Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
Cada uno de estos libros son tan diferentes que realmente me siento que leí tres libros diferentes pero unidos en una portada. Lo único que cada uno tiene en es la frase al final de cada libro "to paradise" y el nombre de los personajes. Pero además de eso son tan diferentes que de verdad no veía la necesidad de que estuvieran juntos pero a la misma vez no me quejo porque realmente todas son genial aunque si tengo mi favorita.
Book I
Washington Square
4 stars
Fue tan impresionante que Hanya me haya engañado a leer un libro de romance y mas que tenia un love triangle. Tropes que a mi no me gustan para nada pero que de la manera que Hanya lo realizó me encanto y necesitaba saber con quien David iba a terminar. Fue una lectura rápida pero a su vez si era un poco pesada. Ya que si tiene temas sobre salud mental, infidelidad e uso de las personas. Realmente mi única queja fue el final que fue uno abierto y yo los odio con todo mi corazón. Aun estoy salty por el hecho que nunca se brindó la resolución de la decisión tan importante de David (en mi opinión hizo la incorrecta y lo van a coger de zángano lowkey no me molestaria porque se lo merece) pero de la manera que se corto me siento que me escondieron el final del libro. Pero además de eso lo ame a su totalidad.
Book II
Lipo- Wao- Nahele
2.5 stars
Lo primero que no me gusto no es tan importante en la historia como tal. Pero la estructura de cómo se realizó la misma. Es de la manera que se separó la historia como tal ya que solo se realizó en dos capítulos. Pero al realizarlo de esta manera pienso que al realizarlo de esta manera los capítulos son demasiados largos y como que se perdía el interés. Además de eso pienso que el primer capitulo comparado con el segundo como que no conectaban. Realmente se sentía como 2 libros en su totalidad. El primer capítulo realmente fue decepcionante ya que el tipo de vida representada en el mismo es el tipo de vida que más miedo le tengo de tener. A depender a otra persona para tu felicidad y tus recursos económicos. Además de abandonar a tus amigos y familiares para una pareja. Pero el segundo capítulo fue espectacular ya que mostraba cómo la personas pueden sentirse de que se están mejorando cuando en realidad están empeorando y cada vez llegando más cerca a su muerte. Además de que significa tener miedo de tomar decisiones y saber que estas mal pero no poder pedir ayuda porque no deseas molestar a los demás. La vulnerabilidad que los padres pueden tener. Porque realmente uno no ve a los padres como personas que son perfectas o que lo saben todo pero en realidad son exactamente igual o hasta peor que nosotros mismos.
Book III
Zone eight
3 stars
Este si asusta por el hecho de que es tan cerca de la realidad. Además de que si las cosas siguen al paso que están al momento si veo que es posible de llevar a ese estilo de vida. Y en la realidad no deseo llegar a ese estilo de vida porque eso sería tan horrible. Además que represento lo que exactamente vivimos en la pandemia por el covid-19. Al igual que el primer libro odio el final ya que fue abierto y siento que me me escondieron la continuidad del libro y deseo encontrarla. Además de que esta fue diferente ya que esta partido en el punto de vista del abuelo (merece mejor su familia did him dirty) y de la nieta. Y en este libro por primera vez tenemos una protagonista mujer que no se llama David. Y si tuvo una pequeña conexión con el libro numero I aunque ni ellos saben el final de ese libro. En este senti el enojo tan fuerte por algunas escenas lo cual me demuestra que si estan invested in the story which i loved.
Book I
Washington Square
4 stars
Fue tan impresionante que Hanya me haya engañado a leer un libro de romance y mas que tenia un love triangle. Tropes que a mi no me gustan para nada pero que de la manera que Hanya lo realizó me encanto y necesitaba saber con quien David iba a terminar. Fue una lectura rápida pero a su vez si era un poco pesada. Ya que si tiene temas sobre salud mental, infidelidad e uso de las personas. Realmente mi única queja fue el final que fue uno abierto y yo los odio con todo mi corazón. Aun estoy salty por el hecho que nunca se brindó la resolución de la decisión tan importante de David (en mi opinión hizo la incorrecta y lo van a coger de zángano lowkey no me molestaria porque se lo merece) pero de la manera que se corto me siento que me escondieron el final del libro. Pero además de eso lo ame a su totalidad.
