Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The People in the Trees by Hanya Yanagihara

31 reviews

swetha062's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

It tells you how far and broken science remains at the hands of those who only intend to abuse. They abuse the nature of everyone around to seem intellectual. The time that people like Norton existed as captured by Hanya also remains as true outside the fictional world as well. I only wish those like Victor and our surrounding some peace and calm from everyone. The book itself remains interesting and veey hard to process as you travel through the eyes of an abuser. But I commend Hanya for the vulnerability showcased in her writing and structuring of this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Homophobia, Murder, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Torture, Transphobia, and Violence

laurynkelly's review

adventurous challenging dark informative mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Misogyny, Incest, Racism, Racial slurs, Child abuse, Violence, Rape, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, and Adult/minor relationship

rexpostfacto's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

5.0

If ever a content warning was needed for a book, it's this one. Beautiful writing paired with a haunting and vile faux memoir tragically based on some true events. 

The epilogue and post script literally had me holding back gags and left me feeling nauseated. 

I highly recommend the audiobook; being able to really hear Ronald's notes and emphasis on things makes all the difference imo.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Colonisation, Child abuse, Racism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Dementia, Death, Cultural appropriation, and Rape

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Sexism, Suicide, and Medical content

justagirl22's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

4 stars because Hanya is such a great story teller and reading her books pushes my boundaries. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Adult/minor relationship, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Violence, Physical abuse, Animal death, and Toxic relationship

Content warning & light spoiler: Toxic relationship - described near the end of the book, physics abuse. Violence - towards animals in terms of hunting and (now deemed) unethical science practices. Rape & Adult/minor relationships Pages 212 - (onward, sporadically) allusions, not specifically stated, of gang rape

*ritual of U’ivuan culture to initial a young boy to sex, all men in the tribe older than the boy would penetrate the boy to “show him how to have sex”.

Pages 461-467 “post script” details sexual assault on a minor (this is the end of the book, easy to skip this section)

juliacall's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Loveable characters? No

3.75

My first thought, the back of this book is grossly misleading. However, it is Hanga Yanaghara so I really should have known it wouldn’t just be a story about the discovery of a tribe, untouched by modern civilization, who carries the key to immortality. That doesn’t sound nearly traumatic enough! 

Her writing is so immersive and colorful that learning about Micronesia and this iuvuans felt more like watching a documentary than reading a history book (I know it was a memoir but you get what I mean.) However, when her storylines head in a darker direction, it’s still just as immersive and just as colorful. Her writing has a way of filling you up, then leaving you empty at its conclusion. 

I’ll continue reading her books because I really enjoy her writing. But I’m really looking forward to reading something by Yanaghara that has a lighter tone. At this point I can only read her novels every few years, the heaviness is hard to shake off! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual violence, Violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Animal cruelty, Colonisation, and Pedophilia

francesburnett's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Violence, and Suicide

vireojay's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

this book is deeply disturbing in many creative ways, but also ways that are all too familiar when dealing with colonially-minded white men. it’s rare that a book makes me physically cringe and shudder, but this one did several times. it was certainly original. it could be a little boring and repetitive at times, but still intriguing.

i wouldn’t say i enjoyed this book, but it is so disturbingly stark and honest in its abhorrence that you can’t help but keep reading. it was like seeing a horrible car crash that just keeps getting worse and being unable to look away until the final car has flipped over and the last person has been thrown from their seat into the road. it deals with several destructive ideologies that are all too relevant at present. the parallels to current events and the desolation of Indigenous cultures and lands was eerie and devastating.

it can be enjoyable or at least interesting to read a book where the protagonist is an awful person. sometimes there is enough nuance, enough charming qualities and character development, that it feels satisfying. however this narrator is just so terrible and is mostly oblivious to it. the few times he attempts to take responsibility or show remorse are ultimately abandoned as a result of his inherent selfishness. through the whole book you hope to understand the motivations of the narrator, you hope he will learn from his mistakes and he fails time and again. you’re also waiting for a “big reveal” of how the narrator ended up where he is now and i don’t know how else to put it, but it is more fucked up than you’re expecting. 

i never really write book reviews, so obviously this book struck a chord with me and gave me a lot to think about. to be clear, this review is not a criticism of the book as a whole. it is well-written, convincing and creative. it accomplishes what i believe the author set out to do, which is to make you feel big, uncomfortable emotions. also to write about very real things, that continue to happen to Indigenous people, in a way that blatantly highlights how absurdly cruel it all is. overall not a bad book, but very heavy 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Death, Mental illness, Ableism, Racism, Rape, Violence, Xenophobia, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Suicide

emmap_1109's review against another edition

adventurous dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Violence, Pedophilia, Body shaming, Alcoholism, Rape, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Racism, Colonisation, and Slavery

msnopek's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Rape, Death, Dementia, Medical content, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Racism, and Sexual assault

emalillah's review against another edition

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Animal cruelty, Sexual content, Violence, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, and Sexual harassment