There There

A Novel

By: Tommy Orange

Narrated by: Darrell Dennis, Shaun Taylor-Corbett, Alma Ceurvo, Kyla Garcia

One of the 10 Best Books of the Year - The New York Times Book Review

Winner of the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize

One of the best books of the year: The Washington Post, NPR, Time, O, The Oprah Magazine, San Francisco Chronicle, Entertainment Weekly, The Boston Globe, GQ, The Dallas Morning News, Buzzfeed, BookPage, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews.

New York Times Best Seller

Tommy Orange's "groundbreaking, extraordinary" (The New York Times) There There is the "brilliant, propulsive" (People Magazine) story of 12 unforgettable characters, Urban Indians living in Oakland, California, who converge and collide on one fateful day. It's "the year's most galvanizing debut novel" (Entertainment Weekly).

As we learn the reasons that each person is attending the Big Oakland Powwow - some generous, some fearful, some joyful, some violent - momentum builds toward a shocking yet inevitable conclusion that changes everything. Jacquie Red Feather is newly sober and trying to make it back to the family she left behind in shame. Dene Oxendene is pulling his life back together after his uncle's death and has come to work at the powwow to honor his uncle's memory. Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield has come to watch her nephew Orvil, who has taught himself traditional Indian dance through YouTube videos and will perform in public for the very first time. There will be glorious communion, and a spectacle of sacred tradition and pageantry. And there will be sacrifice, and heroism, and loss.

There There is a wondrous and shattering portrait of an America few of us have ever seen. It's "masterful...white-hot...devastating" (The Washington Post) at the same time as it is fierce, funny, suspenseful, thoroughly modern, and impossible to pause. Here is a voice we have never heard - a voice full of poetry and rage, exploding onto the page with urgency and force. Tommy Orange has written a stunning novel that grapples with a complex and painful history, with an inheritance of beauty and profound spirituality, and with a plague of addiction, abuse, and suicide. This is the book that everyone is talking about right now, and it's destined to be a classic.

©2018 Tommy Orange (P)2018 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Masterful. White-hot. A devastating debut novel." (Ron Charles, The Washington Post)

"A gripping deep dive into urban indigenous community in California: an astonishing literary debut!" (Margaret Atwood, via Twitter)

"Visceral... A chronicle of domestic violence, alcoholism, addiction, and pain, the book reveals the perseverance and spirit of the characters... Unflinching candor... Highly recommended." (Library Journal)

Compelling but abrupt ending

A little confusing about who's who at first, I loved the characters and how they all ultimately intertwined and I liked how each told a story, much like Dene's film. I felt that the ending was incredibly abrupt and would have liked more closure with some of the characters and was wondering if my recording was missing more as happened once before with another book.

Exquisite Debut

Warps and wefts of personal histories create a beautiful tapestry of loss, hope, redemption and forgiveness. Tommy Orange expresses the visceral realities of Native people in urban Oakland so completely that we occupy his characters' most private inner spaces.

Orange's portrayal of fascinating characters is brilliant. We understand and feel each one's demons, gifts, personal tragedies and obsessions. Through Orange's characters, we know the desperate pulls of addiction, the abject emptiness of abandonment and the epiphany of finding an inner calling--drumming, dance, artwork or story telling.

The narration is spot on. Each voice is credible--emotional when it's appropriate and reserved when the narrative conveys tension or sorrow. Tradition and spirituallity persevere in the gritty Oakland landscape by virtue of these compelling personalities.

Rarely does a writer pull us in so artfully and completely.

Powerful story

I really loved the storytelling and the characters in this book. It drew me in and I couldn’t stop thinking about Jackie and Tony and Blue after I stopped listening. Everyone should read this book, just be ready to cry and have your whole perspective shift.

Ending Cut Short

Parts of this book were breathtaking (particularly the introductory chapter). The structure was compelling. But the conclusion was no conclusion. All the loose ends were left hanging. I get that there’s some realism to that, but it left me a little frustrated. It was a climax with no denouement.

Amazing story💕

I’m 30% indigenous to Mexico and this story just gave me something to relate to. Many people in the reviews say the storyline was too depressing / sad but this is life for many people. But it’s more than sad, the spirit of being indigenous is conveyed. Reminded me so much of my father who passed away, had addiction issues and was mostly indigenous to Mexico. It just gave me so much understanding of what he went through, being mixed and growing up in a mostly white Mexican household. Maybe many didn’t understand or like this story because it makes you sad to see the truth. But it’s people’s duty to learn, some empathy can go a long way. Loved this book so much, honestly it will go in my top fav books.

Showed promise, but ultimately Disappointing

For an audiobook, this was a little hard to follow. The author switches verb tenses and the narration (1st, 2nd, and 3rd person are All used). This creates confusion with the timeline occasionally. A few times, the POV has tons of dialogue tags. (Character’s name “said” after each sentence.) This might read ok but sounds annoying in audio.

The positive for me was the subject matter. I found hearing some perspectives and lifestyles of another culture to be informative and interesting. In terms of story, there are several interesting plots that are left unresolved. Some of the best storylines are just dropped at the end and that’s unsatisfying for the time I spent listening.

Heartbreaking revelation

Beautiful and crushing. Tells the story of a niche culture (for me at least) but also shares universal truths on the agony and triumph of history, survival, and family.

Does Not Grab You at Start But You’ll Be Glad You Read This

Told as a series of seemingly independent stories about contemporary Native Americans. The stories then begin to weave together. This book draws you in.

Not a light read. It is the story of urban Native Americans in Oakland, CA. The writing is lovely, at times poetic. The characters come to life with all their complexities, and you care about them.

It is well suited to an audio book in terms of expressing the writing. The narration flows very well. But one needs to remember who is who.

Love!

This novel was awesome. The author spoke at a local high school in Massachusetts, right around the time that our students were beginning to read it. It was very cool to meet him and hear some of the insight to this novel. Well done, Tommy Orange! What a brilliant first novel.

Ending

I wish the ending was better wrapped up. instead of open ended to some plot points but over all it feels real and I hate to walk away for the characters.