Wandering Stars

DNF at 61%. I felt like this had potential, but I was too distracted by all the run-on sentences and character jumping. I lost track of how many times I had to re-read a rambling sentence...phew.

Deeply personal story to me, felt very connected to it.

Wish it was possible to rate a book as 3.8 or 3.5, the writing was incredible but the pacing of the last portion felt off. I also wasn't particularly moved by the letter at the end. It added to my dissatisfaction with how the end portion of the book was wrapping up.

The story starts so strong, so crafted with the time it's set in, that as the story progressed I missed the first half of the novel.

I'm not quite sure what this was. Elements of generational trauma; the violence chronically inflicted on Turtle Islanders; addiction; hopelessness; searching for meaning; with occasional didactic history lessons wedged in. Characters (and chapters) had unique voices, mostly third person, occasionally first, and once second, most of them too rambling or stream-of-consciousness for me to follow clearly. It felt experimental, avant-garde, intended for people much smarter than me. The first half covered many characters over a long time span, with not enough exposure to get to know any of them. The second half was contemporary, fewer characters, tighter focus, but most of that focus was on two teenage males who were ... uninteresting.

Beautifully written and heartbreaking.

Wandering Stars is Tommy Orange's follow-up to his acclaimed debut, There There, a Pulitzer finalist in 2019.

Orange's new novel is equal parts sequel and prequel, rewinding to the 1864 Sand Creek Massacre as its starting line, and moving chronologically through generations until catching up with Orvil Red Feather and his family in the aftermath of the Oakland Pow Wow that was the climax of There There.

As the book travels time with its characters, Orange explores themes carried over from its predecessor, namely the Native experience, grappling with identity and meaning of ones heritage in a world that wasn't built by or for people of color. The bullets imbedded in the bodies of both Jude Star and Orvil are a moving metaphor for the inextricable, damaging intrusion of white Eurocentric values and practices into the collective Native experience. This novel is again set largely in Oakland, although the other city by the bay takes a smaller role than in the previous work, Orange still takes care to illuminate the “there” that is “there”. Addiction becomes the major theme in Wandering Stars, the myriad expressions of addiction and its tentacles that spread across the specific geography of Oakland and into the characters lives.

Stylistically, Orange weaves in and out of first, second, and third person points of view. He again demonstrates true mastery of the description of his characters interior lives. His skill in this method is unsurpassed. Entire pages fly by without any real dialogue or events, just beautiful and painful insights into the inner workings of the character's mind and hearts. With that in mind, it must be noted that where Orange's interior descriptions seamlessly soar, chapters based on dialogue tend to dip, conversations clunky in ways that contrast unfavorably with the bulk of the novel.

Wandering Stars closes unevenly, the penultimate chapter from Orvil feeling a bit too on-the-nose, more like a museum exhibit on the oppressive practices of the American government toward its indigenous populations than an artistic exploration of that oppression. But Orange triumphs in the final chapter, an epistolary, metaphysical treatise on self discovery, family, and love that tips the scales and elevates this work from good to great.

Wandering Stars is a rewarding, heartbreaking novel which has this reader already anticipating what Orange will gift us with next.

“Healing is holy and if you have the chance to not have to carry something alone, with people you love, it should be honored”

Similar to how I encountered Tommy Orange's debut novel, I listened to the audiobook of this one - about 1/3 of which is prequel to his first work while the other 2/3 is a sequel which picks up after the tragic ending of "There There." I appreciate how Orange weaves together the history of Indians in America with the modern experiences of urban Indians - specifically Oakland, CA. The past part of the story focused on the de-humanization and de-culturalization caused by the Indian schools of the late 19th & early 20th centuries. Once the family lineage story moves ahead to the grandma of the three brothers from "There There," much of the story becomes about the opioid use and abuse of the oldest of the trio. His addiction is drawn vividly and I imagine with authenticity. Although the plot feels thinner than his first novel, Orange here has a more mature voice - especially as he breaths life in to the family at the center of the story.

I love Alma Cuervo, her performance in this audiobook is phenomenal. I love her cadence, tone, and variation in her range. I fell in love with her work in The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and this performance in Wandering Stars is very lovely!

[Read 18/03/24] Tommy Orange's ability to make the voice of every chapter ring true and remain distinct while maintaining his sensibilities as a writer is such a talent.

While ‘Wandering Stars' feels less propulsive than ‘There, There' this book that acts as prequel, sequel and stand-alone is content to, well, wander. It worked. Spanning from the Sand Creek massacre in 1864 to the aftermath of ‘There, There' in 2018 it has a broader scope than the original novel but no less its depth of character. Chapter Eleven, written from the perspective of a mother speaking to her unborn child stood out so strongly that on finishing the novel I re-read that particular section again.

“I take solace in knowing my heart is still in my chest, that yours is in there too, beating like a drum waiting for its dancer, keeping me on my feet, ready for a rhythm, ready for what's next, because what's next is always coming.”

I'm so glad that Tommy Orange took a chance and tried something new for this book. I'll be eagerly waiting for whatever he decides to do next.

I wasn't wild about the addiction side plot, but I understand it was relevant overall and relatable to those who have struggled with addiction. My only experience with it involved being raised in a home with an alcoholic who dabbled in other drugs.

I was also a bit disappointed that we didn't get to see the POV of a character I loved from the previous book, but it makes sense in retrospect. That also fits well with the title.

Overall, I liked how the book wrapped up, and appreciated the less chaotic nature compared to the first book.