Monday, December 02, 2019

There There (Tommy Orange, 2018)

(304 pages)

Book club selection (via Nicole; session held 1 December 2019).

Intersecting story lines of Native Americans mostly resident in Oakland, California - and generally struggling.  Leading up to a major pow-wow at the end.

Value to me was it gave some way of thinking about how that struggle might feel and play out.

Seemed like a lot of it was the "Native American as victim" story line.  Which I'm sure is quite accurate, but I'm not sure how helpful it is to keep focusing on.  I don't think America in 1491 was idyllic, either - shifting populations, violence, etc. - the odd notion that failing to freeze 1491 status quo was somehow wrong.  Populations were conquered around the globe since forever - whether via Romans, the tribes that conquered Rome, the Arabs, whatever it might be. 

Alcatraz sit-in is part of the story, I remember that as getting a lot of attention in the '70s.

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