The People in the Trees (Hanya Yanagihara)

After reviewing almost 200 books on 1776books, Hanya Yanagihara's debut novel, The People in the Trees, has proven to be the most difficult one to write. I try my absolute best to have an open mind and give every book a totally fair review.  So while many reviewers on Goodreads have given this novel  poor write-ups because of its dark, repulsive subject matter, I firmly believe that a reviewer should critique the book's writing and story as a whole, trying not to let their personal viewpoints affect them.  So my beef with The People in the Trees isn't with the disgusting revelations per se but that they seemed so disjointed with the rest of the book; therefore, seeming to have no place in it.

Even though The People in the Trees is based loosely on a true story, Yanagihara tries hard to make the reader forget that this particular work is fiction.  During a brief, biased introduction by Dr. Norton Perina's colleague/editor Ronald Kubodera, we find out that Perina has been sent to jail for child molestation.  He is encouraged to write his memoirs as a world-renowned, Nobel Prize winning scientist behind bars, and so begins the reader's journey through his life story (with footnotes by Kubodera).  As a young man out of medical school, Perina was asked to go to a far-away island to find inhabitants who were rumored to have eternal life.  This, in itself, is fascinating, and the type of book I thought I was getting based on the synopsis.  Perina ingrained himself with the island villagers, but his adventures also bring up many ethical questions (again, great for discussion).  Throughout his many island visits throughout his life, he kept adopting children there and bringing them home.  It's here where the book gets incredibly disturbing but also very disconnected from the rest of the narrative.

Yanagihara's writing style is filled with beautiful language, and if she had just stayed with the question of eternal life, that would have made for an enchanting read.  Unfortunately, she chose to create something else entirely, and this repulsive part did not fit in with the rest of the book.

MY RATING - 2

The Forgers (Bradford Morrow)

Hollywood always seems to have a love affair with big-budget movies featuring lots of high-speed chases and super-loud explosions.  If you're lucky, these films can sometimes even be a little suspenseful and have you hanging on the edge of your seat.  For me though (and other bookish individuals I know), literary thrillers can have just as much suspense as those types of movies, and Bradford Morrow's The Forgers definitely has its share of page-turning action.  What a movie this would make (I see either Ryan – Gosling or Reynolds - as the lead character)!  But knowing the film world, I doubt they would even consider it.

Will, our narrator, has never known a life outside of rare books and manuscripts, and it seems natural that he would turn to the lucrative business of forging.  After being caught (of course), he eventually gets his life back together with Meghan, a bookseller who he meets through Adam, her brother.  Adam is also thought to be in the "business" and is murdered possibly because of it.  Morrow crafts a tale of intrigue and backstabbing in this literary environment, with the final puzzle pieces not being placed until the very last pages.

There's nothing I like more than an unreliable narrator, and The Forgers definitely has one in Will.  He tells his story in his own sweet time, and the plot can seem slow paced.  Sometimes I wasn't even sure if the answers would all come by the end, but when they finally did, they came with a bang.  I even had to reread a few pages to make sure that I really read what I thought I had just read.

So no, Hollywood, there aren't any explosions per se in The Forgers, but boy, is there ever suspense.  Highly recommended.

MY RATING - 4