Just finished The People in the Trees by Hanya Yanagihara. Man, what an explosive debut! The idea itself, of immortality gained through a turtle, would be interesting on its own. But combined with themes of imperialism, sexual assault, and exploitation, it became this read I couldn’t put down. Although the writing is first-book material, the rhythm of the prose and the pacing more than made up for it.
On the sexual assault front, there was plenty of inspiration drawn from Lolita with the frame narrative of his arrest and the autobiographical nature of his account. You begin to doubt him more and more after he returns to the States, and the lack of guilt becomes more and more apparent. I saw the inclusion of SA present in the entire book as an analog to imperialism as it is exploitation of an innocent victim purely for the gain of the perpetrator. It did seem somewhat gratuitous at times, although nowhere near the levels of A Little Life.
Connecting the two books is apples to oranges, as Trees is certainly more of a plotted adventure, with a distinct A to B plotline. I found Trees to be far better on almost every front; I even wished that it had the length of A Little Life. The nature of his parenting being the clearest candidate for more detail, and perhaps to weave more of his exploits better together. Though the book was dark and graphic at points, Yanagihara put more weight into *WHY* they happened as opposed to what is happening. However, I would not recommend this to a sensitive reader.
The racial dynamics in the subtext were interesting as well. Nearly every relationship is defined by a power struggle, from Norton’s with his brother to the nature of lab work and funding. I think that in general, the book takes more of a status quo view, seeing as the narrator is a white male in the mid-20th century and free to pursue whatever pleases him. There’s certainly a lot of envy towards others, projections placed by Norton onto seemingly everyone besides those he wishes he could be.
Overall, I greatly enjoyed this book, and honestly wish that it received the same attention as A Little Life. It’s done in far greater taste, crossing the boundary without necessarily being offensive. What does everyone else think, especially when compared to A Little Life?
by moonmoon48