The People in the Trees

Ich möchte noch eine Triggerwarnung anmerken, was ich sehr wichtig finde. Es erstaunt mich, dass das vom Verlag allerdings nicht für nötig erachtet wurde?! Es geht um sexuelle Gewalt, Vergewaltigung und schlimme Tierversuche. Ich brauche länger als bei anderen Romanen, um mich soweit zu sortieren, um irgendetwas zu dem Roman schreiben zu können – was trotzdem – und das gilt für beide Romane – doch nur ein Bruchstück dessen ist, was an Komplexität und Themen hier aufgemacht und verhandelt wird.

Another awesome book from Hanya Yanagihara! Fact is, I love the way she writes and captures your attention instantly. Also, the way she connects all the different story lines?! WOW! This book questions morals and makes me think deeply about my actions and how they affect others.

CN: rape of minors This book has a lot going for it. Yanagihara is an amazing writer. She's a master of the English language and mimicks ethnographic/anthropologic writings of 50+ years ago perfectly. However...because of the perspective we're in, the book becomes incredibly repetitive and it goes on for too long. Several scenes are drawn out and get repeated in almost identical fashion multiple times. Furtheremore, the main character is an unreliable narrator, which in itself is fine, but he's a disgusting person to be stuck with. His racist and sexist idea get old real fast. He's also abusive and we get to whitness how he rapes boys in detail. It's clear that he's not meant to be sympathetic and Yanagihara absolutely captures the essence of this anthropologist. But honestly, it's straining to be stuck in his head and having to hear his abusive defenses and gaslighting gets exhausting. It's certainly not a bad book and Yanagihara is a masterful writer but wow, there are some immensely boring and repetitive sections and the main character is abhorrent. This book certainly captivates you but it's also difficult to rate. However, no matter what you think of the story, I can only applaud Yanagihara's amazing skills.