Book Cover

Native American Series

There, There

Wednesday, July 10, 2019 - 5:30pm to 6:30pm
  • Conference Room - Administration Wing
Here is a voice we have never heard—a voice full of poetry and rage, exploding onto the page with stunning urgency and force. Tommy Orange writes of the urban Native American.

About the Book 

Orange's commanding debut chronicles contemporary Native Americans in Oakland, as their lives collide in the days leading up to the city's inaugural Big Oakland Powwow. Bouncing between voices and points of view, Orange introduces 12 characters, their plotlines hinging on things like 3-D-printed handguns and VR-controlled drones. Tony Loneman and Octavio Gomez see the powwow as an opportunity to pay off drug debts via a brazen robbery. Others, like Edwin Black and Orvil Red Feather, view the gathering as a way to connect with ancestry and, in Edwin's case, to meet his father for the first time. Blue, who was given up for adoption, travels to Oklahoma in an attempt to learn about her family, only to return to Oakland as the powwow's coordinator. Orvil's grandmother, Jacquie, who abandoned her family years earlier, reappears in the city with powwow emcee Harvey, whom she briefly dated when the duo lived on Alcatraz Island as adolescents. Time and again, the city is a magnet for these individuals. The propulsion of both the overall narrative and its players are breathtaking as Orange unpacks how decisions of the past mold the present, resulting in a haunting and gripping story. Agent: Nicole Aragi, Aragi Inc. (June) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

About the Club 

 

Welcome! The Bud Werner Book Discussion Group meets once a month and is facilitated by Bud Werner Library's Adult Services Associate Librarian, Erina Alkema. Open to anyone interested in participating, this group currently meets in the evening and is designed to be a casual, guided chat about our latest book selection. No need to attend all of the discussions, just pick the ones that interest you! We will have 10 copies available for loan, plus ebook and audiobook copies. Sign up at the circulation desk, call 970-367-4907, or use the registration button at the top of this page.