Wandering Stars (Orange novel)

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Wandering Stars
WanderingStarsOrangeNovel.jpeg
Author Tommy Orange
LanguageEnglish
GenreHistorical fiction, contemporary fiction
Publisher Knopf
Publication date
27 February 2024
Publication placeUnited States
Pages336
ISBN 9780593311448

Wandering Stars is a novel by American author Tommy Orange, published by 2024. Wandering Stars is a multigenerational novel that traces a Native American family's lineage from the 1864 Sand Creek Massacre to present-day Oakland.

Contents

It is also a companion novel to Orange's 2018 novel There There , to which it serves as both prequel and sequel, [1] but is a standalone book. [2]

Synopsis

In 1864, a young Cheyenne man named Bird survives the Sand Creek Massacre only to be imprisoned at Fort Marion, where he is forced to abandon his language and culture by Richard Henry Pratt, an evangelical guard who later founds the Carlisle Indian Industrial School. The novel traces the consequences of Bird's survival of the massacre and time at the school across generations, returning to scenes in There There.

Reception

Wandering Stars won the 2025 Aspen Words Literary Prize, judged "to deepen and inform Orange’s fine debut novel There, There, but it also stands on its own as a mesmerizing epic drama." [3] It was longlisted for the Booker Prize in 2024. [4]

According to Book Marks , the novel received a "rave" consensus, based on twenty-one critics: sixteen "rave", four "positive", and one "pan". In the May/June 2024 issue of Bookmarks , the book was scored four out of five stars. [5]

In a review for The New York Times, Jonathan Escoffery said, "Orange’s ability to highlight the contradictory forces that coexist within friendships, familial relationships and the characters themselves, who contend with holding private and public identities, makes Wandering Stars a towering achievement." [2]

The Guardian reviewed the book positively, discussing the book's exploration of inherited trauma, concluding: "Hyperbole be damned: Orange’s work feels, to me, as vital as air." [6] NPR discussed the book's language: "Wandering Stars is a somewhat manic polyphonic construction that deploys first, second, and third person narration...Orange has a predilection for repeating words that concern endurance and survival, which results in incantatory phrases that loop and curl in on themselves, as does his narrative," concluding that "Wandering Stars more than fulfills the promise of There There." [7]

The Chicago Review of Books wrote, "Ultimately, Wandering Stars is less about reconnecting with what has been lost than asking questions of how to define what lies ahead. Each voice is a dream that transcends mere visions of the past to transform the voices of the living." [8]

On the other hand, The Wall Street Journal 's review was negative, writing: "Mr. Orange’s strengths are his sincerity and conviction, but Wandering Stars is more persuasive as a diagnosis than a developed work of fiction." [9]

The writer Roxane Gay said, "Wandering Stars is sprawling and polyphonic and original...[There's] a lot to admire here." [10]

References

  1. ↑ Lewis, David (27 February 2024). "Book Review: Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange - The Masters Review". Masters Review. Retrieved 22 May 2025.
  2. 1 2 Escoffery, Jonathan (26 February 2024). "Tommy Orange's 'There There' Sequel Is a Towering Achievement". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 22 May 2025.
  3. ↑ ""Wandering Stars" by Tommy Orange Wins the 2025 Aspen Words Literary Prize". The Aspen Institute. Retrieved 22 May 2025.
  4. ↑ "Wandering Stars: Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2024 | The Booker Prizes". thebookerprizes.com. 21 March 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2025.
  5. ↑ "Wandering Stars". Bookmarks. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  6. ↑ Dawoor, Yagnishsing (20 March 2024). "Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange review – wounds of history". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 22 May 2025.
  7. ↑ McAlpin, Heller (27 February 2024). "Tommy Orange's 'Wandering Stars' is a powerful follow up to 'There There'". NPR. Retrieved 22 May 2025.
  8. ↑ Stanek, Joe (27 February 2024). "Native Identity is Lost and Created in Tommy Orange's "Wandering Stars"". Chicago Review of Books. Retrieved 22 May 2025.
  9. ↑ Sacks, Sam. "Fiction: Francis Spufford's 'Cahokia Jazz'". WSJ. Retrieved 22 May 2025.
  10. ↑ Gay, Roxane. "Roxane's review of Wandering Stars". Goodreads. Retrieved 22 May 2025.
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