By: Tommy Orange
I went to a story circle at the library inspired by this book, but I didn’t realize that when I signed up. The story circle was really wonderful for many reasons. Not least of which was that it resulted in me obtaining a free copy of the book (+1 star)
I really liked hearing the story from 12 different perspectives. Hearing how the lives of each character intersected with the overall story line. How the characters formed their identities as Native Americans. It seemed relatable, in that many of the characters were biracial and were forming their identities around belonging to 2 races, a race that brutally conquered and a race that was brutally conquered. But it was also foreign, in that I know very little about Oakland or about being Native in 2020.
The characters are all planning to attend the Big Oakland Powwow and this is the story of how each character ends up at the Powwow.
Some pretty horrific stuff ends up happening. I didn’t love where the story ends up, but you know it’s going there the whole time. Still, it didn’t detract from the overall story, and I did like the very ending.
