People in the Trees (Yanagihara)

The People in the Trees
Hanya Yanagihara, 2013
Knopf Doubleday
384 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780385536776


Summary
An anthropological adventure story that combines the visceral allure of a thriller with a profound and tragic vision of what happens when cultures collide. It is a book that instantly catapults Hanya Yanagihara into the company of young novelists who really, really matter.

In 1950, a young doctor called Norton Perina signs on with the anthropologist Paul Tallent for an expedition to the remote Micronesian island of Ivu'ivu in search of a rumored lost tribe. They succeed, finding not only that tribe but also a group of forest dwellers they dub "The Dreamers," who turn out to be fantastically long-lived but progressively more senile.

Perina suspects the source of their longevity is a hard-to-find turtle; unable to resist the possibility of eternal life, he kills one and smuggles some meat back to the States. He scientifically proves his thesis, earning worldwide fame and the Nobel Prize, but he soon discovers that its miraculous property comes at a terrible price. As things quickly spiral out of his control, his own demons take hold, with devastating personal consequences. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—ca. 1974-75
• Where—Los Angeles, California, USA
• Raised—in New York City, Baltimore, states of Texas and Hawaii 
• Education—B.A., Smith College
• Awards—Man Booker Prize (long-list)
• Currently—lives in New York, New York


Hanya Yanagihara is an American novelist and travel writer of Hawaiian ancestry. Her first novel, The People in the Trees, based on the real-life case of the virologist Daniel Carleton Gajdusek, was widely praised as one of the best novels of 2013.

In 2015, her second novel, A Little Life was published, also to highly favorable reviews—and was long-listed for the Man Booker Prize. Yanagihara was also an editor-at-large at Conde Nast Traveler. She is now a deputy editor at T: The New York Times Style Magazine. (Adapted from Wikipedia. Retrieved 9/1/2015.)

Book Reviews
From the start, [Yanagihara] sets her narrative dial to creepy, and challenges to the extreme the notion that a protagonist needs to be "likable." Yet thanks to her rich, masterly prose, it's hard to turn away from Dr. Norton Perina, her antihero…Provocative and bleak, The People in the Trees might leave readers conflicted. It is exhaustingly inventive and almost defiant in its refusal to offer redemption or solace—but that is arguably one of its virtues. This is perhaps less a novel to love than to admire for its sheer audacity. As for Yanagihara, she is a writer to marvel at.
Carmela Ciudraru - New York Times Book Review


The People in the Trees is a haunting story of moral absolutes confounded by a seemingly empirical understanding of the merciless caprices of nature...A standout novel, a debut as thrilling as it is disturbing.
Wall Street Journal


A work of medical science fiction involving magic turtle meat, pedophilia, a not particularly likable main character, and a convoluted structure—two unreliable narrators—might sound unpromising. But Yanagihara...is like a chef who manages to whip up a divine dish from an unlikely combination of ingredients. Her storytelling is masterful.
Boston Globe


The People in the Trees is a multi-layered novel. It provokes discussions about science, morality and our obsession with youth. But it's also a deeply satisfying adventure story with a horrifying conclusion."
Chicago Tribune


(Starred review.) Driven by Yanagihara's gorgeously complete imaginary ethnography...[and] her brilliantly detestable narrator, this debut novel is compelling on every level—morally, aesthetically, and narratively. Yanagihara balances pulpy adventure tale excitement with serious consideration.... Without making him a simple villain, Yanagihara shows how Perina's extraordinary circumstances allow his smothered weaknesses to blossom horribly.
Publishers Weekly


Haruf made his name with the heartfelt Plainsong, a best seller and a finalist for the National Book Award and the Los Angeles Times Book Award. The subsequent Eventide, also a best seller, revisited Plainsong's setting, high-plains Holt, CO. Haruf again returns to Holt but with a new cast, among them Dad Lewis, dying of cancer and comforted by his wife and daughter though
Library Journal


Yanagihara does everything she can to establish verisimilitude in this novel, so much so that the reader will be Googling names of characters to see if they're "really real."... Yanagihara presents a cautionary tale about what can happen when Western arrogance meets primeval culture.
Kirkus Reviews

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