THERE THERE by TOMMY ORANGE (2018)

I seldom read currently published books because I cannot afford them, but each year at Christmas I receive gift certificates from thoughtful relatives and purchase books widely adjudged to be the best of the previous year. To make my selection, I spend much time in reading book reviews and book blogs, and I pay special attention to all the end-of-year "Best of" lists from prominent publications. This debut novel by a Native American writer was featured on more of those lists, I believe, than any other for 2018. Thus I was quite eager to read it.

There There is good, even very good, but it is not as good as I had expected it to be.

Tommy Orange tells the stories of twelve characters, all of whom end up at the Big Oakland Pow-wow, where a scene of violence erupts. These are urban Native Americans, who often have only a tenuous relationship with their heritage. Many are victims or recovering victims of addictions. Often their family relationships have been shattered. And yet they still persist in striving to recover their identities and make peace with their environment. The stories are all shadowed with sadness and loss. In the end, some characters are redeemed and some are sacrificed. All will never be the same.

The stories are all mesmerizing; this is a real page turner. When the end comes, however, it seems overly contrived and unlikely. Also, one wonders that all characters are broken in one way or another. Surely some urban Native Americans exist who are not plagued with addiction, who have intact families, and who are actually fulfilled and as happy as can be normally expected. They are certainly absent here, so one suspects that Orange's portrayal of urban Native Americans may be more than a bit slanted.

I would not classify this as an A+ book (more like an A-), but it may very well win the Pulitzer, for its political relevance as much as for its literary excellence.