Reviews with content warning for Domestic abuse - The People in the Trees

I definitely didn’t expect to give this a five star, even though a little life was one of the easiest five stars I’ve ever given out. But, this book blew me away. Hanya Yanagihara knows how to screw with a persons emotions in such a gentle, disturbing way. While a little life had me sobbing every 40 pages, this one had me feeling sick and confused. This is not the sad, gay, literary fiction trauma porn that a little life is. This is sad, science heavy, Lolita esque in parts, and an interesting pondering on humanity and the lengths we will go to to satiate or inner demons. It covered so much and while I am not a huge fan of memoirs (and the beginning sections read like my least favorite parts of memoirs) that was the perfect way to include this unreliable, twisted character. Like a little life, this book is not for everyone and maybe not even for most but I really enjoyed it (but it’s for a whole different subsection of people than a little life). If I had to describe it as a mixture of different classics written by white men id say it’s like Joseph Conrad’s the heart of darkness meets Lolita. So, if that’s the type of weird and sad and dark you like this book is perfect for you.

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challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This book reminded me a lot of Lolita; because of what the preface (written by the fictional editor of the book) tells you about the fictional author, Norton Perina, you spend the whole book on the edge, waiting for a confession of sorts. I also spent a lot of the book not trusting what he was telling me, not falling for any attempts to believe what he may say that makes him look like anything other than a monster. Unlike what the editor believes, Perina is not a 'good person'. It was a fascinating book, however, and I did find myself drawn into the world Yanigahara creates. Her writing is probably the main reason to read this book - she is excellent and eloquent. The subject matter became difficult toward the end, but throughout it was implied delicately and cleverly. I think it was a little slow and that I disliked the main character so much that I felt sick throughout most of the novel. As a result I would not read it again and it wasn't THAT pleasant a reading experience, but I do think it is an amazing novel.

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