2025 & 2026 Reading Challenge discussion

This thread is to discuss The People in the Trees by Hanya Yanagihara.

Pages: 369 pages

Length: 1 month (September)

Participants: M, TerryJane, SarahKat

Everyone reads at their own pace during a Buddy Read. Because participants can be at different parts of the book at different times, it is extremely important to mark spoilers so that the book is not ruined for someone who is not as far along as others!!!

Mark spoilers by placing {spoiler} before the text and {/spoiler} after the text but use the < and > instead of the { and }.

I'm thinking I'll start this one tonight. I just finished an ebook I didn't realize had 40 pages of extra stuff at the end so I was thinking it would take me longer than it did.

Sweet!
I had started this one weeks ago and put it on pause in anticipation of the buddy read so I'm excited to jump back in :)
I've got a long holiday weekend so I'll get into this one come Fri/Sat.

Have you read any other books from this author?
I read A Little Life last year and still think about!

I haven't read anything by this author yet. I honestly cannot stand the cover of A Little Life (I don't like photographs of people on books), so I haven't even looked into it more to see if I'm interested.

Maybe if I like this one I'll add that to my list.

SarahKat wrote: "I haven't read anything by this author yet. I honestly cannot stand the cover of A Little Life (I don't like photographs of people on books), so I haven't even looked into it more to see if I'm int..."

Haha that's totally understandable, it's a terrible cover :)
I will say though if you get emotionally attached to characters, it's devastating and I would not recommend it. Buuutt it's some of the most beautiful writing I've read in the last 10 years so I didn't regret reading it at all.

The kindle version of this has a real person on the cover 🙄

I made this note after finishing Part 1: (view spoiler)[I am intrigued but impatient. I wonder if Norton is guilty. I actually liked the "forward" better than the memoir part so far. I want him to get to the island. But I am still enjoying it. (hide spoiler)]

I'm a little way into Part 3 now and it's picking up a little more.

Haha, at least it's not a full zoom in shot of a face in anguish :)

I was relieved to get to part 3 and away from the lab work. I hope you enjoy The Dreamers! I did. I got sucked right in. I really like the atmosphere she creates.

I finished part 4 last night and it was rough -
(view spoiler)[I guess I forgot for a minute I was reading Yanagihara and wasn't fully prepared for how graphic she can get. I didn't know I was going to be so disgusted by Norton's character and I wonder - since we don't have a reliable narrator, how much worse could it have been? Are we missing details or other events? (hide spoiler)]

I just finished Part 3.

(view spoiler)[Definitely more interesting now that we've met The Dreamers. This book is making me google a lot because it's a pretty seemless blend between real things and not real. Like Micronesia is obviously real but (as far as I can tell) U'ivu and Ivu'ivu are not.

I could have gone forever without learning about lithopedion, or stone babies. I was really hoping that was one of those not-real things. (hide spoiler)]

I would like to join this buddy read, I haven't read anything from this author yet :)

It will probably be a week or two before I start this one. I have three of her books on my TBR, but have read none.

BarbaraBrubru_gingertiger wrote: "I would like to join this buddy read, I haven't read anything from this author yet :)"

Welcome BarbaraBrubru!

TerryJane wrote: "It will probably be a week or two before I start this one. I have three of her books on my TBR, but have read none."

Sounds good :)

Looking forward to hear your thoughts!

As I've gotten a little deeper into this read I feel the need to give a little disclaimer if you may be sensitive to graphic content/trigger warnings....this hits some big ones..
Trigger warnings (view spoiler)[
Animal abuse/death
Child abuse (physical, emotional, sexual)
Dementia
Sexual assault
Rape
Suicide
Violence
(hide spoiler)]

Welcome Barbara!

Just finished Part 4: (view spoiler)[M, yes part 4 definitely becomes more disturbing. Almost all of your trigger warnings are in this section. Norton is deplorable honestly. Like you, I wonder what he's not saying. The fact that he's as honest as he is in his memoir is shocking. But yeah the part with the kid in the woods was gross and it just sort of left off. Did more happen?
I know there are a lot of cultures around the world that view sex and what is appropriate differently. Some of it is (to my mind) disgusting, like the culture portrayed here. Norton should have the same thought process and the fact that he even stood there with that kid as long as he did makes him solidly on the wrong side of right and wrong.

I also don't like how dismissive he is of the dreamers. He says he feels bad for leaving them tied to a tree but not bad enough. When he accidentally touches Fa'a with the turtle he wants to laugh at him for freaking out. I get that he's in "logic mode" but he's just completely disrespectful of the culture he's trying to learn about.

I also don't really like Esme. While I agree with a lot of her thoughts, like the disgust at the "initiation" of little boys, and "what a strange ceremony," she (unlike myself) is an anthropologist! Her entire job is to objectively learn and study the culture, and yet she dismisses a lot of what they do because she doesn't like it. (hide spoiler)]

SarahKat wrote: "Just finished Part 4:"

(view spoiler)[The entire scene with the turtles death hurt me (I work in vet med) and exactly that! - the complete disrespect overall just really turned me off and I can't think of any way that his character can be redeemed for me. I was so disgusted by him.
I'm not sure how I feel about Esme...I go back and forth because I'm not sure I believe his perception of her. I just don't trust him haha. But on the other hand - I also believe what he's saying because he's so factual and seemingly honest in his account of how things are happening. (hide spoiler)]
I haven't had a chance yet to get into part 5 but I hope to this weekend :)

I have finished. This is probably one of the most well-written books I've read in recent memory. I think I came across more unfamiliar words in this book than I have in a long time too, but they were used properly. It wasn't like a look-how-many-words-I-know type of feeling that I get from other authors occasionally.

