There are a plethora of topics Yanagihara circles back to a few times in these three narratives. The last novel - a somewhat dystopian narrative where there is a totalitarian government and the world is in shambles due to various plagues - takes place at various times between 20, also in New York, and follows the granddaughter of a scientist as she learns to cope with the loss of her grandfather and tries to get to the bottom of her husband's disappearance. The second novel takes place in Manhattan in 1993, where a young paralegal tries to hide his past from his much older and very wealthy partner as the AIDS pandemic rages on. He struggles with a prearranged marriage and instead falls in love with a mysterious piano player who lives in a dilapidated apartment - and may or may not be planning to steal his fortune.

The first one takes place in 1893 in an alternate America and follows David, a rich young man from a well-known family who lives in the shadow of his grandfather while dreaming of finding freedom and making his own path in life. However, these things are all wrapped in 720 pages of small details, loose ends, and narratives within narratives that ultimately make the novel feel like a bit too much. Hanya Yanagihara's To Paradise defies categorization.Īt once a novel that reimagines the world three times and a collection of barely interconnected novels about different people in some of the same places, the book deals with themes like LGBTQ+ relationships in different times and contexts, racism, pandemics, loss, unrequited love, and family.

'I’m not sure I’ve ever missed the world of a book as much' - Observer What unites these characters, and these Americas, are their reckonings with the qualities that make us human – fear, love, shame, need, loneliness – and the longing to find a place in an earthly paradise. In 2093, in a world riven 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. 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 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). 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. The No.1 Sunday Times bestseller from the author of A Little Life.

Hanya yanagihara to paradise paperback