Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

To Paradise by Hanya Yanagihara

35 reviews

jourdanicus's review against another edition

dark reflective 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? It's complicated

What a long read.

I originally picked this up because I was intrigued by a story in which same-sex marriage was legalized in the US in the 1800s. This book was so much more than that (and I'd hope so at 700+ pages/30+ hours), for better or worse. I don't think that summary does it justice. Really, I see this as 3 separate books. I found myself wishing for more clear connections between the 3 stories. I know the characters were all related in some way, but I think that could have been made more explicit to bring more cohesion to the stories.

Other than that I struggle to come up with any complaints, which is surprising given that I do not tend to enjoy or even reach for books longer than 400 pages. I pretty much love any kind of character study, and this was much more character- than plot-centric. Book I, being the most focused on the topic of legal/normalized same-sex marriage, doesn't stand out to me the most, though it was enjoyable. Book II, about Lipo-Wao-Nahele, was such a gorgeous story and could totally have stood on its own; I'm a sucker for compelling parent/child relationships. Book III was a bit too depressing for me to have read during a current pandemic, but Charles was an interesting (if somewhat unlikeable) character, and I was most endeared to Charlie.

I could have done with more female characters for my taste - at least with more representation than just

mothers who abandon their partner and child

. But I can accept that not every book is going to check every single box for me. This one did enough to keep me engaged through to the end, and that's more than I can say for some that are nowhere near as lengthy.

Now going to look up a family tree of the characters so I can finally figure all that out, lol.

Edit: Can't believe I forgot to mention that the cast for the audiobook narration was fantastic. That's a big part of what kept me engaged. I definitely recommend this book on audio over other formats.

Another edit: Oh, so apparently the characters were NOT all related, and just had a lot of the same names? I don't know. That's just confusing. Sweeping family saga this one definitely is not.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death, Medical content, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Homophobia, and Death of parent

madelonpaige's review against another edition

mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Child death, Sexual assault, Colonisation, Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, and Medical content

e_austin's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad slow-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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death and Death of parent

Minor: Homophobia, Sexual assault, and Racism

fionagerman's review against another edition

emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness

Moderate: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Child death, Confinement, and Death

Minor: Sexual assault, Infertility, Homophobia, War, Pregnancy, and Forced institutionalization

catesm's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual harassment, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Classism, Cursing, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Death, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Police brutality, and War

goldensun's review against another edition

dark hopeful slow-paced

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

2.5

terribly long. more like 2 short stories and 1 novels were joined together without any real connection to them. not worth the 3 months it took me to finish it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness and Homophobia

Moderate: Ableism

deandra_lalonde's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Cancer, Police brutality, War, Death, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abandonment, Child death, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Rape, Violence, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Infertility, and Toxic friendship

wtfmarta's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death and Death

Minor: Animal death, Cultural appropriation, Homophobia, and Rape

keatynbergsten's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Death, Grief, and Homophobia

serenspace's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad slow-paced

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

4.0

from the first book of this story, I drew upon a story of the sad side of arranging one’s life for the betterment of others and the desperation that comes with escaping expectations, as David seems wont to do. I enjoyed this part thoroughly. along with Yanagihara’s trademark wistfulness, the excitement of a fascinating yet tragic love triangle grabbed me from the get-go. over and over, I panicked at the prospect of everything falling apart under David’s feet, unable to stop reading before finding out what happens next. and while the cliffhanger left me a little disappointed, I resolved not to judge the story before all of it had ended, and that leads me on to Book Two. in the second part of this novel, an interesting choice manifests that promises to connect each story viscerally: the protagonist, whom I expected to be a completely different person, is also named David. not only that, but each important character is also named after a predecessor from Book One: Charles, David’s lover, Edward, David’s father’s friend, even Eden, David’s old, spirited roommate. I was taken aback at the obvious connection, but it worked well to the effect of bringing the stories together and suggesting an unfortunate repetition of history to a yet unknown end. on the sour note of David's father's mental decline and institutionalisation, David's own life can be summed up neatly in one of my favourite quotes from this part:

“no-one was ever free[...] to know someone and to love them was to assume the task of remembering them [...] your life was inextricable from another’s, that a person marked their existence in part by their association with you.” (231)

I connected with this strongly. lives get entangled no matter how hard you try to keep them apart, but that is not a curse, but a blessing. people create hellish nightmares of the lives of everyone around them, or they make lives worth their salt. the difference comes in realising that people are inescapable and that we really don’t have as much control over life as we think we should. and in Book Three, a new Charles tragically crafts the state in which nobody is free and everyone is a suspect, pushing his radical son and exhausted husband from his life in the process. this David's announcement that he will help Charlie escape their dystopia is thrilling and terrifying; is he honest? this is all carried on a silent prayer to close the book that I could not put down or stop thinking about.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Infertility, Medical content, Grief, and Homophobia