Wandering Stars

Wandering Stars" by Tommy Orange is a powerful and ambitious follow-up to his acclaimed novel "There There," weaving a multi-generational saga deeply rooted in the legacies of Native American trauma. The narrative plunges into the horrors of the 1864 Sand Creek Massacre, following Star, a young survivor forced into assimilation at Fort Marion Prison Castle by Richard Henry Pratt, the future founder of the Carlisle Industrial School for Indians. A generation later, Star's son, Charles, endures brutal treatment at Carlisle, finding solace only in a shared connection with fellow student Opal Viola, envisioning a future free from institutional violence. The story then catapults to contemporary Oakland, 2018, where Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield struggles to hold her family together after the shooting that left her nephew Orvil Redfeather traumatized. Orvil grapples with physical and emotional pain, compulsively researching school shootings and relying on prescription medications, while his younger brother Lony seeks connection to his Cheyenne heritage through secret blood rituals. Opal herself experiments with traditional Ceremony and peyote in a desperate search for healing. Orange masterfully connects these disparate timelines, offering a searing indictment of America's historical and ongoing war against its Indigenous people, while also celebrating resilience, cultural identity, and the enduring human spirit.