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A review by caseyjayner
The People in the Trees by Hanya Yanagihara
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Superbly written and very interesting as a story. Honestly it would’ve been interstate and garnered more stars if he had simply slapped victor and there weren’t allegations or they were of physics abuse.
That said, I think illuminating his thought process is oddly revelatory of rape within the context of someone known. It seems unlikely that a pedophile would’ve had that many children and not been sexually abusive to more of them- it was perverse power, rage, love and hate. It felt unnecessary to the overall story though and made me feel incredibly ill- why can’t he be perfectly unlikable without being obviously retched?! I actually find that more interesting.
Also- I read other reviews so I skipped the last section and only read his thoughts just before and the last sentence. I strongly suggest to skip this book or skip that section too.
That said, I think illuminating his thought process is oddly revelatory of rape within the context of someone known. It seems unlikely that a pedophile would’ve had that many children and not been sexually abusive to more of them- it was perverse power, rage, love and hate. It felt unnecessary to the overall story though and made me feel incredibly ill- why can’t he be perfectly unlikable without being obviously retched?! I actually find that more interesting.
Also- I read other reviews so I skipped the last section and only read his thoughts just before and the last sentence. I strongly suggest to skip this book or skip that section too.