Brie

• Ensemble cast with interconnected stories across generations
• Strong writing made each character feel whole, gave them stakes that mattered
• The ending is sad but ties the stories together beautifully

Through a cast of many characters, Tommy Orange reflected on a number of big heavy topics in this book. I think that the ensemble cast was necessary. Otherwise, it would be far too difficult for a single character to believably encounter so much heavy stuff in such a relatively short book. To illustrate what I mean, the book touches on inter-generational trauma, drug addiction, gentrification, domestic abuse, alcoholism, gentrification, visibility and Native identity. That's a lot for a book that spreads the stories of these twelve people across 304 pages when in hardcover form.

I read There There in a few sittings on my PocketBook in February 2026. I chose this book when looking for something to follow Lonesome Dove's portrayal of Native characters.

As I read, it was hard to keep track of who's who at times. The context was often enough but I did find myself referencing the chapter listing and earlier chapters in order to refresh my memory a few times. The multitude of characters gave the author the necessary structure to say what he wanted to say with this book.

The discussion questions in the back of the book are definitely worth a look -- whether or not you read this with your book club.

📢 Recommending the book

I would understand someone describing this book as disjointed. I'd disagree with that assessment: the scenes are blended together beautifully. I would recommend reading this in a few longer sittings in order to better appreciate the relationships between the characters.

➡️ What to read next

In the afterword, I learned how helpful Sherman Alexei was to Tommy. That makes me want to re-read Ten Little Indians.

🌟 I love Orwell's writing for the powerful simplicity of his style. Every sentence moves the story forward. I especially appreciated how he wrote about animals expressing emotion. I re-read this for book club in a few short sittings in early 2026.

🐷 Poor Snowball.

🐑 The way the incessant bleating of the sheep prevented any further discussion was an interesting and effective detail.

🎮 TIL there's video game adaptation created in conjunction with Orwell's estate. play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nerial.animalfarm&hl=en_US

Of all the stories, I especially enjoyed "Petra", "Stone Lives", and "Red Star, Winter Orbit". The other stories were fine. I typically think anthologies are helpful for getting an idea of whether one wants to read more of a particular author's work. Interestingly, I enjoyed William Gibson's contributions in this anthology far more than his other works. In the co-authored "Red Star, Winter Orbit", I finally found the Gibson I've been wanting to read.

The blurbs before each story are well done and I walked away wanting to read more from Greg Bear and Paul Di Filippo.

The stories range in length from ~30 pages to 110+ (the first "Freezone" piece).

I am quick to DNF books I don't enjoy. I considered marking this DNF: the stories I liked weren't enough to make the entire anthology compelling reading. Ultimately, I read it all because it's on my r/fantasy bingo card and I have just over a week to go.

[ ℹ️ I read this for an IRL book club. ]

I found this book while browsing NPR's "Books We Love".

This was a fun, light read. Yet, there were a few surprisingly bittersweet and tender moments in the book. The author's passages of dialogue are good: there's no need for "he said" or "she said" and the reader always knows who is speaking.

I did not particularly care for many of the characters. Steve experienced some growth but the others were one-note and uninteresting: I did not feel very vested in their fates.

Using ChatGPT to disguise the criminal's voice was a new twist on an old genre. I don't like the idea of reading a book that contains content that was generated in part by ChatGPT (even if susbsequently edited). The book carries no disclaimer about this one way or the other.

🐈 Also: I expected more cats.

Slightly awkward writing made this book hard to get into at first. There were a few odd "men writing women" scenes. Ultimately, I enjoyed the story and the cast of characters. The near-future portrayal of a water-scarce Arizona will haunt me on future visits.

In the world of Water Knife, survival is more important than everything -- including character development.