There There by Thomas Orange is a contemporary novel surrounding a dozen or so members of the Native community and how their lives will inevitably be intertwined and affected. There There, unfortunately for me, is one of the worst novels I’ve fully completed in a while. There are just so many things that I did not enjoy about this story that I find it once again infuriating that a book like this not only made it as a Pulitzer nominee but that it was one of the finalists. All the glowing reviews and good words from the major industry players and recognized news outlets prove to me once again that readers such as myself and others just don’t see eye to eye with the general opinion of the more experienced guys and gals who do these professional reviews for a living.

Right off the bat, the author makes it point-blank clear in his introduction that this story will be about Indians and how over time, they were dominated and forced into reservations, urbanized, and ultimately all but forgotten about who they are as a people and culture. OK, great, now please tell me a story that can drive this point home. Unfortunately, he couldn’t. What came out of There There is ultimately a bland story that revolves around a dozen or so characters in Oakland, some related to each other and others as total strangers, who somehow will eventually all make it to a powwow gathering in which something big will eventually go down. As other negative reviews may have noted, the beginning was somewhat captivating, but it didn’t take long to realize that the story eventually wouldn’t go anywhere.

One of the biggest issues I have revolves around the question of just why the author had to create so many characters. This seems to be his debut novel, and it shows how inexperienced he is at juggling the points of view of so many characters. There is literally no one character that can stand out on their own. Many of them were given so little time for their stories to develop that I honestly can’t even tell for sure if there really were a dozen characters or not. I just took the book’s description and ran with it because I swear, towards the end of the novel when everything and everyone came head-on in the powwow, I couldn’t remember a couple of the characters and their backgrounds. If I was forced to pick a standout character, I guess it would have to be Opal? The story regarding her family being forced to live on Alcatraz Island when they were younger stuck with me a bit. Other than that, the rest of the background story for much of the others is completely forgettable.

Another thing that bothered me a lot is how I noticed the characters hardly having any outside conversations or interactions with anyone other than the very few family members or other characters themselves who are also a part of the main dozen of the story. This makes the story that much more claustrophobic and dreary to read. I had expected a story highlighting the troubles and difficulties of Native Indians and the new world that they are forced to adapt to throughout the generations in Oakland. However, There There is anything but that. Drugs, alcoholism, family neglect, and poverty—some of the main problems highlighted in There There—are not what many would consider to only affect a certain race or culture. So while it’s likely true that these are affecting Native Americans and Indians in reality, I have to admit that it just wasn’t what I expected from such a highly praised book. To put it another way, the story wasn’t told in a special way that made a reader such as myself care as much, considering that this is a fictional novel. I don’t even want to start ranting about the horrible ending with no closure because I think I’ve highlighted enough negativity.

I really don’t know what good things I can say about There There other than saying that I at least made it to the very end. I’m sure many readers don’t read enough stories regarding Indians and Native Americans. There There felt like an excellent opportunity but one that ultimately was botched story-wise. I can only be happy that, at least with so much recognition and praise for the novel publicly, it manages to also gather more attention on this important subject matter as well.