Reviews

Verso il paradiso by Hanya Yanagihara

anklelee's review against another edition

Library loan expired. Wasn't engaged with the story, style, or setting.

judyrigby's review against another edition

challenging medium-paced

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

4.0

marekstefka's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Yanagihara once again showed us how deeply she understands the human condition... It is not an easy read, but oh my is it worth it! Three different stories show us the hypocrisy of our society, value and different layers of freedom, our inability to change our emotions and the urge to protect our loved once... A truly great novel indeed ✨

mochiwaffles's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.75

camille_roskvist's review against another edition

4.5

I was very sceptical of this book when I first started it. I had a hard time figuring out where the story was going and what to expect. Even though I found the concept of this reimagined American 'utopia' very interesting, it just wasn't hitting for me. However when I got to the second story the pieces were falling into place and I could see the vision. The themes of colonialism/imperialism, racism, homosexuality, family, heritage and sickness (among many more) were becoming very clear. This allowed the third story to truly shine (in a grim dystopian way) cause with every page Yanagihara's vision was more and more coherent. The whole book was brilliant, but the third part has sent me spiraling, and will stick with me for a while. When that world was first described I thought: ''That's just another fictional dystopian society that'll never see the light of day'' however slowly but surely she showed exactly how it had come to be. Little by little the society we know changes just slightly. People's rights being stripped away , climate change, public health deteriorating, and suddenly it's unrecognizable. Maybe it's just because I'm a cynical nihilist, but after living through 2020, and seeing the current political landscape of the world, but specifically America, this reality is not TOO inconceivable. This is also why it works sooo well because it's scary and dystopian and possible.
(A little rant: Yanagihara's fixation with portraying the suffering of gay men has me raising an eyebrow. It's not that she doesn't also explore very beautiful moments between these characters, and this isn't criticism per se, I just find it peculiar that she choses (both in A Little Life and this one) to continually focus her stories around the suffering of gay men. As a straight woman I enjoy reading about an experience that's different from my own, which that of gay men definitely is, I just don't get what HER angle for almost exclusively writing gay men is. And why do they all have to suffer?!?!? I love a complex character but it feels a little weird to me, but I don't really know???)

poppysbooks's review against another edition

informative mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.75

layeredcloud's review against another edition

Wow, udah lama banget ngga baca buku setebal ini. Terakhir kali.. waktu SMA?
Anyway, To Paradise terdiri dari 3 cerita dan masih bahas seputar gay relationship. Yang seru adalah, ketiga cerita ini beda setting waktu, beda sudut pandang, tapi ketiganya punya karakter-karakter dengan nama yang sama (walaupun sifat karakter dari cerita yang satu sama cerita yang lain beda. Paham nggak, sih?). Spoiler tipis-tipis:

ada banyak banget nama David!!!

Cerita favorit? Entah, kayaknya yang ketiga? Cerita ketiga ini setting-nya di masa depan. Dan erm.. ngomongin soal pandemi. Jujur, waktu sampai di part ini aku sempet googling kapan buku ini ditulis, karena kok tiba-tiba bahas pandemi? Turned out, sebagian besar cerita di buku ini udah rampung bahkan sebelum covid, dong?? What....
Yang merinding banget itu di part ini sih:

I would also never say this, but sometimes I wished there would be another disease from far away. Not because I wanted people to die but because it would be proof. I wanted to know for certain that there were other places, and other countries, with people living in them and riding their own shuttles and working in their own labs and making their own nutria patties for dinner. I knew I would never be able to visit these places—I didn't even want to be able to visit them.

trix898's review

challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

roralore's review against another edition

3.75

I read this primarily because I wanted more of her prose, but it took a while for me to truly commit to it. This was mostly because I hadn’t decided how exactly I felt about her writing. Initially, I thought the deep unsettling feeling I carried with me through 'A Little Life' was because of the plot and characterization choices she made in that particular story, and that her prose would feel different (better) within another premise. 
I have several issues with this book. Part I felt incredibly dull to me, David’s lack of agency frustrating, and I barely remember being positively moved by any of it. Part II bothered me even more, for more complex reasons; David’s dismissal of his heritage, how complacent and subordinate he is to Charles, the ageist and fatphobic comments that were randomly sprinkled throughout, again, this complete and utter lack of agency in one’s relationship, etc. It generally makes me uncomfortable how inevitably toxic and immoral she depicts humans and human relationships. 
Part III completely flipped my perception of this book. That section left me speechless with how impressed I was by the writing. In particular, the themes of loneliness and longing for love and safety struck me deeply. And, while the second “to paradise” already managed to make me tear up, the third wrecked me. 
I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone. You don’t *need* to read it, and almost half of it isn’t even enjoyable, but I’m glad I read that last section. 

lillycano's review against another edition

2.0

I picked up this book because A Little Life was an amazing book that made me cry over 6 times while reading it. Sadly this one did not have the same affect and put me in a reading slump. To Paradise is broken up into three different books, all the characters have the same names across the different books (that hurt my head) and the main characters are all gay men. I really didn’t mind the first two books, but the third one changed my opinion all together. I would pass on this book unless you are struggling with insomnia and need help falling asleep. I found myself being able to nap at all times of the day when I picked up this book, good thing I’m unemployed currently. I also almost gave up with 60 pages left, but I had to finish it. I need those goodreads stats and this one will most definitely be my longest book of the year. Kind of a harsh review… but just looking out for my followers.