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There There

Tommy Orange

Start date: October 1, 2019

Finish date: October 30, 2019

Discussion: Monthly Bonus Reads

Why we're reading this: October Bonus Read- Indigenous Resistance´s Day.

There There by Tommy Orange
[close] October Bonus Read- Indigenous Resistance´s Day.

There There by Tommy Orange

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What Members Thought

Apr 12, 2019 JanB added it

Shelves: book-club, 2019-reads, audiobook

This was the longest short book I've ever read. I respect all the high ratings from friends whose taste typically aligns with my own, but I concluded this was simply not the right book for me at this time, so I am leaving it unrated.

I appreciated the perspective of the plight of Native Americans. It opened my eyes to a culture I knew little of, and for that I am grateful. But I dreaded picking it up each day. Perhaps I will revisit it at a different time in my life. ...more

63 likes · Like · see review

Jul 17, 2018 ColumbusReads rated it really liked it

What an absolutely incredible achievement! Tommy Orange has written a fascinating and moving novel that had me mesmerized from the first page. I took it upon myself to write descriptions of the 12-15 prime characters knowing ahead of time that I would be introduced to them again in the final violent and powerful chapters. These Native American characters are all headed to or a part of the big Powwow at the Coliseum in Oakland.

I learned so much from this book and at times it reminded me of Juno’s ...more

11 likes · Like · see review

Nov 14, 2018 Chris Blocker rated it it was amazing

“That's what I'm trying to get out of this whole thing. All put together, all our stories. Because all we got right now are reservation stories, and shitty versions from outdated history textbooks.”

In terms of narrative device, structure, pacing, and plot, Tommy Orange does nothing new with his debut There There. In many ways, this novel is the plot-driven, multi-voiced narrative we have come to expect from the lot of best-selling book club selections. It falls into the trend that seemed wholly “That's what I'm trying to get out of this whole thing. All put together, all our stories. Because all we got right now are reservation stories, and shitty versions from outdated history textbooks.”

In terms of narrative device, structure, pacing, and plot, Tommy Orange does nothing new with his debut There There. In many ways, this novel is the plot-driven, multi-voiced narrative we have come to expect from the lot of best-selling book club selections. It falls into the trend that seemed wholly fun and still original ten years ago, but has since perhaps become cloying. This presentation is still effective and often successful, it's just that it feels too familiar.

So what makes There There one of the best books of 2018? Sure, the story is interesting. The characters are well rounded. The pacing, the setting... All that jazz. What I loved about There There was the way it turned my expectation of Native American literature on its head. Through his characters and his own authorial intrusions, Orange asks some stellar questions about the story of Indigenous people. Can a story be true to Native American traditions and still be modern?

The problem with Indigenous art in general is that it's stuck in the past. The catch, or the double bind, about the whole thing is this: If it isn't pulling from tradition, how is it Indigenous? And if it is stuck in tradition, in the past, how can it be relevant to other Indigenous people living now, how can it be modern?

Orange accomplishes this by including a diverse cast. Yes, they're all Native Americans, but no two are alike. And certainly none of them fulfill all of the tropes most readers have come to expect from an Indigenous character. They're young and old, thugs and nerds, focused and lost. The story also utilizes varied components, from a pow-wow and a beer bottle to a drone and a 3-d printed gun. This is far from just another “reservation story.”

I'm willing to bet that were a few titles published in 2018 that could surpass this one in my opinion, but I have yet to read those. For all the books I did read this past year, There There was the most riveting, wonderfully drawn, and surprising. I look forward to seeing what Orange does next. ...more

7 likes · Like · see review

Apr 05, 2025 Wendy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 3500-2025, apr-25

This is the story of several people, each of whom has different reasons for travelling to the Big Oakland Powwow.
Angry, funny and heartbreaking "There There" is a fast-paced, multi-generational story about identity, violence, recovery, compassion and despair woven into an urban indigenous community in California.
A debut novel that should be read. ...more

5 likes · Like · see review

Jun 15, 2019 Kathleen rated it it was amazing

Just, wow. I am usually not a big fan of books with a chapter or two per character, but Orange makes the structure really work. The book covers really serious topics about which I will need to give quite a few trigger warnings, it does so with a sense of humor and a the characters all feel real and fully drawn. I am looking forward to what my students will think of it when I teach it in the fall.

2 likes · Like · see review

Jun 15, 2018 Melissa Rochelle rated it really liked it

Shelves: arc, read-2018

Multi-generational. Informative. Insightful. Emotional. Surprising. Multiple perspectives.

It's good. I don't really have the words to tell you HOW good, but it is. So read it.

Thanks to the publisher for the advance reading copy. ...more

1 like · Like · see review