THERE THERE by Tommy Orange

A dozen Native Americans from Oakland, some related, some not, each have their own sections in this novel.  Their stories are mostly sad, saturated with drug abuse and alcoholism.  Dene Oxendene stands out, in that he has landed a grant to document the oral histories of some of his fellow Native Americans in Oakland.  What all of these characters have in common is that they all plan to attend the big Oakland Powwow.  Everything comes to a head at the powwow with some disastrous results and some conclusions left inconclusive.  I think the message here of how Native Americans have been mistreated and forgotten is one that we all need to hear, but I am not a fan of how this message was delivered here.  The characters are impossible to keep up with, and I found it equally impossible to feel invested in them.  Yes, they are diverse with a wide-ranging set of experiences and problems, but I didn’t feel that I really knew any of them.  Perhaps I had difficulty relating to their heritage and sense of isolation, but the lack of a coherent storyline contributed to my problem with really getting immersed in their stories.  Actually, it’s just as well, because the author leaves us hanging about the fate of many of these characters, so I’m glad that I was not too deeply attached to any of them.  I was expecting chaos at the powwow, and the author did not disappoint in that regard, but he left us with a lot of unfinished business.