To Paradise

By: Hanya Yanagihara

Narrated by: BD Wong, Catherine Ho, Edoardo Ballerini, Feodor Chin, Kurt Kanazawa

Length: 28 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

The No. 1 Sunday Times bestseller from the author of A Little Life

'I’m not sure I’ve ever missed the world of a book as much' – The Observer

To Paradise is a bold, brilliant novel spanning three centuries and three different versions of the elusive idea of utopia; driven by Hanya Yanagihara’s understanding of our desire to protect those we love – lovers, children, friends, family and even our fellow citizens – and the pain that ensues when we cannot.

In an alternate version of 1893 America, New York is part of the Free States, where people may live and love as they please (or so it seems).

In a 1993 Manhattan besieged by the AIDS epidemic, a young Hawaiian man lives with his much older, wealthier partner, hiding his troubled childhood and the fate of his father.

In 2093, in a world torn apart by plagues and governed by totalitarian rule, a powerful scientist’s damaged granddaughter tries to navigate life without him – and solve the mystery of her husband’s disappearance.

What unites these characters, and these Americas, are their reckonings with the qualities that make us human – fear, love, shame, loneliness – and the longing to find a place in an earthly paradise.

‘Not only rare . . . revolutionary’ – Michael Cunningham, author of The Hours

‘Prepare to weep in public and be utterly transformed’ – Stylist

©2022 Hanya Yanagihara (P)2022 Penguin Randomhouse LLC

Intriguing and worth listening to

Unsettling, but something we should all listen to. I loved the writing and the performances.

Mmmmm

Can’t exactly say if I thought this a great read but i am certainly sure that I’m pleased I listened to it. It was interesting, thought provoking and daunting. Pleased I won’t be around in 2093.

Brilliant and infuriating

3.5 stars.

I absolutely loved the stories especially part 3. I was hooked. Yet there were 2 aspects that REALLY annoyed me:
1. She used the same character names across all 3 stories/parts even though they were absolutely unrelated. I find this pointless and irritating especially in keeping track of the complexity if each story.
2. Part 1 and 2 ended abruptly on an absolute precipice. I was left dangling with no inkling of the outcome of the story. It feels unfinished more than thought provoking.
I wouldn't recommend the book because of these 3 aspects. I'm left feeling incomplete rather than satisfied or even dissatisfied with the novel.