Book II
Lipo- Wao- Nahele
2.5 stars
Lo primero que no me gusto no es tan importante en la historia como tal. Pero la estructura de cómo se realizó la misma. Es de la manera que se separó la historia como tal ya que solo se realizó en dos capítulos. Pero al realizarlo de esta manera pienso que al realizarlo de esta manera los capítulos son demasiados largos y como que se perdía el interés. Además de eso pienso que el primer capitulo comparado con el segundo como que no conectaban. Realmente se sentía como 2 libros en su totalidad. El primer capítulo realmente fue decepcionante ya que el tipo de vida representada en el mismo es el tipo de vida que más miedo le tengo de tener. A depender a otra persona para tu felicidad y tus recursos económicos. Además de abandonar a tus amigos y familiares para una pareja. Pero el segundo capítulo fue espectacular ya que mostraba cómo la personas pueden sentirse de que se están mejorando cuando en realidad están empeorando y cada vez llegando más cerca a su muerte. Además de que significa tener miedo de tomar decisiones y saber que estas mal pero no poder pedir ayuda porque no deseas molestar a los demás. La vulnerabilidad que los padres pueden tener. Porque realmente uno no ve a los padres como personas que son perfectas o que lo saben todo pero en realidad son exactamente igual o hasta peor que nosotros mismos.
Book III
Zone eight
3 stars
Este si asusta por el hecho de que es tan cerca de la realidad. Además de que si las cosas siguen al paso que están al momento si veo que es posible de llevar a ese estilo de vida. Y en la realidad no deseo llegar a ese estilo de vida porque eso sería tan horrible. Además que represento lo que exactamente vivimos en la pandemia por el covid-19. Al igual que el primer libro odio el final ya que fue abierto y siento que me me escondieron la continuidad del libro y deseo encontrarla. Además de que esta fue diferente ya que esta partido en el punto de vista del abuelo (merece mejor su familia did him dirty) y de la nieta. Y en este libro por primera vez tenemos una protagonista mujer que no se llama David. Y si tuvo una pequeña conexión con el libro numero I aunque ni ellos saben el final de ese libro. En este senti el enojo tan fuerte por algunas escenas lo cual me demuestra que si estan invested in the story which i loved.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Once again i am so blown away by Hanya Yanagihara's writing. I think this is a must read for everyone. I feel like she understands soft power better than any philosopher or marxist, especially this in combination with her amazing (and more disturbing) book 'The People in the Trees' . This book is like a triptych kind of with a bunch of different converging timelines and people in different stages of societal collapse. It's as much about love and relationships as it is about the downfall of society and human rights. I feel like so much of her writing can be traced back to the phrase 'it starts with an idea', and the like micro-aggression pyramid. I also can't understand how her writing is so slow-paced, but I cannot physically put it down. There is an underlying disturbing, upsetting feeling told through minor details that aren't even really integral to the story (the drowning, the rocking, the death of the twins), Hawaiian history, and the re-use of names for different characters gave everything a very Lynchian vibe. That two people are the same but they are in different times and spaces, the wormhole thing. Also the fact that this is truly a science fiction novel, idk I could go on and on. I think Hanya Yanagihara is an actual genius.
The only reason I took one star off was because I felt like the ending was building to something a bit more intense than what happened, although it did make me cry.
The only reason I took one star off was because I felt like the ending was building to something a bit more intense than what happened, although it did make me cry.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness, Colonisation
Moderate: Child death, Homophobia
Minor: Slavery
dark
reflective
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
I loved this, definitely a book that I felt I should pause after reading. I had no idea where it would go when I started it. One minor section I didn’t love maybe.
