A review by maidinnah
The People in the Trees by Hanya Yanagihara

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

5.0

Audacious and horrifying, yet thrilling, The People in the Trees delves into the life and mind of Dr. Norton Perina, a brilliant, depraved medical researcher armed with terrifying ambition and a deep disregard for life. Yanagihara's detailed, alluring prose explores themes of hubris and abuse on an interpersonal and systemic level, and how figures like Perina become woven into the histories of entire societies. It's moral relativism at its finest -- disturbing, unflinching, and challenging.
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