3.72k reviews for:

Vers le paradis

Hanya Yanagihara

3.79 AVERAGE


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.)

I'm not sure how I can even rate this book. It was a hard read, especially the third section which is about a near-future society that's become a fascist state in response to pandemics. It was hard to read; I'm still not sure what the author's politics are because I was having so many feelings during the whole thing. It's also one of those books that purposefully doesn't give closure, that doesn't have a clear ending.

This book took me over a year to finish. The first section is just so boring and none of the characters are interesting or even just multidimenional. The second section is better already and the third is actually really interesting, so maybe just skip the first (and maybe als the second) section if you are thinking about reading this book
slow-paced

The first two sections were SO. SLOW. but the third was a little better. I really wish the author had actually written endings with real resolutions. 
challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
adventurous emotional mysterious
challenging dark reflective slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Like many people reviewing this book I chose it because I loved and was happily destroyed by A Little Life. Jesus wept this was a slog. At times enjoyable glimmers but I needed a plot, or some connection between the various parts.

Flawed, but good. Moments of beauty are bookended by sloppy writing and unfocused storytelling.

I often find that when an author tries to include so many themes and issues in one book, things get messy and lose direction.

Not here. It's long and slow and I didn't want it to end!