Reviews with content warning for Forced institutionalization - 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.

Content Warnings

saposighs's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious 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

3.5

Content Warnings

bowlofnicole's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Content Warnings

purplemuskogee's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Beautifully written and incredibly shocking - even more so when I read more about it and the real life events that inspired it. I loved the format of the book - a tale edited by a trusted colleague, although I found the footnotes, after a while, to be irritating and to distract from the story. I am amazed by the richness of the details that Yanagihara put in there - the plants, the animals, the customs of the Indigenous tribe, the language... Despite the magical elements there is something there that feels very real. It is full of cruelty and disdain for human life, and contempt for others - none of the characters are very likeable, but I will keep thinking about this book for a long time.

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