UnCovered review by Collette Jones, Librarian, ACLS Pleasantville Branch
Hanya Yanagihara novels can feel unsettling and miserable and evoke a luxurious, suffering emotion. A discomfort lingers around Yanagihara’s To Paradise. It is a big book with a lot of pain. In interviews, Yanagihara has described her central theme as the duality between the dullness of safety and the flamboyance of danger. Her books are designed to play these two elements against each other: from the individual and also from a society impact point of view. The structure is complicated and messy. To Paradise is made up of three sections: one novella, one set of paired short stories, and one final novel. All take place in the same townhouse in New York’s Washington Square at hundred-year intervals, and all concern a cast of characters with the same names. At the center of each section are David, Edward, and Charles or Charlie.
In 1893, David is a wealthy young man of society in a world where gay marriage is legal, in love with poor and charming Edward but betrothed to rich and respectable Charles. In 1993, there are two Davids: one a young man in New York, living with his wealthy older lover Charles, and David’s father, living in Hawaii, in an abusive relationship with impoverished Edward. In 2093, the protagonist is a young woman named Charlie, who lives in a dystopian New York ravished by pandemics, in a loveless marriage with Edward and fascinated by a mysterious stranger named David. The impossibility of finding any continuity between the various Davids is perplexing. But, while it’s true that none of the characters of To Paradise are the same from section to section despite their shared names, there is coherence. The Davids are generally the protagonists of each section, laboring to choose between a life of safety and order and a life of danger and excitement. Most compelling about these books, what makes them so readable, is at the same time that they are so grotesque in their tragedies, especially Yanagihara’s depictions of pain and torment, they can come across as sensational playing of characters that never quite fit into the real world.
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UnCovered review by Marina Smolens, ACLS Brigantine Branch
Kristen Radtke’s Seek
You is a much-needed meditation on the evolution of
loneliness in America and what it could mean for us. Scientific research, as
well as personal anecdotes, come together in an alchemical blend to create an
engaging reading experience that speaks to something we all know on an intimate
level, prior to the pandemic but maybe even more so after its effects: the
feeling of being isolated. From the lone cowboy of the Wild West to online
chatrooms to the cuddle industry to Harry Harlow’s tortured monkeys, Radtke takes
us on a journey through American loneliness and brings to light pertinent
questions of our time. Is technology bringing us closer or further apart? Is
loneliness inherent to the human condition? How does it affect our health? And
how can we make the distance between us feel less vast? The very existence of
this book answers the last question at least. Sharing your story and the
stories of others has always been a way for us to reach out across the void.
Knowing your experience is not local to you, but something that is shared among
many of us, can help bring the world in a little closer. This book is like a
friendly wink from a stranger, acknowledging you are a real human being who
deserves to be seen.
The book is written in the style of a graphic novel, so, not only is it stimulating to the mind, but also to the eye. The illustrations are fun and bring life to the words, providing an even bigger impact. This is a book you can read in one sitting and come back to again and again, like the gentle squeeze of a friend’s hand reminding you they are still there.