Tommy Orange: There there (2018)
[sound recording] :
English language
Published Oct. 30, 2018
Jacquie Red Feather is newly sober and trying to make it back to the family she left behind in shame in Oakland. Dene Oxendene is pulling his life together after his uncle's death and has come to work the powwow and to honor his uncle's memory. Edwin Black has come to find his true father. Thomas Frank has come to drum the Grand Entry. Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield has come to watch her nephew Orvil Red Feather; Orvil has taught himself Indian dance through YouTube videos, and he has come to the Big Oakland Powwow to dance in public for the very first time. Tony Loneman is a young Native American boy whose future seems destined to be as bleak as his past, and he has come to the Powwow with darker intentions.
Disappointed. The writing was immaculate, addressing the plight of Native Americans in cities, Oakland was well represented, but it was sooo constructed. Too many characters, and not clear why, that also all are related or discover connections. Jumps too quickly between characters, and the story becomes very weird in the end.
Wonderful, insightful writing on a depressing, yet important topic. My favorite part of the book was the "Blood" section of the "Interlude".
