There There

A polyphonic story narrated from a dozen perspectives. When I started I thought they were separate short stories as they were so divergent. Orange starts closing the circle as the characters slowly begin to converge on an Oakland pow-wow. And you realize the gun he brings in the first act is bound to go off.

I love the idea of the urban Indian. Orange gets us off the reservation and places his characters in the city. And maybe it's me missing the narrative plentitude of indigenous writing but it felt relevant and strangely present. And it's placed within a larger context, with Orange briefly leaving the narrative in a searing prologue and interlude to drop some knowledge.

I loved how Orange talked about the dancers too, feathers shaking, shoulders dipping, like gravity meant something different to them.

A stunning debut and a much needed win for indigenous writers after all the recent scandals surrounding Boyden and Alexie. Reviewed here: https://youtu.be/ZZvx3rbjLzk