David Schwinghammer's Blog - Posts Tagged "character-sketches"
There There
Tommy Orange's THERE THERE gets some decent reviews from Louise Erdrich, one of my favorites, and Margaret Atwood, among others, but it's a very hard book to read.
It's about 12 Native American or partially Native American characters on their way to a Oakland powwow. Each of them gets a chapter or chapters and a point of view. But by the time you see them again, you can't remember who some of them were. I had no problem with Jacquie Red Feather and Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield, sisters with extended families, but I had to look back several times to find out who some of the guys were.
Anyway, one of these guys is making 3D guns on his printer. As you man know, they don't have serial numbers and can't be traced. Some politicians favor making this info readily available. Anyway, the powwow is offering cash prizes (actually gift certificates that can be turned into cash) and this guy and his buddies, whom I had trouble finding, want to rob the safe. Coincidentally the powwow and the safe are being run by Jacquie Red Feathers long-lost daughter, Blue, whom she gave up for adoption. They're both there; Blue has never met her mother.
Tommy Orange is most concerned with Native Americans who were either born or moved to Oakland and what that does to their identify and sense of self. Most of these characters are of Cheyenne or Arapahoe, or a combination, descent. And that's why he throws in a bit of history here and there, most notably the Sand Creek Massacre. Women and children and old men were murdered by the United States army there.
One of these guys suffers from the effects of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, which he calls “The Drome”. Others, including Jacquie, are alcoholics.
For me the best part of the book was Orange's description of how it felt to put on Native American regalia and dance or play the drums. I've been to a powwow in Taos, New Mexico. They looked like they were having fun. It was like a county fair for Native Americans.
It's about 12 Native American or partially Native American characters on their way to a Oakland powwow. Each of them gets a chapter or chapters and a point of view. But by the time you see them again, you can't remember who some of them were. I had no problem with Jacquie Red Feather and Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield, sisters with extended families, but I had to look back several times to find out who some of the guys were.
Anyway, one of these guys is making 3D guns on his printer. As you man know, they don't have serial numbers and can't be traced. Some politicians favor making this info readily available. Anyway, the powwow is offering cash prizes (actually gift certificates that can be turned into cash) and this guy and his buddies, whom I had trouble finding, want to rob the safe. Coincidentally the powwow and the safe are being run by Jacquie Red Feathers long-lost daughter, Blue, whom she gave up for adoption. They're both there; Blue has never met her mother.
Tommy Orange is most concerned with Native Americans who were either born or moved to Oakland and what that does to their identify and sense of self. Most of these characters are of Cheyenne or Arapahoe, or a combination, descent. And that's why he throws in a bit of history here and there, most notably the Sand Creek Massacre. Women and children and old men were murdered by the United States army there.
One of these guys suffers from the effects of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, which he calls “The Drome”. Others, including Jacquie, are alcoholics.
For me the best part of the book was Orange's description of how it felt to put on Native American regalia and dance or play the drums. I've been to a powwow in Taos, New Mexico. They looked like they were having fun. It was like a county fair for Native Americans.
