Book Review: “There There”

Tommy Orange made waves this summer with the release of “There There.”

In Oakland, CA, a group known as “urban Indians” call the city their home, living in the modern world while still connected to the history of their people. From older adults the reader sees as both child and grandmother to teens caught up in gangs, each character intersects with the others at some point through the Big Oakland Powwow, the central event of the book.

It is difficult to talk about any of the plot without giving away the ending, but the plans made by characters in the first few chapters are enacted at the book’s climactic end. Despite knowing what everything leads up to, the ending still packs a punch, which left me feeling empty after the book was over. I was left flipping through the last few pages again, trying to get more closure about what happened to everyone but, like real life, we do not always get to know how things turn out and how everyone is impacted.

While “There There” tells a single story, the plot is told in a multitude of ways. Each chapter is from the point of view of a single character. The 12 main characters narrate a couple chapters each as the main story progresses forward, and keeping up with 12 distinct points of view can be confusing. However, the overall plot brings each individual viewpoint together and manages to tell a cohesive story.

It is hard to believe a book of this magnitude is Orange’s first work. “There There” spent nine weeks on the New York Times best seller list and is currently a finalist for the 2019 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction. Despite being fiction, “There There” rings with truth. The experiences of the characters mirror experiences happening today, which makes this novel all the more emotional and powerful.

Orange uses his own experiences to write “There There” with authority. He is from Oakland and is a member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma. For someone like me, relatively uninformed about the trials American Indians experienced and still experience today, this book illuminates a culture and people much of America is uneducated about. Orange tells a story that cuts to the heart of the lives of urban Indians in a way few others ever could.

Paige Holmes is a junior journalism major from Topeka, KS. Reading is her favorite thing to do, because it teaches one how to think, imagine and live. Paige believes there is no better way to learn something or be entertained than by reading a book. Her favorite genre of books is fantasy/thriller and her favorite book is ‘Opening Moves’ by Steven James.