To Paradise
Author: Hanya Yanagihara
Published by: Picador
Pages: 708
Format: Hardback
My Rating ★★★★★
Published by: Picador
Pages: 708
Format: Hardback
My Rating ★★★★★
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 resusts 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 Hawaiin 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 are joined in an enthralling and 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.
These three sections are joined in an enthralling and 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.
My thoughts:
To Paradise is probably the most anticipated book of 2022.
I decided to make To Paradise my first Yanagihara read to avoid comparing it to A Little Life at every turn. This novel is ambitious and demands a certain amount of patience and concentration from the reader. It is composed of three books exploring three different versions of America, each a century apart.
The first part occurs in the 1893 within an alternative reality where part of America is a separate area, the Free State, where homosexuality and equal marriages are part of society.
I became completely emotionally invested in the love story at the heart of the first book, as well as the exploration of feeling torn between one's duty to different people. This one is best described as historical fiction or alternate history. The protagonist is David, and he lives in a 19th century New York City where being gay is accepted as completely normal. He is an odd, reserved, complex character whose only real companion is his beloved grandfather, who attempts to arrange a marriage for him with a wealthy older man named Charles. Despite David's efforts to like Charles, he instead falls madly in love with the poor, young and enigmatic Edward.
Book two is set in 1993 during the AIDS epidemic, and this story follows a different man named David who is married to a different older man called Charles. The same names and similar characters run through the whole of the novel. The first part of this book appealed to me more, when the author examined a relationship between two people from very different backgrounds. David is much poorer than Charles and this affects the relationship dynamic, sometimes causing problems between the two of them.
The second part of the second book is a letter from David's father in which he documents his life in Hawaii and the breakdown of his family. I'm not sure if it was the format, but I felt a bit removed from the events that occurred in this section of the book, which is why it was the slowest part for me to read.
Book three is set in a dystopian and bleak future New York, where pandemic after pandemic rages, food and other goods are strictly rationed, and gay rights have once again been eroded. I enjoyed how this part moved back and forth between the present, told by Charlie, and the lead-up to it, unveiled by Charlie's grandfather.
The last one, at almost 350 pages, could have been published as a stand-alone novel. The current day is 2093, with flashbacks from 50 years ago and so on. This section of the book is a destitute place of totalitarian rule. A world in which climate change, pandemics, hunger, and the lack of freedoms have run rampant. Perhaps the scariest part though is that this world is a dark perception of potentially what could really happen.
Even though the stories change, the relationship between a grandparent and a grandchild is one of several recurring themes throughout the novel. Yanagihara presents characters for whom the world seems unattainable, with complicated histories and events that have somewhat held them back in one way or another. The characters each have very different circumstances, but the author uses the same group of names in each of the three parts which further emphasises both the vast similarities and differences between these characters and their lives in the various time settings of her alternative America.
Personally, I enjoyed books one and three a lot, and it was book two that dragged a tiny bit. In truth, each part serves as a novel in itself.
I think for me, To Paradise mostly is about choices: the decisions, actions, and inaction that determine the course of a person’s life or a country’s history. It’s about shame, regret, and the leaps of faith that lead to these important choices.
I was a little daunted at first by the sheer length of this book, but once I got started I couldn’t put it down. To Paradise makes for a totally engrossing read. Yanagihara's writing is beautiful and immersive, as she draws readers into the most intimate sympathy with her characters while placing them in situations that feel irresistibly compelling.
I feel I’ve been hypnotized by Yanagihara's storytelling. It’s a fascinating novel.
Overall reaction:
To Paradise is probably the most anticipated book of 2022.
I decided to make To Paradise my first Yanagihara read to avoid comparing it to A Little Life at every turn. This novel is ambitious and demands a certain amount of patience and concentration from the reader. It is composed of three books exploring three different versions of America, each a century apart.
The first part occurs in the 1893 within an alternative reality where part of America is a separate area, the Free State, where homosexuality and equal marriages are part of society.
I became completely emotionally invested in the love story at the heart of the first book, as well as the exploration of feeling torn between one's duty to different people. This one is best described as historical fiction or alternate history. The protagonist is David, and he lives in a 19th century New York City where being gay is accepted as completely normal. He is an odd, reserved, complex character whose only real companion is his beloved grandfather, who attempts to arrange a marriage for him with a wealthy older man named Charles. Despite David's efforts to like Charles, he instead falls madly in love with the poor, young and enigmatic Edward.
Book two is set in 1993 during the AIDS epidemic, and this story follows a different man named David who is married to a different older man called Charles. The same names and similar characters run through the whole of the novel. The first part of this book appealed to me more, when the author examined a relationship between two people from very different backgrounds. David is much poorer than Charles and this affects the relationship dynamic, sometimes causing problems between the two of them.
The second part of the second book is a letter from David's father in which he documents his life in Hawaii and the breakdown of his family. I'm not sure if it was the format, but I felt a bit removed from the events that occurred in this section of the book, which is why it was the slowest part for me to read.
Book three is set in a dystopian and bleak future New York, where pandemic after pandemic rages, food and other goods are strictly rationed, and gay rights have once again been eroded. I enjoyed how this part moved back and forth between the present, told by Charlie, and the lead-up to it, unveiled by Charlie's grandfather.
The last one, at almost 350 pages, could have been published as a stand-alone novel. The current day is 2093, with flashbacks from 50 years ago and so on. This section of the book is a destitute place of totalitarian rule. A world in which climate change, pandemics, hunger, and the lack of freedoms have run rampant. Perhaps the scariest part though is that this world is a dark perception of potentially what could really happen.
Even though the stories change, the relationship between a grandparent and a grandchild is one of several recurring themes throughout the novel. Yanagihara presents characters for whom the world seems unattainable, with complicated histories and events that have somewhat held them back in one way or another. The characters each have very different circumstances, but the author uses the same group of names in each of the three parts which further emphasises both the vast similarities and differences between these characters and their lives in the various time settings of her alternative America.
Personally, I enjoyed books one and three a lot, and it was book two that dragged a tiny bit. In truth, each part serves as a novel in itself.
I think for me, To Paradise mostly is about choices: the decisions, actions, and inaction that determine the course of a person’s life or a country’s history. It’s about shame, regret, and the leaps of faith that lead to these important choices.
I was a little daunted at first by the sheer length of this book, but once I got started I couldn’t put it down. To Paradise makes for a totally engrossing read. Yanagihara's writing is beautiful and immersive, as she draws readers into the most intimate sympathy with her characters while placing them in situations that feel irresistibly compelling.
I feel I’ve been hypnotized by Yanagihara's storytelling. It’s a fascinating novel.
Overall reaction: