A Prequel- Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange

 Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange

Wandering Stars book cover

Author Tommy Orange

“Here now doing it, I’m already regretting that I hadn’t before, while also regretting that I’m doing it now. Feelings are always so twinned, with opposite meaning.” (305).

Tommy Orange’s magnificent follow-up (and prequel) to There There traces the history of the Bear Shield and Red Feather families, where we find out how they arrived in California, as well as much of the generational trauma that they have experienced being Native Americans where land, culture, history, language, identity, hair and dress, and even voice were systematically removed. The book starts with Jude Star and Victor Bear Shield, and how their experiences being transported from the Sand Creek Massacre to Fort Marion in Florida, where the goals were to civilize the Indians. These chapters also trace the experiences of Charles Star, Jude’s son, who ends up in the Carlisle Indian School. Much of this early part, told in stream of consciousness from various characters’ perspectives, reminded me of Toni Morrison’s Beloved. Orange has this way with his sentences where he uses chiasmus, using parallelisms and reversals. I loved following these twisty devices as we get into some of the absurdity these characters’ experiences trying to maintain a sense of identity, amidst the systematic destruction of their culture and community. Orange starts the second part, dealing with more of the present situation and following Opal, Jacquie, and the boys Orvil, Loother, and Lony, with a quote from Beloved that emphasizes the importance of stories and legacy, especially oral legacy. I really love that quote, and it was amazing to see how Orange finds relevance in Beloved’s story of redemption and redefinition after trauma and horror.

One of the other strengths of this book is the way that Orange melds his characters’ stories and lives with historical events, just like There There, bringing a sense of reality to these characters. He expertly weaves in historical events and incidents. Whether from the Sand Creek Massacre, the Carlisle School, or and other historical events, we see how Indians were a part of this history, but also how this history is frequently told from one perspective, failing to acknowledge either the destruction and devastation it has caused or how other people participated in these events. This aspect also reminded of a quote from Beloved where Schoolteacher says something along the lines of “definitions belong to the definers.” Wandering Stars seeks to redefine the role of Native Americans in American History by acknowledging where they have been and where they are now. Orange’s realistic characters help to provide a means to further discover this hidden history and unearth the contributions and wrongs experienced by Native Americans, while also helping to maintain some of their identity and culture.

Just like Beloved, this is a book about family and love in spite of difficult, often violent opposition and refusal of culture/identity. I won’t give the ending away, but I loved how the family (for the most part) comes together to find their strength within each other. Furthermore, the book deals with topics that many people experience including violence, addiction, loss, and identity. Tommy Orange is one of the most skilled writers in exploring the language of teens and young adults and how communication online has shifted things for everyone. The sections focusing on Orvill and Sean are interesting. I really liked reading about Sean’s discovery of his identity, and how it almost creates more confusion than certainty with him since he has no Native American friends to turn to. These sections were some of the most fun to deal with. I also felt like the parts that dealt with music were well-written and thoughtful. I remember reading that Tommy Orange studied engineering, and the way he writes about music combines both some technical knowledge with a passion for sound and music. This was an amazing book, and one that I am sure will be taught in many classrooms. I also think it is an engaging book for students as well as adults. I would love to see this book in more book groups. Highly recommended