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Loading... The People in the Trees (original 2013; edition 2014)by Hanya Yanagihara (Author)
Work InformationThe People in the Trees by Hanya Yanagihara (2013)
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I'm not sure how to feel about this book. There aren't many almost-500 page books that I've read and not complained about the length, but add this one to the list. Although I didn't find any of the characters likable, the writing and character development was fantastic enough that I cared about what happened to the dislikable people. Perhaps one of the main things preventing me from loving this book was that it didn't live up to her other masterpiece, A Little Life. Still, I will buy her next book the day it comes out! ( ) Really impressive debut novel, about a Nobel-winning biologist, Norton Perina, who made a groundbreaking discovery, but eventually is convicted for sexual assault of children that he had adopted. It sounds grim, and it is. There are many impressive things about this book, but perhaps the most was how convincingly the author depicts Perina. While not devoid of a tiny bit of charm, and at times being an evocative narrator (particularly of scientific matters, and the natural world), he is consistently vain, self-aggrandizing, and deluded. Even while you never lose sight that he is a monster, as a narrator he is still engrossing. Furthermore, it is interesting that, even with Perina's biases and prejudices, the goodness of a few other characters still peeks through. This is some skillful writing. The passages on the pacific island of Ivu'ivu (the bulk of the book) are fascinating and compelling. And if the book dips slightly on his return to the US, by then I was immersed enough to not really care. The one false note for me was the character of the editor — an ex-colleague and acolyte of Perina's, who is entrusted with this memoir, and footnotes it as he sees fit. It's a nice conceit, but I felt we either needed more of him, or less; as it was it felt a little tentative. Nonetheless, just a minor quibble. Much like the flora and fauna of the island Ivu'ivu, The People In The Trees, is rich, subtle, multi-faceted — disturbing and brutal, but also beautiful. Since I was so enthralled with Hanya Yanagihara’s second novel A Little Life, it made sense to tackle her first book People in The Trees. I knew I was asking for trouble. A Little Life was a most exceptional read and will remain one of my most beloved books of all time. Much of her brilliant writing is in evidence in the first novel. The story of scientists discovering a secret civilization where eternal life exists makes for intriguing story telling. But lengthy mock documentation and footnotes wears down the reader. Less than compelling characters makes for a floundering experience. The suspense does build towards the end. For a moment I thought there would be a non-ending full of unsatisfying resolutions. Have no fear Hanya uses fine writing skills to wrap the story to a gratifying ending. I have no regrets about reading this work. At the request of a colleague and friend, Norton Perina, a medical researcher who won the Nobel prize for medicine for his work on a Micronesian island which offers the chance of physical immortality, is writing his memoirs in prison where he is serving a sentence for sexual assault. Perina is an unpleasant character, full of whining self-justification. The book is very slow with occasional bursts of movement to shift the plot forward. It does give the reader much to ponder but it was a struggle to get through.
Hanya Yanagihara’s novel takes the form of a purported memoir of a disgraced medical scientist-slash-anthropologist, introduced and footnoted by one of his colleagues. It’s hard to ascertain who is less reliable here: the doctor, Norton Perina, imprisoned for abusing native children he adopted, or his delusional supporting amanuensis, who thinks the doctor is being vilified and who falls all over himself to make excuses for Perina’s odd behavior. ... In short, it’s just too damned interesting to put down, which makes it an extremely auspicious debut novel. AwardsDistinctionsNotable Lists
Joining an anthropologist's 1950 expedition to discover a lost tribe on a remote Micronesian island, a young doctor investigates and proves a theory that the tribe's considerable longevity is linked to a rare turtle, a finding that brings worldwide fame and unexpected consequence. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.6Literature English (North America) American fiction 21st CenturyLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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