From the Bookshelf of Around the World in 80 Books…

The People in the Trees

Hanya Yanagihara

Start date: January 15, 2018

Finish date: February 15, 2018

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last updated Jan 18, 2013 07:12PM

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What Members Thought

Mar 04, 2013 Sam marked it as did-not-finish

Shelves: reviewed, tournament-of-books14

Sixty pages in and I’m throwing in the towel. Neither the tantalizing promise of meditations on western imperialism and scientific ethics, nor my curiosity over a surprise ending, could carry me past the suffocating details of the banal, the prosaic, and the purposelessness. The story’s told using the conceit of a memoir written (from prison) by the protagonist, a Nobel-winning doctor whose illustrious career is tainted by his conviction for sexual abuse. But the dryness stops me cold even befor ...more

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Aug 06, 2015 Katie rated it really liked it

Shelves: female-author, ___australia-oceania

The People in the Trees opens with a newspaper article telling of Dr. Norton Perina, a Nobel Prize winning immunologist, who has just been convicted of the sexual abuse of a minor. The charges were brought by one is the many children he adopted from Ivu'ivu, a fictional Micronesian island where Dr. Perina did much of his research that led to his fame.

The novel that follows is in the form of Dr. Perina's memoir, written from prison, complete with footnotes from his friend who edits the work. The ...more

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Jun 22, 2020 Grainne rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This book really gets at the heart of whiteness and colonialism.

Maybe read instead of white fragility? Or just if you think you’ve maybe reached some sort of limit or are a smart person? You are not as smart as Hanya! I promise you!

Disturbing and refreshing! Awkward and laugh out loud!

Read it but don’t if you are like not wanting an extremely intense reading experience!

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