It seemed too similar but not as good to A Little life. I didn't feel like I could connect to the character.
A truly epic novel, sweeping and very long, I found this a very thought provoking work. Yes, it's flawed but incredibly ambitious (something I always applaud) and well worth the time and emotional investment such a book requires.
Highly recommended.
Highly recommended.
“America is a country with sin at its heart.” This book was far beyond phenomenal and thought-provoking.
50% DNF
I tried I really did. 3 times, only because my best friend loved the book so much but I am throwing in the towel.
The book is split into 3 stories set in 3 different time periods and I never even got past the 2nd story.
It was filled with unhappy people living unfulfilled lives and not even the eloquent writing could save it for me.
[b:A Little Life|22822858|A Little Life|Hanya Yanagihara|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1446469353l/22822858._SY75_.jpg|42375710] shattered my heart and will forever be imprinted on my memory. This one was unfortunately not for me.
I tried I really did. 3 times, only because my best friend loved the book so much but I am throwing in the towel.
The book is split into 3 stories set in 3 different time periods and I never even got past the 2nd story.
It was filled with unhappy people living unfulfilled lives and not even the eloquent writing could save it for me.
[b:A Little Life|22822858|A Little Life|Hanya Yanagihara|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1446469353l/22822858._SY75_.jpg|42375710] shattered my heart and will forever be imprinted on my memory. This one was unfortunately not for me.
*review contains spoilers, but TLDR is that I gave it 5 stars and no, it's not a Little Life all over again, but also, no one should have expected it to be*
I finished this book ages ago, and it has taken me forever to review it. For me, as for many other readers, Hanya Yanagihara's newest book was the most anticipated release of the year. However, unlike many other readers (or at least insofar as I have gathered) I did not expect Yanagihara to give us another iteration of 'A Little Life.' Yanagihara has shown us that she is nothing if not a radically genre-defying author, and to predict that her future works will mirror her past ones in any significant sense is (I think) to erroneously ignore this.
That said, one thing that I did expect (and received) was Yanagihara's brilliant way of constructing complex characters who you cannot help but care about so deeply even if (or when) you find them in some sense despicable. I will say this forever: nobody writes characters like Yanagihara, and 'To Paradise' is yet another exemplification of this. Certainly not all of its characters are likable (in fact, many of them could aptly be described at many points as whiny White men who are very unlikeable) but what I find so genius is that they do not have to be. Somehow Yanagihara makes her readers invested in the lives of people who they do not necessarily like -- that in itself is to me an incredible feat.
This book is equal parts surrealist, dystopian, and quasi-historical fiction, but even to say this is to categorize the book too narrowly. Yanagihara's works do not fit neatly into genres, and this is part of the genius of them. In fact, given that this book is comprised of three shorter stories, it could even be said to be an anthology, though that would erase the sense in which those stories are interwoven. (I hesitate to say more here, because I am not sure what to think about the David/Charles characterizations throughout the book, nor what the meaning of those characterizations is).
What is most striking about this book is its transportive quality. This is admittedly not always pleasurable. The third section of the book in particular was genuinely difficult to read, and at times even a little bit heavy handed. I am almost certain that there will be criticisms about that section (after all, why write a dystopian story about a pandemic during a pandemic?!), but I think that the brilliance of it lies in its ability to be so deeply disturbing. Yanagihara's dystopia does not feel far-fetched, defiant of natural laws, or implausible. Rather, it feels urgent, impending, and in a sense, present. The dystopian world is built both instantaneously and gradually; you feel as though you are immediately in it and are missing no detail that would make it feel more present, but you also learn about its complexities along with the characters. This was, without a doubt, the best (and thereby one of the most disturbing) dystopian epic I have ever read.
There is so much more to say about this book, and about what it tells us about loneliness, success, legacy, promise, colonialism (and post-colonialism, especially in the second part of the book). However, I'll simply say that possibly the best part of 'To Paradise' was Yanagihara's presentation of questions of value. 'To Paradise' urgently asks us whether valuing families ties is worth it if our families do not make our own lives seems value, to what extent we should value our legacies, whether valuing health is worth it if in order to do so, we must take away everything else of value, and so on. In this way, Yanagihara demonstrates the power and emotional force of books, and reminds us why she is an author who in is in so many respects unrivaled.
