I’m completely awed by another Tommy Orange book. This one picks up where the equally stellar There There left off—and readers again get an engaging mix of Native American history framed within the stories of modern-day Indigenous characters living in Oakland.

We learn of Jude Star, a Native American who escapes the 1864 Sand Creek Massacre only to end up in a Florida prison. His son, Charles, is a “student” at the Carlisle Industrial Indian School in PA. Interestingly, Orange even puts a brief spotlight on the real-life creator of the school, Captain Richard Henry Pratt.

We then get to the meat of the book: the Bear Shield-Red Feather family who populated the previous novel. Orvil Red Feather is recovering from the gunshot he experienced at the powwow. He slowly becomes addicted to the opioids he’s using to manage the pain. His friend Sean, whose father makes drugs in their house, keeps Orvil supplied, while also being an addict himself.

Addiction is a central topic of this book, affecting almost everyone from Jude on down. Orange seems to be using it to highlight how the atrocities of Native American history have manifested themselves in today’s Native generation. Instead of assuming that Native people are susceptible to addiction because they’re weak, he highlights how it’s because they have centuries of traumatic history & systemic horror to deal with. Seeing Orvil devolve from a carefree dancer to an addict broke my heart. I appreciate how Orange explores the complexity of Native people & their experiences, while also educating readers about history & lived-in experiences we don’t know.

This novel does what lit fiction does best: educates AND entertains. The struggles and tragedies described in this novel are permeated by a current of hope. Here, family is the catalyst that will heal and make things better.

Another lit fiction standout from Tommy Orange! I loved it.