In ‘Wandering Stars,’ Tommy Orange Writes a New Secret History

The latest in pop-culture news, recaps, and reviews, plus close reads, profiles, interviews, and more from Vulture.com. [Brand Logo]( book review [In Wandering Stars, Tommy Orange Writes a New Secret History]( Photo-Illustration: Vulture Orvil Red Feather, the teenage protagonist of Tommy Orange’s novel Wandering Stars, was just beginning high school when he was shot at a powwow in Oakland, California. The stray bullet that hit him made its way into his stomach and stayed there. Although he survived, his family — his two younger brothers; their great-aunt Opal Bear Shield, who raised them; and their recently resurfaced grandmother Jacquie Red Feather — is utterly changed by that moment of violence. To them, “it was as if the hole made in him that day brought a new world out from inside him,” one that all five family members must now live in. It’s around this time that Orvil is prescribed an opioid, hydromorphone, for his pain. The hole left by the bullet, he thinks, “felt open, and like something was coming through, out of it, asking something of me in return, like it needed to be filled, and here were these pills.” [read more]( Devour pop culture with us. [Subscribe now]( to save over 40% on unlimited access to Vulture and everything New York. The Latest TV Recaps • Below Deck: [Boom, Boom, Focus]( • Married to Medicine: [Cheers to Ten Years]( • The Bachelor: [Queen Behavior]( [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( Stories We Think You’ll Like [Anatomy of a Fail Yes, Shane Gillis bombed on SNL, but not for the reasons you think.]( By Jesse David Fox [Wendy Williams Documentary EPs Say They Had Her Best Interests At Heart “We obviously didn’t know at all that she had been diagnosed with dementia when we started this project; we wouldn’t have done it.”]( [Why The Iron Claw Never Became an Oscars Heavyweight The A24 wrestling drama ticks a lot of the Academy’s usual boxes. So why did it fail to pick up a single nomination?]( By A.A. Dowd [No Thoughts, Just Eternal Sunshine Ariana Grande’s new album arrives March 8, and the track list is here with some very weepy lyrics.]( By Jennifer Zhan [Diddy Accused of Sexual Assault by Producer Lil Rod More damning allegations against the disgraced mogul.]( By Zoe Guy [When Is Alec {NAME}’s Rust Trial? Rust’s armorer faces a jury ahead of a summer trial for {NAME}. “If I were defending {NAME}, it would be a gift from God,” an attorney said.]( By Victoria Bekiempis [‘I Love Working in Dangerous and Fictitious Companies!’ Playing through Lethal Company’s cosmic-horror capitalism offers a kind of catharsis.]( By Kieran Press-Reynolds [Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom Doesn’t Give a Damn That the DC Universe Is Ending Winningly goofy but blemished by behind-the-scenes tinkering, The Lost Kingdom is disappointing in the usual sequel way.]( By A.A. Dowd [Prosecution Paints Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed As Cavalier on Rust Set Here, what we know about the prosecution’s case against Gutierrez-Reed as her trial enters its second week.]( By Victoria Bekiempis [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( Vulture Games [Today’s Crossword]( 18-Across, Eight Letters: The mayor of Flavortown Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photos: Getty [Today’s Cinematrix]( Can you name a Cate Blanchett movie with a number in the title? Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photos: Columbia/Everett Collection, Jacopo Raule/Getty Images, Stephane Cardinale/Corbis via Getty Images A newsletter about the perpetual Hollywood awards race, for subscribers only. [Sign up]( to get it every week. [Get the Newsletter]( [logo]( [facebook logo]( [instagram logo]( [twitter logo]( [unsubscribe]( | [privacy notice]( | [update preferences]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. Was this email forwarded to you? [Sign up now]( to get this newsletter in your inbox. [View this email in your browser.]( You received this email because you have a subscription to New York. Reach the right online audience with us For advertising information on email newsletters, please contact AdOps@nymag.com Vox Media, LLC 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, 12th Floor Washington, DC 20036 Copyright © 2024, All rights reserved