This book should begin with a caution: those who are uncomfortable with moral relativism and who prefer to view the world in black-and-white should not take one step further. The People of the Trees is rife with moral ambiguity throughout, which makes it a particularly mesmerizing and mind-challenging debut.A short Google search reveals that the book was inspired on real Nobel laureate Carleton Gajdusek. The book purports to be the memoir of celebrated scientist Norton Perina, edited by his coll...

'life was elsewhere, and it was frightening and vast and mountainous and uncomfortable.' HYs writing is mesmerising. i dont know how else to describe it. her words are intelligently intricate, while understatedly beautiful. its the same writing that i fell in love with in ‘a little life.’ while not as soul destroying as ALL, this is still an emotionally compelling novel. the first pages of the book tell you everything you will read - its lays out the entire plot before you. there are no surp

Had I written this review moments after reading the final words, I might have given the book 3 stars or maybe even 2. The ending, while not entirely unexpected, managed to leave me shocked and stupefied. At first I was angered by the whole thing, then I was perplexed, then I started re-reading certain chapters. Only then did I realize just how smartly woven this yarn is spun. In hindsight, it's actually quite miraculous how Yanagihara managed to tie together the varying storylines.I will warn re...

Sometimes, something can be masterfully done and still be pointless.McDonald's franchises can be inside beautiful buildings. Abstract art can be...in existence. And a story like this one, the millionth book about a male unreliable narrator doing horrible things, can be excellent.But why does it matter?The fries will still taste the same (good for a few minutes and then not even food after that), I will still not understand art, and this story will still have nothing to add. Since there has BEEN

Physical book: ownThink of being in the jungle….perhaps a Castaway movie. Footnote 23: “All three guides were boar hunters on U’ivu, where the hogs mostly keep to the forests on the Ta’imana range; they would have had great expertise not only scaling steep inclines but negotiating rough jungle terrain”….. while…..Thinking about Dr. Abraham Norton Perina, the renowned immunologist —71 years old. He was charged with three counts of rape, three counts of statutory rape, two counts of sexual assault...

One of the best books I've read this year - complex and unsettling but so brilliantly crafted. I was both disappointed and intrigued to find out this was a fictional version of an actual Nobel Prize-winning scientist's life; on one hand, I thought it was such an interesting narrative and am a tiny bit less impressed to know that Yanagihara didn't fully come up with the ideas herself, but on the other, it's shocking and fascinating to know that this was actually someone's life.I've been intereste...

6 Reasons Why The People in the Trees is Perfect1. // It's a book within a book.Maybe it's just me, but I'm delighted whenever this happens. If you're a little hesitant, fear not. This is no gimmick. There is no better way this strange story could be told. The book is framed as Norton Perina's memoir that he's writing from jail. The introduction, editing, and footnotes are done by his friend, Ronald. At one point, Norton Perina says about his life: "...I have found that contemplating the events

With The People in the Trees, Hanya Yanagihara has no doubt secured her place in my list of 'favorite authors.' Not only are her stories blisteringly original and masterfully written, but they point out so many things that make us human with conviction and honesty. When I read her second novel A Little Life, I was appalled and yet incredibly moved by the dark, disturbing tale she wove. And with The People in the Trees, her debut novel--and a powerhouse one at that--I am convinced that Yanagihar...

When I’m going to review a book, I don’t read other reviews, so that they don’t color my opinion. I do read what the publisher or editor sends out, and what the book cover synopsis states about the author and story. But in this case I wish I had read something more, so that I could have been cautioned about what this story was really about. I thought I was getting an adventure story about a young doctor and an anthropologist, who discover a lost tribe in the jungles of an island; based on a true...

Dr. Abraham Norton Perina, a brilliant scientist, won a Nobel Prize in 1974 for discovering the Selene syndrome, a condition that retards aging - almost 25 years later, the Micronesian island where he found the key to what seemed to be eternal life has been utterly exploited by Western pharmaceutical companies, the indigenous civilization has been destroyed, and Norton himself was sentenced to prison for sexually abusing his adopted children. Yanagihara gives us the complete outline of her story...

I loved the anthropology and science elements of this novel. I ask found it pretty gripping at times, specially the parts set on the island. I’m not sure the parts talking of Norton’s childhood and parents were completely necessary to the story. Although I did find them interesting. I read this despite not being sure about the authors other novel ‘a little life’ but thought this book sounded a lot different. It was different and less intense that a little life but there are also similar themes s...

***SPOILERS HIDDEN***In the final pages this beautifully written story takes a dark turn that's left me questioning its reason for being. In the beginning I was confident I'd begun an anthropological adventure with magical realism elements. As I read on, I was disturbed by the flashes of cruelty coming from the main character, scientist Norton Perina. This is a man who relishes killing his lab mice and who regards the tribal people he studies as less than human. I was troubled by these things wh...

I should have written a review closer in time to having read this, but it's been nuts!I had a particular interest in the book, based on a slight personal connection. I had a close college friend who was related to Dr. D. Carleton Gadjusek, the Nobel-prize winning scientist who adopted dozens of children from Micronesia, and was eventually convicted of child molestation and died in disgraced exile. That story provides the precise template for all of this book except the science. Anyway, I have a