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Reviews tagging 'Pandemic/Epidemic'

To Paradise by Hanya Yanagihara

22 reviews

asourceoffiction's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

There are a lot of themes (and character traits) that run through every section of To Paradise, but the one that sticks with me is ambiguous endings. Frustratingly so, but also very clever because I can't stop thinking about them - and part III in particular.

I also think it's interesting that parts I and II - which make up the first half of the book - took me three weeks to read. Part III - the second half on its own - I devoured in three days. It's not that the first two parts weren't beautifully written or interesting stories. But they were slow, and I quite often just didn't understand the point. And while there were some brilliant characters, some of them did start to grate on me a little.

But part III? That has haunted me, burrowed its way into my brain in true Yanagihara style. It's alarming how easily you can imagine this version of the future in a post-Covid world. And because of the nature of this society it takes a lot to gain any small nugget of information about the characters, so when I did (and when it connected to the past stories), I treasured them. The moral implications of Charles's decisions and their repurcussions could be endlessly discussed, and I still don't know who was on the right side. But it's bleak, brutal and at times strangely beautiful.

Having sat with this book for a few days, I think ultimately parts I and II were necessary, if only to enhance part III - which really does all the heavy lifting. There are so many tiny connections (and some that smack you right in the face), I almost want to go back and start again knowing what I do now. But I can't help wondering if I would've enjoyed part III as much if it stood on its own. One thing's for sure: it might not be A Little Life, but To Paradise is in my head.
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antidietleah's review against another edition

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emotional sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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cjones12's review against another edition

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slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

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mandi_lea's review against another edition

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challenging emotional mysterious sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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dativa's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

incredible.
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nicoleisalwaysreading's review against another edition

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challenging emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
 A colossus that I think only Hanya Yanagihara could give us. A Little Life's strongest quality is the way it champions friendship and its complexities, but in To Paradise, she presents friendship as both necessary and a salvation while fickle and inconsistent. Her characters either can't decide if they believe in people, or their actions show that how we connect with and cherish people are all we have in common. The threads through the stories are that of love and its contours. We have romance, delusion, and disease. 
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diana_35's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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craftyanty's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

This is a beast of a book!  It's HEAVY in more ways than one. I'm pretty sure a good deal of it went over my head, and I didn't love the organization of it. In fact, I almost DNFed it during the second quarter, but ultimately, I'm glad I didn't. 

Once I began to see how the characters were connected, it began to make more sense.  The different perspectives on society over time were imaginative and well thought out. It's actually a very thought-provoking look at society and government that could make for some great discussion. I often wanted to highlight huge sections but didn't want to stop listening to do it. The audio narration was well-executed. 
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himpersonal's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Another sadly beautiful book, it is it a beautifully sad book?, by Hanya Yanagihara. Haunting. It’ll start with me a long time, just like A little Life. Grateful to have read it.
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becksusername's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I'm crying in a coffeeshop.
I want to know if they made it to paradise - all of them. Even the first David, who was a spoiled brat. But especially Charlie
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