Reviews tagging 'Colonisation'

The People in the Trees by Hanya Yanagihara

117 reviews

swetha062's review

challenging dark emotional sad slow-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? Yes

4.5

It tells you how far and broken science remains at the hands of those who only intend to abuse. They abuse the nature of everyone around to seem intellectual. The time that people like Norton existed as captured by Hanya also remains as true outside the fictional world as well. I only wish those like Victor and our surrounding some peace and calm from everyone. The book itself remains interesting and veey hard to process as you travel through the eyes of an abuser. But I commend Hanya for the vulnerability showcased in her writing and structuring of this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Homophobia, Murder, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Torture, Transphobia, and Violence

ciara_bone45's review

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

4.5

As all of Yanagihara's work, this is beautifully written composition about a terrible, stomach-turning series of events. This book was truly upsetting, and I will be digesting it for a long, long time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Colonisation, Racism, Rape, Abandonment, and Child abuse

rexpostfacto's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

5.0

If ever a content warning was needed for a book, it's this one. Beautiful writing paired with a haunting and vile faux memoir tragically based on some true events. 

The epilogue and post script literally had me holding back gags and left me feeling nauseated. 

I highly recommend the audiobook; being able to really hear Ronald's notes and emphasis on things makes all the difference imo.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Colonisation, Child abuse, Racism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Dementia, Death, Cultural appropriation, and Rape

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Sexism, Suicide, and Medical content

romewithlove's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Excrement, Animal death, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Animal cruelty, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Adult/minor relationship, and Deadnaming

allegrayr00's review

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Child abuse, Colonisation, Rape, Sexual assault, Animal death, and Incest

Moderate: Gaslighting, Confinement, and Misogyny

graecus_'s review

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

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

4.25

okay so this book took me an absolute hot minute to read but i feel like the more that this book sits with me the more i’ll end up liking it. i really like the way that the book was structured with the footnotes, and the postscript was actually wild. the writing was gorgeous (what else were we expecting from hanya yanagihara), and i fell like norton’s voice really added to the reading experience. overall the book was wild and i am a fan

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Colonisation, and Rape

fkshg8465's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

This book saved itself with the ending. Most of it is tedious and frankly, not very good. What made it worth the four stars, though, were the themes, the narrator’s psyche, and the level of cringiness. It was highly evocative. So the words used didn’t matter to me in the end. The truth that’s finally revealed and the long and arduous, continued downward rollercoaster spiral that I had to ride the entire time is what makes this book worth my four stars.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Colonisation, Incest, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Cultural appropriation, Death of parent, Medical content, Genocide, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, Racism, Classism, Confinement, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault

partybonus's review

challenging sad medium-paced

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

I do notttt recommend! It is a trigger warning minefield and full of really wretched moments. The lush rainforest backdrop and descriptions of the scenery belong in a travel guide which is what I think this writer was before they became a writer. I wish I hadn’t read it. It haunted me and I am not interested in shockingly violent and horrendous situations in books anymore, especially when there is zero reason for it. Stay away! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Classism, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, Pedophilia, Rape, Trafficking, Animal death, Colonisation, Incest, Body horror, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Animal cruelty, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Xenophobia

muccycloud's review against another edition

dark sad 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? Yes

2.0

I hated this book but I also could not stop reading it. The main character is deplorable, horrific, I would not choose to read this again. I kind of want to scrub it from my brain. But it was well written and despite it being horrific felt the need to finish it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation

Moderate: Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Racism, Animal cruelty, Forced institutionalization, Pedophilia, Suicide, Medical trauma, Sexism, Trafficking, Child abuse, and Rape

kaisathelibrarian's review

challenging dark medium-paced

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

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Colonisation