To Paradise - Hanya Yanagihara

To Paradise

By Hanya Yanagihara

  • Release Date: 2022-01-11
  • Genre: Literary Fiction
Score: 4
4
From 182 Ratings

Description

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • From the award-winning, best-selling author of the classic A Little Life—a bold, brilliant novel spanning three centuries and three different versions of the American experiment, about lovers, family, loss and the elusive promise of utopia.

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: VOGUE ESQUIRE NPR • GOODREADS

To Paradise is a fin de siècle novel of marvelous literary effect, but above all it is a work of emotional genius. The great power of this remarkable novel is driven by Yanagihara’s understanding of the aching desire to protect those we love—partners, lovers, children, friends, family, and even our fellow citizens—and the pain that ensues when we cannot.

In an alternate version of 1893 America, New York is part of the Free States, where people may live and love whomever they please (or so it seems). The fragile young scion of a distinguished family resists betrothal to a worthy suitor, drawn to a charming music teacher of no means. In a 1993 Manhattan besieged by the AIDS epidemic, a young Hawaiian man lives with his much older, wealthier partner, hiding his troubled childhood and the fate of his father. And in 2093, in a world riven by plagues and governed by totalitarian rule, a powerful scientist’s damaged granddaughter tries to navigate life without him—and solve the mystery of her husband’s disappearances.
 
These three sections comprise an ingenious symphony, as recurring notes and themes deepen and enrich one another: A townhouse in Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village; illness, and treatments that come at a terrible cost; wealth and squalor; the weak and the strong; race; the definition of family, and of nationhood; the dangerous righteousness of the powerful, and of revolutionaries; the longing to find a place in an earthly paradise, and the gradual realization that it can’t exist. What unites not just the characters, but these Americas, are their reckonings with the qualities that make us human: Fear. Love. Shame. Need. Loneliness.

Reviews

  • Bizarre

    1
    By jewish-gal
    I really tried reading this one…
  • A frustrating, intentionally inconclusive megatale.

    4
    By Two-and-A-Half-Star Reviewer
    Hanya Yanagihara’s period-jumping epic is high-minded and at times literally difficult to read, with many sentences running on seemingly interminably (especially liberal use of the em dash helps facilitate this). Despite its deliberately unsatisfying conclusions and its occasionally plodding pace, Yanagihara’s world-building in the first and third books is sprawling and undeniably impressive. Though not quite as uniquely emotionally destructive as “A Little Life,” “To Paradise” is anything but. It is a grim tale — particularly in its third, final, and longest section, which doubles as a warning (if somewhat clichéd) against giving up one’s liberties for the greater good. If you’ve the time and commitment, give it a read. I recommend taking notes.
  • Towards Disillusionment

    2
    By Richard Bakare
    This book is one long exercise in asking how do politics and environment affect who we are and who we want to be. Through three separate experiences over the course of hundreds of years we see the human experience from the perspective of the marginalized even within powerful circles. What diminishes them is not just lifestyle but the freedom to pursue it with the love and support of family. Everyone is seeking their own paradise it just isn’t what they initially thought it would be. That quest for an Elysian future sets up an intimate look at the tough decisions we have to make to pursue our dreams, and spotlights the people we lose along the way. Each loss tarnishes the images of the past, present, and future and blur the lines between them. Our protagonists end up rewriting history into something that fits with their jarred worldview. That new narrative frees up the space to continue pushing toward paradise, though it will be incomplete. The structure of the book creates rich vignettes into three separate individual perspectives on love and life that also share some common themes. However, the same format creates some confusion as to what we’re supposed to be following and make for rough transitions. I hate to say it, but the book, or books depending on how you look at it, is too long. It droned on in sections that really added nothing to the story or added character development. It demanded a Herculean reading effort and provided no final resolution; leaving only the bitter taste of frustration on your tongue. Much of the plot and character development is lacking and could have been achieved to the same effect or better in short story format. Hanya Yanigihara is a brilliant writer with an ability to execute in different styles and language, which creates voices that are believable and unique. However, the packaging of these separate experiences just did not do it for me. I was left intrigued by some of the questions posed but also exhausted by the waves of endless exposition that could have been cut. “Leave the World Behind” by Rumaan Alam, accomplishes much of the same storytelling at a fraction of the length.
  • Mysterious, gripping, and heartfelt

    5
    By Rikku411
    A expertly woven tale of survival—of love, loss, regret, and reconciliation. A reminder that one day, our lives will end, and at that end, who will we be? Who will we want to be?