I finished this book ages ago, and it has taken me forever to review it. For me, as for many other readers, Hanya Yanagihara's newest book was the most anticipated release of the year. However, unlike many other readers (or at least insofar as I have gathered) I did not expect Yanagihara to give us another iteration of 'A Little Life.' Yanagihara has shown us that she is nothing if not a radically genre-defying author, and to predict that her future works will mirror her past ones in any significant sense is (I think) to erroneously ignore this.
That said, one thing that I did expect (and received) was Yanagihara's brilliant way of constructing complex characters who you cannot help but care about so deeply even if (or when) you find them in some sense despicable. I will say this forever: nobody writes characters like Yanagihara, and 'To Paradise' is yet another exemplification of this. Certainly not all of its characters are likable (in fact, many of them could aptly be described at many points as whiny White men who are very unlikeable) but what I find so genius is that they do not have to be. Somehow Yanagihara makes her readers invested in the lives of people who they do not necessarily like -- that in itself is to me an incredible feat.
This book is equal parts surrealist, dystopian, and quasi-historical fiction, but even to say this is to categorize the book too narrowly. Yanagihara's works do not fit neatly into genres, and this is part of the genius of them. In fact, given that this book is comprised of three shorter stories, it could even be said to be an anthology, though that would erase the sense in which those stories are interwoven. (I hesitate to say more here, because I am not sure what to think about the David/Charles characterizations throughout the book, nor what the meaning of those characterizations is).
What is most striking about this book is its transportive quality. This is admittedly not always pleasurable. The third section of the book in particular was genuinely difficult to read, and at times even a little bit heavy handed. I am almost certain that there will be criticisms about that section (after all, why write a dystopian story about a pandemic during a pandemic?!), but I think that the brilliance of it lies in its ability to be so deeply disturbing. Yanagihara's dystopia does not feel far-fetched, defiant of natural laws, or implausible. Rather, it feels urgent, impending, and in a sense, present. The dystopian world is built both instantaneously and gradually; you feel as though you are immediately in it and are missing no detail that would make it feel more present, but you also learn about its complexities along with the characters. This was, without a doubt, the best (and thereby one of the most disturbing) dystopian epic I have ever read.
There is so much more to say about this book, and about what it tells us about loneliness, success, legacy, promise, colonialism (and post-colonialism, especially in the second part of the book). However, I'll simply say that possibly the best part of 'To Paradise' was Yanagihara's presentation of questions of value. 'To Paradise' urgently asks us whether valuing families ties is worth it if our families do not make our own lives seems value, to what extent we should value our legacies, whether valuing health is worth it if in order to do so, we must take away everything else of value, and so on. In this way, Yanagihara demonstrates the power and emotional force of books, and reminds us why she is an author who in is in so many respects unrivaled.
It’s not a perfect book but I’m not going to think too much about that because I enjoyed it so much
I think Hanya Yanagihara is brilliant, but both The People in the Trees and A Little Life were traumatic reading experiences (for very different reasons), so I wasn't sure I was up for another one. This book is unlike both of those, and I loved it for its structure -- it's really three separate stories that "speak" to each other across time -- and the stunning prose I expect from this writer. I admit I became a big bogged down in the middle, and I needed to take a break for a bit; it's a heavy book, literally and figuratively, but I loved the first and last sections.
(The ending was a bit too much like the ending of The Handmaid's Tale for me, though, and I'm not sure how I feel about that. It's not that I mind ambiguity, I just felt like Margaret Atwood already wrote this scene.)
(The ending was a bit too much like the ending of The Handmaid's Tale for me, though, and I'm not sure how I feel about that. It's not that I mind ambiguity, I just felt like Margaret Atwood already wrote this scene.)