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A review by angethology
To Paradise by Hanya Yanagihara
3.0
“We are the lizard, but we are also the moon. Some of us will die, but others of us will keep doing what we always have, continuing on our own oblivious way, doing what our nature compels us to, silent and unknowable and unstoppable in our rhythms.”
Divided into 3 stories, this novel covers three periods of America and tackles social issues that (d)evolve and affect characters of a varying background. Every story pretty much serves as a standalone novella and yet interconnects with each other, and this becomes more obvious with the same names reoccurring for different characters.
I have mixed feelings about this because while I'm not conceptually against this type of format in novels, 'To Paradise' comes across as clunky. The transitions to the next part feel like sporadic jumps where the author tries really hard to make sure the audience knows there's a common thread and a bigger picture for all of the stories combined. Heartwrenching moments in the book are often overshadowed by long-winded polemics that increasingly become self-indulgent, and teeter more toward 'lifestyle porn' at some point. The first story was intriguing at first but faltered eventually, and it was hard for me to care for the second one at all.
The book almost redeemed itself with its last story where it takes place in a dystopian world and contrasts the setting in the previous stories, where we see loneliness, uncertainty, loss and heartbreak transpire in a way we haven't, and this part also feels more sincere. Overall, the 700+ pages are not justified and it could have been edited down by a lot.
Divided into 3 stories, this novel covers three periods of America and tackles social issues that (d)evolve and affect characters of a varying background. Every story pretty much serves as a standalone novella and yet interconnects with each other, and this becomes more obvious with the same names reoccurring for different characters.
I have mixed feelings about this because while I'm not conceptually against this type of format in novels, 'To Paradise' comes across as clunky. The transitions to the next part feel like sporadic jumps where the author tries really hard to make sure the audience knows there's a common thread and a bigger picture for all of the stories combined. Heartwrenching moments in the book are often overshadowed by long-winded polemics that increasingly become self-indulgent, and teeter more toward 'lifestyle porn' at some point. The first story was intriguing at first but faltered eventually, and it was hard for me to care for the second one at all.
The book almost redeemed itself with its last story where it takes place in a dystopian world and contrasts the setting in the previous stories, where we see loneliness, uncertainty, loss and heartbreak transpire in a way we haven't, and this part also feels more sincere. Overall, the 700+ pages are not justified and it could have been edited down by a lot.