For the story itself... (view spoiler)[I thought perhaps at the beginning that Norton might be innocent of the charges against him but I started think more and more that he probably was guilty. The inclusion of the last chapter was horrific though, even though I had expected something to that effect. I was still sort of hoping that Victor was making it up just to ruin Norton's life. Not that it would have made Norton at all likeable, but maybe just slightly less despicable.

It is really interesting that this is him talking about himself. I cannot believe how honest he is about everything. Is he aware of how he is perceived? He says he was surprised that Victor turned him in, like it never occurred to him he was doing anything wrong with Victor or any of the others. Ugh.

It is very strange that what the book is "about" according to the summary is not even really mentioned for the last 3 parts of the book. At what age did the dreamers die? Or did they? Are they still just hanging out somewhere with little to no mental function? Did I miss where it said? (hide spoiler)]

I finished part 5 about an hour ago and have just been sitting in silence since. It's just all so heartbreaking.
I'm going to finish this book today, I think I've got about an hour or so of reading left but I can say already that while this hasn't been as emotionally traumatic as A Little Life, Yanagihara's writing is superb. I'm even more impressed by this author since this was her debut!

SarahKat wrote: "I have finished. This is probably one of the most well-written books I've read in recent memory. I think I came across more unfamiliar words in this book than I have in a long time too, but they we..."

*deep sigh* ...just finished....
(view spoiler)[I had similar feelings as I was nearing the end that maybe, just maybe, it wasn't as bad as I was expecting it to be. I wanted to be wrong about Norton (even though I was never going to get over his behavior from his first trip to the island and what he did to it and it's inhabitants. I wanted to believe there was something good in him.
That last chapter took my breath away.

How is Ronald so accepting of the monstrous things this man has done?! I'm left just shaking my head and wondering HOW...WHY?!

What scares me about her writing is how distinctively real it feels. There are monsters among us. I've seen it. I'm sure a lot of us have. We all know how incredibly dark and sinister humans can be.

The dreamers (oh my poor dreamers) were mentioned in the footnotes of part 5 (#74). It's mentioned how Eve at that point was 299 years old and basically brain dead even though "her lung function, however, remains that of a woman a fraction of her estimated age."
My guess is they were eventually moved to a private "secret" facility and continued to be used a test subjects until there was no life left to measure.
(hide spoiler)]

Thank you for reading this with me! I'm going to go sit in a dark corner and think about life in silence for a while now... and maybe think about adopting a turtle.

M wrote: "SarahKat wrote: "I have finished. This is probably one of the most well-written books I've read in recent memory. I think I came across more unfamiliar words in this book than I have in a long time..."

On Ronald.. (view spoiler)[I wonder if Norton was grooming him. I don't if it says how much younger he is but he worked in his lab. Ronald probably looked at him as if he could do no wrong from early on.

That section on the dreamers was the last though. I just wonder if they ever actually die or if they just go on and on like that. (hide spoiler)]

I have a tortoise! He's been hibernating the last few weeks but I feel the need to pamper him with extra treats and stuff when he wakes up.

I started last week end :), s I can join the discussion soon !

BarbaraBrubru_gingertiger wrote: "I started last week end :), s I can join the discussion soon !"

Niice! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts :)

I have spent weeks avoiding the spoilers, and finally began reading it today. I'll open the comments only after I complete each part.

TerryJane wrote: "I have spent weeks avoiding the spoilers, and finally began reading it today. I'll open the comments only after I complete each part."

Glad to have you join us! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts :)

Enjoy, TerryJane!

I have finished Parts 1, 2, and 3 now. As with M and SarahKat, (view spoiler)[The Dreamers (Part 3) has been the most interesting for me so far. The Creek and Mice, not so much.

SarahKat, I think I saw a stone baby on a television show once. Maybe Mystery at the Museum or something like that. Strange what the human body is capable of... even without magic. (hide spoiler)]

I read about 25% and I am a bit lazy at the moment!

TerryJane wrote: "
SarahKat, I think I saw a stone b..."

I do remember seeing something similar but it was someone who had absorbed their twin in utero but the body stayed intact. Fetus in fetu I think it's called. It was also disturbing.

SarahKat, hmm. Perhaps I saw a stone baby at a brick and mortar museum and confused it with the television show.

I'm really torn on how to rate this book. On the one hand, the author did a phenomenal job with her writing to make it read like an autobiography full of research notes. It read very much like a nonfiction work to me. On the other hand, (view spoiler)[the subject matter was entirely too disturbing for me, and I don't know anyone to whom I could recommend it in good conscience, despite its excellent craftsmanship.

Yanagihara has said that her book was inspired by Nobel winner, Dr. Daniel Gajdusek, who similarly adopted dozens of children and was convicted of sexual molestation.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_...

I watched a snippet from the documentary, The Genius and the Boys, and was appalled by Gajdusek's nonchalance about sex with children. (hide spoiler)]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, fellow readers.

I agree TerryJane, (view spoiler)[I can't think of anyone I could say "you should read this!" to. The subject matter is just so horrific. I am glad I read it though. It will stick with me for a while.

I had no idea this was based on an actual guy. I skimmed that wiki article and I remember learning about kuru somewhere. It makes it worse that part actually happened. People are sick. (hide spoiler)]