There There by Tommy Orange teaches us about the Native American identity and memory

Why should you read this book?

There There by Tommy Orange has been basically everywhere since it has been considered one of the best debuts of 2018 and it’s a New York Times Best-Seller. Needless to say my expectations were very high for this book!

This novel tells the multigenerational story of several Native Americans living in the area of Oakland, California. Although the lives of these characters initially seem disjointed, they will later cross paths at the Big Oakland Powwow.

At first, I was really enjoying this book. I was amazed, actually! Just couldn’t put it down. But I think the narrative loses quality once all the stories intersect. I believe it would have been a nice option to decrease the number of characters. Otherwise, it becomes a little hard to follow and feel the stories of all them. In spite of this, I really recommend this book. There There not only is a great debut but also teaches us about the Native American identity and memory. So, go grab your copy!

I’d like to thank A. Knopf for the free copy. You can buy it here.

“Some of us got this feeling stuck inside, all the time, like we’ve done something wrong. Like we ourselves are something wrong.”

Summary