However, to read as many words is a real investment, and I’m not sure that I would do it again. There is no doubt that this is a clever novel of surprising ideas. It is true that I felt fearful of the premonition of a frightening future in the dystopian section of the novel, and I enjoyed learning about the Hawaiian perspective on mainland USA, and some of the tensions that exist that I knew little about. I felt that To Paradise was more intent on making a point, without the same richness, as A Little Life, and I didn’t feel overly moved by any of the stories. Each chapter switch made me have to readjust my thinking to a whole new world, and I felt that meant the book wasn’t as affecting as Yanagihara’s extraordinary novel, A Little Life. While each is engrossing in its own right, this does make the book a little confusing. The third landscape is one in which an AIDS-like illness is decimating a friendship group, and centres on an unequal relationship between a Hawaiian and his wealthy partner.įor a long time (almost the entirety of the novel) these times and places sit apart, with few links between the vastly different times and situations. This storyline explores the legacy of the loss of Hawaiian autonomy and culture and overthrowing of its royalty. Then there is the world of the past where heterosexual and homosexual couples lived in true equality, yet class and racial divisions ran deep. It's set in 1893 in a New York that belongs to an independent nation called the. After reading A Little Life that left me emotionally wrecked for weeks afterward, I decided to try this new novel by the sea author for my summer read since.

Here, a woman who suffered from a terrible virus lives with the consequences while also navigating the reality of a ravaged earth. Book I of 'To Paradise' is the most reader-friendly and contains some of the novel's most gorgeous language.

One is a dystopian future where the world is so hot that special suits must be worn to walk the streets of New York, and where pandemics arise one after another. To Paradise is a massive book that depicts many landscapes, eras and situations. How do you sum up a book so broad in scope, and wordcount? Oh no, I just realised haven’t reviewed To Paradise yet, about two months after reading it.

To paradise novel