There There

Sometimes a book gets so much hype - too much hype - that there's no way it could ever live up to the reviews and critical acclaim. Sometimes, though, it's just that good. There There is a book for the ages.

(Damn, I sounded like Aristotle or something for a second there...)

Really, though, all that hype was for good reason and they'll be teaching this book in high school and college English classes for years to come.

The fact that it's Tommy Orange's first freaking book? That's not even fair.

There There is a book that combines the stories of what Orange calls "Urban Indians" - Native Americans living in or stemming from Oakland, California. It's about what it means to be an Indian in a place where there's nothing to connect you to your heritage. It's about what ties us all together, even when no clear string remains. It's about the good, the bad and the violent realities in so many lives. 

And, it's told in incredible prose. 

It's hard to tell you plot here, because it really tells character stories by chapter. We meet, we move on, we revisit, we revise. It all comes together in explosive fashion but, for me, it was really more about the journeys they took to get there and the way Orange can take your breath away with a sentence so complex, yet so simple, you don't see it coming.

If there's a con in this great novel, it's a small one. Orange tells so many people's stories, you almost need a chart to keep them straight. But, the way he advances each narrative makes all of that worth a page or two of confusion every few chapters.

Look, I'm not going to say anything more profound than the critics have said about this incredible book. It was on nearly every "great book of 2018" list. I will say that it's accessible, meaningful and thick enough to stick to your ribs. And also deep enough to break your heart.