The People in the Trees by Hanya Yanagihara
Reviewed by Doc
It’s not every day I receive a warning with a new book, but right after the traveling gypsy woman mouthed words of caution, her eyes bulged slightly and her mouth contorted into almost nothing as she handed me a copy of The People in the Trees. I imagined the other booksellers inching away from me in their seats. They heard the warning, and the book was of no interest to them. I did what many of us do when we receive a warning; I got started reading, right away. The best part? Her vehement warning was no overreaction. This wasn’t just some dark night of the soul stuff. Debut author Yanagihara explored those hidden crevices of humankind that we’re often afraid to examine. From start to finish, I became uncomfortable enough that a few times I thought the book would just drop out of my hands, that my eyes would close until they could read something light, soft, and happy. As deeply disturbing as it was, I held on, feeling myself wrapped up in the prose, lost in the new world Yanagihara created through the eyes of misanthrope Nobel-winning scientist, Dr. Norton Perina.
I found myself empathizing with Dr. Perina, the “author” of this pseudo memoir, whom I also hated a great deal. I found parts of myself relating to his lonely crush on his anthropologist team leader and his tendency to subvert authority. There was also plenty to hate: his misogyny and his white American scientific ego (most of the novel takes place before 1960, but these attitudes are still eerily applicable). For such a conflicted character, I was surprised to find him a reasonable narrator, describing his most ignominious acts thoroughly and honestly. I look up to Dr. Perina, not because of his actions, but because of his willingness to face the consequences with eyes wide open. Would you close your eyes if someone threw you into a volcano as punishment? This guy wouldn’t; he’d be watching the lava rise closer and feel the heat choke him and his last thought would be, “I must have ruined that guy’s life, and I’d do it again, for science.”
If you’re looking to coast this summer, to read role-model characters in the cool, lush landscapes of safety, you may want to avoid this title and check out my summer reading list. Yet, I challenge you – if you can handle a heavy-handed cultural taboo that may enrage you, vex you, and shake you to your human core, then The People in the Trees will hit you like a ton of welcome bricks. Oh, and did I mention, it’s based on a true story? While many highlights have been changed, the plot seems to be loosely based on the life of scientist Daniel Carleton Gajdusek, with some references that point to the feral child Victor of Aveyron and, more generally, to Melanesian culture.
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Copies of The People in the Trees are currently available on our shelves and via bookpeople.com. Read a Q&A with the author here.
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