Katie's Reviews > There There

Massively exciting with what freshness and vitality this emerges from the blocks. The first hundred pages are a joy to read. Fabulous descriptive writing with lots of relatable insights into modern life. I liked its anger and humour a lot. There was a documentary on the BBC a while back that followed a few Indians who are on their way to protest at Standing Rock. I was sad I only got to spend an hour with them. They were all compelling individuals and I wanted more. The thing was though, the documentary focused on only four or five individuals and all had the space to strike up an intimacy with the viewer. The protagonists in this novel on the other hand run to double figures and I was soon floundering. I was unable to remember their connections. Also, some themes were repeated, as for example the child abandoned by a mother or father and when the grand finale takes place at a big powwow I was really struggling to recall who was who. As creative writing this was excellent; as a novel I think it would have been more successful had he cut the number of the characters.