Tommy Orange is the author of the poignant debut novel There There – Dua’s Monthly Read for March for the Service95 Book Club. After a brief historical prologue, the book explores the breadth of modern Native American life, following a large cast of characters living in the California area.
Tommy is an expert in building tension – his novel explores Native marginalisation while celebrating community and finding beauty in tragedy, all culminating as the characters come together for the Big Oakland Powwow. Here, he shares the books that inspired his novel, and the songs to soundtrack your reading...
5 Books That Inspired There There
Let The Great World Spin by Colum McCann
“I first read this back in 2007, just two years after becoming a reader and writer for the first time. I didn’t know when I was reading it how important the structure would become to me, and in thinking of the novel I would start writing in 2011.”
A Brief History Of Seven Killings by Marlon James
“I was already halfway through writing There There when I read this masterpiece by Marlon James. Shortly after, I was lucky enough to be taught by him in a workshop at Tin House. After reading this book, I was further emboldened to write a book with as many characters and points of view as I wanted. It’s one of my favourites of all time.”
Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich
“This is a classic in the Native American canon for fiction for good reason. It is bold in form and voice and style, and was a huge influence on the way I thought of what a novel could be – in what voice could do. Louise is one of my favourite writers.”
The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolaño
“This novel was one of the first multiple point of view books I read after Let the Great World Spin. When it comes to writing novels, I think you have to know all the rules in order to break them, but this was Bolaño’s breakout novel – at least in the United States. I certainly wasn’t trying my hand at a novel when I read this, but when it came time to, having many POVs was always the way I wanted it to be structured.”
Visit From The Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
“Another experimentally structured novel. Egan’s work was instrumental in my formation as a fiction writer; her work is so funny and clever and profound. Before I was a writer, I went to school for sound engineering and this book digs into the lives of musicians and music industry people.”
The Playlist To Soundtrack Your Reading
“I created this playlist to go with the book,” says Tommy. “It’s songs I listened to while writing There There but also songs that appear in the novel itself.” From powwow drum group Black Lodge Singers’ Intertribal Song to Radiohead’s I Might Be Wrong, immerse yourself in the sound that formed Tommy’s soundtrack as you make your own way through the novel...
Discover more in the full interview with Tommy here
