The People in the Trees, Hanya Yanagihara
The People in the Trees, Hanya Yanagihara
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The People in the Trees

Author: Hanya Yanagihara

Narrator: Mark Bramhall, BD Wong

Unabridged: 17 hr 37 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 03/23/2021

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included


Synopsis

Readers of exciting, challenging and visionary literary fiction—including admirers of Norman Rush's Mating, Ann Patchett's State of Wonder, Barbara Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible, and Peter Matthiessen's At Play in the Fields of the Lord—will be drawn to this astonishingly gripping and accomplished first novel. A decade in the writing, this is an anthropological adventure story that combines the visceral allure of a thriller with a profound and tragic vision of what happens when cultures collide. It is a book that instantly catapults Hanya Yanagihara into the company of young novelists who really, really matter.

In 1950, a young doctor called Norton Perina signs on with the anthropologist Paul Tallent for an expedition to the remote Micronesian island of Ivu'ivu in search of a rumored lost tribe. They succeed, finding not only that tribe but also a group of forest dwellers they dub "The Dreamers," who turn out to be fantastically long-lived but progressively more senile. Perina suspects the source of their longevity is a hard-to-find turtle; unable to resist the possibility of eternal life, he kills one and smuggles some meat back to the States. He scientifically proves his thesis, earning worldwide fame and the Nobel Prize, but he soon discovers that its miraculous property comes at a terrible price. As things quickly spiral out of his control, his own demons take hold, with devastating personal consequences.

*This audiobook includes a downloadable PDF that contains a map and the Appendix from the book.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Jill on January 09, 2014

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-challengi......more

Goodreads review by Justin on July 04, 2021

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 certa......more

Goodreads review by emma on February 20, 2024

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 matt......more

Goodreads review by jessica on June 27, 2020

'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......more

Goodreads review by Sharon on May 04, 2017

There was something so wrong about this book. Reading it was like some sort of slow, pervy foreplay to the final #shockingnotshocking pages. I think I hated this book. I hated it but was simultaneously impressed with it. Spoiler territory below (You be the judge though because it's similar to Lars Vo......more


Quotes

"One of the year's best books...Driven by Yanagihara's gorgeously complete imaginary ethnography on the one hand and, on the other, by her brilliantly detestable narrator, this debut novel is compelling on every level—morally, aesthetically, and narratively."
Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

"[The People in the Trees] is exhaustingly inventive and almost defiant in its refusal to offer redemption or solace—but that is arguable one of its virtues. As for Yanagihara, she is a writer to marvel at."
The New York Times Book Review

"The People in the Trees is a haunting story of moral absolutes confounded by a seemingly empirical understanding of the merciless caprices of nature...A standout novel, a debut as thrilling as it is disturbing."
The Wall Street Journal

"The People in the Trees is a multi-layered novel. It provokes discussions about science, morality and our obsession with youth. But it's also a deeply satisfying adventure story with a horrifying conclusion."
Chicago Tribune

"The People in the Trees is flawlessly paced and deeply nuanced—a gorgeous, meaty novel that is spellbinding, scandalous and supremely satisfying."
BookPage

"Yanagihara presents a cautionary tale about what can happen when Western arrogance meets primeval culture."
Kirkus Reviews

"Whether you find yourself to be a champion of Perina's bold ideas or horrified by his actions or—more realistically—feel a measure of both, Yanagihara's twisted, audacious tale is as gripping as they come."
Bustle.com

The People in the Trees is a Nabokovian phantasmagoria, bound to raise serious, interesting, troubling questions.  Hanya Yanagihara is a writer to watch."
Madison Smartt Bell, author of The Color of Night and All Souls’ Rising
 
 “The People in the Trees is not a first novel like other first novels. This is a big, soaring, old-school, super-absorbing vehicle into another world. It’s a mystery story, an ecological parable, a monstrous confession, and a fascinating consideration of moral relativism. Yanagihara’s narrator is misanthropic and grotesque, yet simultaneously magnetic; her prose is dazzling; and her book is a triumph of the imagination.
—Anthony Doerr, author of Four Seasons in Rome and The Shell Collector

"This is an engrossing, beautifully detailed, at times amazing (and shocking) novel, and right up my alley: a far-off and beautiful place in the Pacific, islanders living to their own drumbeat, earnest meddling outsiders, and a sticky outcome—the Fall, with a lot of science and passion behind it, and an impressive debut for Hanya Yanagihara. I loved this book.”
—Paul Theroux, author of The Lower River and The Great Railway Bazaar