We spend a bit of time with Orvil's great-great grandfather Jude Star, who escapes the Sand Creek Massacre only to wander America until he's captured and sent to Indian school in Florida. His son, Charles Star, is left alone at a young age and also goes to Indian school before escaping west to Oakland. Then we meet to the two generations before Orvil's before catching up with him in the aftermath of the pow-wow shooting.
The lion's share of the story is how Orvil is coping as he heals from his wound, which is to say, he isn't, really. I don't want to go into any further detail on the story, but here is where we can see all the damage outlined in the prior generations play out alongside Orvil's very real current traumas. Overall, I really loved this take on the family and how the treatment of Native Americans throughout history is very much affecting those living today. It's heartbreaking yet inspiring to watch individuals struggle and persist despite all they are up against day to day.
Thank you to Tommy Orange for this beautiful story, and to Alfred A Knopf and Net Galley for the ARC. I can't recommend enough that we continue to read and support stories of this caliber to continue to better understand each other.
Wandering Stars is an epic family saga that takes our well-known characters Orvil Red Feather and Opal Bear Shield and pushes back several generations to see where their inherited trauma may have been born. We spend a bit of time with Orvil's great-great grandfather Jude Star, who escapes the Sand Creek Massacre only to wander America until he's captured and sent to Indian school in Florida. His son, Charles Star, is left alone at a young age and also goes to Indian school before escaping west to Oakland. Then we meet to the two generations before Orvil's before catching up with him in the aftermath of the pow-wow shooting.
The lion's share of the story is how Orvil is coping as he heals from his wound, which is to say, he isn't, really. I don't want to go into any further detail on the story, but here is where we can see all the damage outlined in the prior generations play out alongside Orvil's very real current traumas. Overall, I really loved this take on the family and how the treatment of Native Americans throughout history is very much affecting those living today. It's heartbreaking yet inspiring to watch individuals struggle and persist despite all they are up against day to day.
Thank you to Tommy Orange for this beautiful story, and to Alfred A Knopf and Net Galley for the ARC. I can't recommend enough that we continue to read and support stories of this caliber to continue to better understand each other.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug use and Addiction