There There by Samuel Orange
Meet Author Samuel Orange:
"TOMMY ORANGE is faculty at the Institute of American Indian Arts MFA program. He is an enrolled member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma. He was born and raised in Oakland, California, and currently lives in Angels Camp, California." ~Amazon
"NATIONAL BESTSELLER • PEN/HEMINGWAY AWARD WINNER • One of The New York Times 10 Best Books of the Year • A wondrous and shattering novel that follows twelve characters from Native communities: all traveling to the Big Oakland Powwow, all connected to one another in ways they may not yet realize.
Among them is Jacquie Red Feather, newly sober and trying to make it back to the family she left behind. Dene Oxendene, pulling his life together after his uncle’s death and working at the powwow to honor his memory. Fourteen-year-old Orvil, coming to perform traditional dance for the very first time. Together, this chorus of voices tells of the plight of the urban Native American—grappling with a complex and painful history, with an inheritance of beauty and spirituality, with communion and sacrifice and heroism.
Hailed as an instant classic, There There is at once poignant and unflinching, utterly contemporary and truly unforgettable." ~Amazon
1: didn't like it/skip it2: it was okay/it wasn't for me
3. liked it/worth a read
4. really liked it/loved it
5. it was amazing/must read!
There is the occasional moment when I read a book and wonder how I will review and rate it. This could be for numerous different reasons. Sometimes, the material is so in-depth or touches a chord within me that can't be entirely explained. There There is such a book.
To say this book is "worth a read" is an understatement. If I were to tell about the different characters being tracked within the book and their personal grief and struggles, the recurring theme of displacement and how it intertwines with the character's cultural and personal identities, the traditions and memories being vividly enacted before us, and how the Native Americans located in the Oakland setting are ultimately interconnected, none of this would fully explain the total importance of the message being shared. Its exceptional storytelling puts you in the minds of each character - Dene Oxendene, Orvil Red Feather, Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield, Tony Loneman, and Blue just to name a few.
Author Tommy Orange doesn't hold back or sidestep the feelings and issues his characters face. He reveals their internal and external conflicts through some raw and uncomfortable scenes. Their generational trauma is confronted and depicted through a layer of resolute stories and undiluted emotions. The author shares nonfiction essays interspersed between the prologue, and at different intervals, amidst the chapters. This gives context and historical weight to the narratives provided by each character.
I think the meaning behind his work and its efforts is stated best through Lit Charts. Their theme analysis of generational trauma within this novel pinpoints exactly what I want to say:
There is an unbearable heaviness to this understanding, and it's tragedy cannot be ignored. Picking up this book inherently makes me a witness to the brutality of the Native American history and its modern implications. It feels like a dare. Because if you read this book and don't have your perspective and understanding and sympathies completely awakened and altered, then you aren't reading the same book I did.
I suppose my next question is: What do I do with this information?
Like the author, I feel that something more must be accomplished. The cycle the Native American culture is trapped within needs to be investigated. Resources need to be developed, shared, and acted upon. Reading There There made me realize that actions need to follow, and I can't ever picture their world without seeing this book and its characters' lives spread out before me. I don't think I can live with any more devastation being enacted without protest. Today seems like a good day to put this book's message to better use.
3. liked it/worth a read
4. really liked it/loved it
5. it was amazing/must read!
Must Read!
To say this book is "worth a read" is an understatement. If I were to tell about the different characters being tracked within the book and their personal grief and struggles, the recurring theme of displacement and how it intertwines with the character's cultural and personal identities, the traditions and memories being vividly enacted before us, and how the Native Americans located in the Oakland setting are ultimately interconnected, none of this would fully explain the total importance of the message being shared. Its exceptional storytelling puts you in the minds of each character - Dene Oxendene, Orvil Red Feather, Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield, Tony Loneman, and Blue just to name a few.
Author Tommy Orange doesn't hold back or sidestep the feelings and issues his characters face. He reveals their internal and external conflicts through some raw and uncomfortable scenes. Their generational trauma is confronted and depicted through a layer of resolute stories and undiluted emotions. The author shares nonfiction essays interspersed between the prologue, and at different intervals, amidst the chapters. This gives context and historical weight to the narratives provided by each character.
I think the meaning behind his work and its efforts is stated best through Lit Charts. Their theme analysis of generational trauma within this novel pinpoints exactly what I want to say:
"As Orange demonstrates the ways in which generational trauma
influences the cast of characters within There There, he makes a
larger statement about the pain Native communities have been
forced to bear over the years. Orange ultimately suggests, however
bleakly, that until there is a wider reckoning with the history of
colonization, extermination, and assimilation Native peoples have
been forced to endure, Native communities will become trapped in
a vicious cycle of more pain and suffering."
There is an unbearable heaviness to this understanding, and it's tragedy cannot be ignored. Picking up this book inherently makes me a witness to the brutality of the Native American history and its modern implications. It feels like a dare. Because if you read this book and don't have your perspective and understanding and sympathies completely awakened and altered, then you aren't reading the same book I did.
I suppose my next question is: What do I do with this information?
Like the author, I feel that something more must be accomplished. The cycle the Native American culture is trapped within needs to be investigated. Resources need to be developed, shared, and acted upon. Reading There There made me realize that actions need to follow, and I can't ever picture their world without seeing this book and its characters' lives spread out before me. I don't think I can live with any more devastation being enacted without protest. Today seems like a good day to put this book's message to better use.
To find out more:
The above sites are ones which I've researched but have no personal affiliations. I include them to encourage others to learn more and see what difference can be made for our Native brothers and sisters. Hopefully, you'll be as inspired as I am.
To end, I'd like to share my 5/5 rating for an eye-opening, veracious, and well-written story. I hope to read more from Author Samuel Orange.
Thanks for joining me, and as always, Happy Reading! :)
~Rebecca Reddell, Author
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