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A review by nordstina
Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.25
Tommy Orange's fantastic novel about Native communities in There There is continued in his new novel Wandering Stars. While you do not have to read the first book to enjoy this one, it does provide context to characters' actions (disclaimer that I had read it, but had been years, and so I read a summary to re-familiarize myself with the characters). Wandering Stars hinges on the shooting that takes place in There There, with the first section of this book being about earlier Native ancestors, while the second section focuses on events post-shooting. He provided a helpful family tree at the beginning of the book to align how individuals were related. Jude Star lives through the 1864 San Creek Massacre, and is eventually put on a train to Florida to be jailed, and he meets the overseer Pratt who believes he can "reform" the Natives. Jude leans into religion and a particular Bible verse resonates with him- Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame, wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. Pratt's vision is unfortunately carried through to Jude's son Charles who attends Pratt's Carlisle Industrial School for Indians.
Orvil, many generations removed from his relative Jude recovers physically from the bullet wound sustained at the Powwow. He finds comfort in reading how fellow survivors of mass shootings dealt with the aftermath. He also starts taking more of his prescribed painkillers than he should and makes friends with a fellow student who also takes painkillers after sustaining an accident. Orvil's brothers Loother and Lony are both dealing with difficulties in their family in unique ways. Lony wants to connect to Native practices and attempts to use folklore in a way to protect his family, especially Orvil whom he is very worried about.
This book is very much one of generational trauma and how individuals cope (or do not). We see early signs of drug use in earlier generations, family separation, mental health challenges, transracial adoption, and self-discovery. As in There There, different characters are approaching their relationship with their Native identities in different ways- some leaning into, some running away from. Orange is a fantastic writer, and he tamps into cultures that are not highlighted enough in literature. I found the first section of this book very fast-paced, and wish I could have spent more time with the earlier generations, while at times, some of the second section dragged. I really enjoyed some of the secondary characters, especially Lony, who says in a letter may we learn to forgive ourselves, so that we lose the weight, so that we may fly, not as birds but as people, get above the weight and carry on, for the next generations, so that we might keep living, stop doing all this dying. Well said, Lony.
Thank you to Knopf via NetGalley for the advance reader copy in exchange for honest review.
Orvil, many generations removed from his relative Jude recovers physically from the bullet wound sustained at the Powwow. He finds comfort in reading how fellow survivors of mass shootings dealt with the aftermath. He also starts taking more of his prescribed painkillers than he should and makes friends with a fellow student who also takes painkillers after sustaining an accident. Orvil's brothers Loother and Lony are both dealing with difficulties in their family in unique ways. Lony wants to connect to Native practices and attempts to use folklore in a way to protect his family, especially Orvil whom he is very worried about.
This book is very much one of generational trauma and how individuals cope (or do not). We see early signs of drug use in earlier generations, family separation, mental health challenges, transracial adoption, and self-discovery. As in There There, different characters are approaching their relationship with their Native identities in different ways- some leaning into, some running away from. Orange is a fantastic writer, and he tamps into cultures that are not highlighted enough in literature. I found the first section of this book very fast-paced, and wish I could have spent more time with the earlier generations, while at times, some of the second section dragged. I really enjoyed some of the secondary characters, especially Lony, who says in a letter may we learn to forgive ourselves, so that we lose the weight, so that we may fly, not as birds but as people, get above the weight and carry on, for the next generations, so that we might keep living, stop doing all this dying. Well said, Lony.
Thank you to Knopf via NetGalley for the advance reader copy in exchange for honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use and Self harm