Wandering Stars

I hadn't read any of Orange's books, but after receiving a free advanced copy of Wandering Stars at a library conference in January, I dove blindly into this story that serves as both a prequel and a sequel to his acclaimed book, There, There. Wandering Stars follows generations of a Cheyenne family, beginning with the Sand Creek Massacre in 1864 and continuing to present day, showing how the experiences of early generations impact future generations.

I initially struggled with Orange's writing style, so I flipped from the paperback to the digital audiobook which is narrated by a full cast of talented narrators. Wandering Stars has a wandering style of storytelling, and I can't say I enjoyed the way the story was told. It was less of a structured plot and more of a meandering story told in fragments and featuring many different characters which gave it a chaotic, choppy feel as it jumped between generations and a long list of characters. 

The story is filled with social commentary and themes of identity, culture, genocide, poverty and a large focus on addiction and I appreciated the historical aspects, occasional bits of insight and, at times, truly beautiful prose. But I couldn't shake the feeling like I wasn't quite grasping the story. 

This is easily an 'it's me, not you' situation because I am in the minority with my feelings for this Pulitzer-nominated author's latest book and please note that I generally don't love literary prize nominated books. So, while Orange's writing style wasn't a good fit for my reading tastes, take my review with a grain of salt and give it a try and make your own conclusions about it.

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to the publisher for the free copy which I received at the Ontario Library conference.  All opinions are my own.

My Rating: 3 stars

Author: Tommy Orange

Genre: Historical Fiction, Indigenous

Type and Source: Trade Paperback (conference) & eAudio (library)

Narrators: Shaun Taylor-Corbett, MacLeod Andrews, Alma Cuervo, Curtis Michael Holland, Calvin Joyal, Phil Ava, Emmanuel Chumaceiro, Christian Young, Charley Flyte

Run Time: 9 hours, 37 minutes

Publisher: Penguin Random House

First Published: February 27, 2024

Book Description from GoodReads: The Pulitzer Prize-finalist and author of the breakout bestseller There There ("Pure soaring beauty." The New York Times Book Review) delivers a masterful follow-up to his already classic first novel. Extending his constellation of narratives into the past and future, Tommy Orange traces the legacies of the Sand Creek Massacre of 1864 and the Carlisle Indian Industrial School through three generations of a family in a story that is by turns shattering and wondrous.

"For the sake of knowing, of understanding, Wandering Stars blew my heart into a thousand pieces and put it all back together again. This is a masterwork that will not be forgotten, a masterwork that will forever be part of you.” —Morgan Talty, bestselling author of Night of the Living Rez

Colorado, 1864. Star, a young survivor of the Sand Creek Massacre, is brought to the Fort Marion prison castle,where he is forced to learn English and practice Christianity by Richard Henry Pratt, an evangelical prison guard who will go on to found the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, an institution dedicated to the eradication of Native history, culture, and identity. A generation later, Star’s son, Charles, is sent to the school, where he is brutalized by the man who was once his father’s jailer. Under Pratt’s harsh treatment, Charles clings to moments he shares with a young fellow student, Opal Viola, as the two envision a future away from the institutional violence that follows their bloodlines.

In a novel that is by turns shattering and wondrous, Tommy Orange has conjured the ancestors of the family readers first fell in love with in There There—warriors, drunks, outlaws, addicts—asking what it means to bethe children and grandchildren of massacre. Wandering Stars is a novel about epigenetic and generational trauma that has the force and vision of a modern epic, an exceptionally powerful new book from one of the most exciting writers at work today and soaring confirmation of Tommy Orange’s monumental gifts.