A sad figure from a once proud family, the father’s story encompasses colonialism, the annexation of Hawaii and the overthrowing of its monarchy. He’s informed that his estranged father is dying. Story two is set in 1993, where a young paralegal ensconced with an older man feels disconnected, as he’s racially and generationally different from those in his circle. A young man falls in love with a colleague of lower class, shunning a suitor chosen by his grandfather. NYC is part of the ‘Free States’, a region that allows gay marriage, educational equality and religious freedom. Hanya Yanagihara’s employment of geographical and naming touchstones is clever it forces the reader to reset and adopt a new mindset about these protagonists, while still anchoring them in the same space, albeit at different times. Locational echoes and characters’ names recur from one story to the next, as if they are reincarnated or reimagined from the first to the last tale. Set in an alternative America, this is a novel of three parts, its narratives traversing a slew of human experience and emotion. In fact, it’s impossible for me to praise To Paradise enough. This highly anticipated follow-up to 2015’s A Little Life is an epic tour de force.
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