Les étoiles errantes

Description

"No one can express tenderness and nostalgia like Tommy Orange. "

Louise Erdrich

Colorado, 1864. Bird, a survivor of the Sand Creek massacre, is sent to Fort Marion prison in Florida. Subjected to ruthless discipline, the young Cheyenne is forced to learn English, convert to Christianity and choose a new name - Star. The ideologue behind this 'civilising process' is Richard H. Pratt, a former soldier who founded the infamous Carlisle Indian School, an institution dedicated to eradicating indigenous culture and identity. 'Kill the Indian, save the man' is his motto.

Years later, Star's son Charles joins the school, where he is in turn brutalised by his father's jailer. His only consolation is the time he spends with a young classmate, Opal Viola, with whom he dreams of a future together, for themselves and future generations, far from the violence that haunts them. But are they even allowed to hope?

In incandescent prose populated by magnificent characters, Tommy Orange fills in the gaps in memory by unfolding, from the 19th century to the present day, the heart-wrenching story of a Native American family struggling to find their way back to life. A modern and moving epic about the collective and individual consequences of forced cultural assimilation.