The People in the Trees

It's a stunning achievement when an author creates an inherently unlikeable anti-hero, and his enabler, and then allows them to tell an exceedingly creepy story which turns out to be literate, compelling, provocative and engrossing. I felt the heebie-jeebies at several points but it would have taken a natural disaster in my neighborhood to make me stop reading this astonishing first novel.Our anti-hero is Norton, an eminent and dangerously narcissistic scientist. Picture Sheldon Cooper from "Big Bang Theory" and you have the basis for this character. Add "well intentioned" evi to the narcissism, plus the literary power to tell his own story to his own advantage, and rather than feel joy for his well-deserved self-destruction, we instead might feel some pity for this chretien. Not a lot but his undoing is his own creation and it is tragic for all concerned.Further, I always enjoy the brazen & unreliable narrator and Norton is one of the best I have encountered since "As Meat Loves Salt". Delusional, self-righteous, dangerous, compelling.Additionally, the author writes in a clear but enriching manner. Her characters include anthropologists and other scientists so the level of discourse is high and rewarding. She introduces many usual words and finding their meaning is one of the small delights of this book.Since the book concerns the discovery of a compound which will greatly extends life, Yanagihara has many opportunities to explore the themes of human morality and ethics for scientists. Neither of these themes are overbearing but again, they are rewarding elements in an excellent read.This book can be enjoyed from many perspectives, not the least of which as a literary power-house which will likely grasp you, inform you, creep you out, then live in your memory for a bit while the dust settles.

This book is truly remarkable. First, the premise is fascinating -- a substance that can make bodies immortal, but not minds. Then there's the narrator, who is a real piece of work, a highly unlikable character imprisoned for child abuse. Then there's the plot element of first contact with a so-called primitive tribe, and the inevitable changes that "civilization" bring. There's the intriguing story within a story, with the supposed editor adding revealing (and sometimes very funny) footnotes. Then there's the amazing quality of the writing. I could pick almost any paragraph at random to illustrate the stellar prose. But here's just one:"My fingers closed around the first thing they encountered, but so lost were my senses that it was another second or so before I was able to identify it as an arm, a disembodied arm that I could not see but that had somehow taken shape within my grasp, or so it seemed. And then I found my voice and screamed, and Even screamed with me, and the arm screamed too, and from behind it came other screams, all of us so loud that I could hear the forest wake and rearrange itself: bird wings, bat wings, a chorus of flapping, or insects' patter, of colonies of unknown, hidden beasts being roused from their idyll and scuttling from one unseen tree branch to another, our noises an insult to the forest's perfect crystalline calm."Overall, a total delight, even if you develop an increasing dislike for the narrator.

I am not sure what to make of this book . it was really two separate stories. the first in the jungle was too unbelievable but the writing was very descriptive and amazing. but the story was really creepy to the point that it was revolting at times. the second story with the orphans was way over the top. it would be legally impossible for this to happen . i liked the way it was written with the footnotes. but all in all i can't say I enjoyed this book or was entertained. i think the arrogance of one culture destroying another for greed was a good premise but this went way off the rails. the whole thing kind of made my skin crawl on too many levels.

Like other novels, this book will leave you lost in thought and a little troubled. Raises many questions about some of humanity’s deepest questions

Arrived in good time and in perfect conditions conditions.

A convincing invented memoir that is also a brilliant piece of fiction, full of subtlety and nuance. Much is left unsaid, but is implied, to pose questions, often indirectly, sometimes very vaguely, that the author then invites/allows/forces readers to attempt to answer for themselves. The clues are often contradictory. Judgment is easy but also incredibly complex. The very idea of judgment is questioned, by the story itself, by the implicit portrayal of the narrator, by the contrast between "civilisations", by the subversion of value judgements.And then of course there is the jungle...

This is the second book that I read from Hanyaghiara. Very disappointing. A fantasy book where "fantasy" is constrained and bound. A book without emotions, a chronicle totally invented, without any hope. You get to the end of the book and realise that's pointless.

A brilliant and mesmerising story... Hanya has portrayed the island of Ivu'ivu so beautifully that I was literally immersed in it--- the colourful jungle with various shades of greens, the flora n fauna, the creepy living beings inside fruits that are eaten vigorously, the strange yet respectable tribe of immortal beings, the rituals and habits of the tribe, and of course, of Norton Perina himself... I don't know if we should call him an "anti-protagonist". Sometimes Perina does appear as inhuman, sometimes as careless, a few times caring, but mostly as selfish. Even though he does adopt and provide shelter to 43 homeless children, there is still his underlying motive which is unsettling.Since I had already read earlier Hanya's 2nd novel- A Little Life, I had high expectations from this debut novel as well and she didn't disappoint at all... but the theme is pretty different here from The Little Life. Her subject matter of Homosexuality / Gay is here as well, albeit in a very subtle manner (like testing the waters before deep diving full with her feelings in The Little Life)... through Norton's attraction towards Tallent, but of course, through narrator, colleague & only remaining friend Ronald Kubodera's great feelings and protectiveness towards Norton from the very beginning to the end of the novel, even though never told directly.I was literally lost in the world of the tribe, the forest, the greenery, the turtle, the disturbing yet captivating tribal ceremonies and definitely Kubodera's affection for Norton.This book can be made into a wonderful movie, with Leonardo DiCaprio acting in the role of Perina- mean, ruthless, selfish- he would portray amazingly.

This is one of the best books I have read in a while. Hanya Yanagihara wrote a fascinating novel, which comes along as an autobiography of Dr. Abraham Norton Perina a famous scientist and 1974 Nobel Laureate with along track history in several fields and medical anthropology. The autobiography is edited by his life long friend Dr. Kubodera. The story starts with two newspaper clippings that inform the reader that in 1995 Norton Perina is charged with rape and in 1997 sentenced to 2 years in prison. In confinement Perina starts to write his biography, his upbringing with a twin brother, parents and the start in academic training. This is a work of fiction but the description of the daily scores as a lab hand at the bottom of the lab hierarchy , working with other students being ignored by researchers and hassled by supervisors is perfect reading and actually reads like the autobiography of a real scientist, as if Francis Crick or James Watson had written this. In the middle of the book Perina joins a team of scientists to do field work on a small, remote Micronesian island. This part has indeed renderings to Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness”, the difficult approach to the islands and to find the inhabitants and the actual study of their daily lives. Here Perina’s research starts and against the warning of his colleagues Perina - driven by relentless ambition and without considering what might happen to the island and its people, once he publishes his research results on the retarded aging of some of the islanders – he goes ahead and makes his findings public. This will make him famous and Perina will eventually win the Nobel Prize. The last part of the autobiography concentrates on Perina’s large family of adopted children, whom he all brings back form the Micronesian island and the story of why and how Perina falls from grace. I am not giving away how the story ends, but it left me stunned. Read it and read to the end. What is more, Yanagihara – as if the novel is actually some kind of real biography of a real scientist, comes up with a timeline and 83 footnotes explaining parts of the text and even giving a somewhat scientific explanation on the longer life span of the islanders.