the people in the trees is a difficult book, meant only for the cold hearted. perina's behaviour throughout is so shamelessly cruel that it borders the people in the trees is a difficult book, meant only for the cold hearted. perina's behaviour throughout is so shamelessly cruel that it borders on comical. from his treatment of the children — constantly refering to them as animals, beasts, dogs etc., and the obvious sexual assault, his descriptions of esme (such brutal, raw misogyny that i myself, like perina, wished she would go away just to be allowed respite from the narrator's constant nagging and diminishment of her) — to, obviously, his colonization of and manner of conduct on the island. just a horrifying tale on all accounts, such that, as with a little life, i found myself constantly disconnected from the narrative and its absurdities. the logical part of my brain knows that things like these happened, happen and will continue to happen in the real world, but my sentimentality makes me unable to process the ideas presented in this book as anything other than pure fiction. can people really be this evil? obviously yanagihara thinks so. and i suppose i must only credit her for creating such a realistic tale. while reading the footnotes i often had to stop myself from googling the characters and the books mentioned. actually wish tallent was a real person so i could read his biography.
but, thankfully, this is fiction, which becomes very obvious in the final chapters. the people in the trees is a meticulously written, thrilling book, and yanagihara's style and cleverness shines — however i found myself drilling into huge qualms i had with the story itself. firstly, and pettiest, the lack of insects and disease during perina's first venture into the island. this is a jungle, in a tropical environment that no one has ever explored before, and not one of them got bitten by a mosquitoe and contracted some unknown illness and died? highly unrealistic and frankly a huge flaw in the idea of the narrative itself (esme's rash barely counts as such an instance, mainly because there is no mention of perina or tallent contracting anything like it. one could argue it is because of perina's unreliability as a narrator, but i'll say that's a poor excuse considering he's an actual doctor and should've been more interested in such things). secondly, kubodera as a character. having read a little life i know yanagihara is prone to writing lush stories of devotion and love. except kubodera's adoration doesn't really work in this context because we see and experience so little of their relationship. kubodera goes on sprawling monologues about perina, to the point of obnoxiousness, and yet perina spares him not a single mention. therefore the epilogue becomes, as even yanagihara admits, in an unsuccessful attempt to redeem herself, melodramatic and, ultimately, stupid, making the entire novel a lesser reading experience than it should've been. but still i am in awe of one's ability to craft such a story — albeit, one that is mostly burrowed from real life — and must gush over the dimensions represented here. the power of literature!...more
how does one talk about this book when the consequences of the crime pictured in it affects holcomb even now? in cold blood is a chilling and engagihow does one talk about this book when the consequences of the crime pictured in it affects holcomb even now? in cold blood is a chilling and engaging book, though most of its literary merit relies on the fact that it's the first of it's kind. it's undoubtedly well written, well researched and hard to put down once it gets going. but as much as i would love to sit here and feel good about myself for being a kind and decent person who is able to consume true crime media with a critical lense, it's impossible not to admit that i appreciate this book mainly because of capote's depiction of perry smith, which leaks with sympathy and understanding and love, and in the complicated story about them. can one truly hope to understand, and sympathize, with a murderer? and if we do, what does that make us? i don't think capote was really out to answer this question, but it's one that lingers long after the book is finished....more
sex! drugs! homoeroticism! the horrors of being alive told through the pov of a chronically depressed guy™ with a daughter with anger issues and an obsex! drugs! homoeroticism! the horrors of being alive told through the pov of a chronically depressed guy™ with a daughter with anger issues and an obnoxious blond husband! what more could you want!...more
and alien tears will fill for him pity's long-broken urn, for his mourners will be outcast men, and outcasts always mourn. and alien tears will fill for him pity's long-broken urn, for his mourners will be outcast men, and outcasts always mourn. ...more
this is good until you realize ellis has no grip on any concepts other than using the same devices over and over again to illustrate the same one pointhis is good until you realize ellis has no grip on any concepts other than using the same devices over and over again to illustrate the same one point, which you understand at around the 100 page mark and then gets dragged through 300 more using nonsensical, tired and redundant prose. only truly interesting when you consider the homoerotic subtext, which is missing entirely in the movie, which is such a shame considering it's one of the best adaptations i've seen. see, also: fuck bret easton ellis...more
i'm never going to write a proper review so i'll just leave it at: tané was brutally underutilized and her storyline is a disservice to the character i'm never going to write a proper review so i'll just leave it at: tané was brutally underutilized and her storyline is a disservice to the character she could have been. the whole book should've just been hers....more
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