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The People in the Trees

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Description

A thrilling anthropological adventure story with a profound and tragic vision of what happens when cultures collide—from the bestselling author of National Book Award–nominated modern classic, A Little Life “Provokes discussions about science, morality and our obsession with youth.” —Chicago Tribune It is 1950 when Norton Perina, a young doctor, embarks on an expedition to a remote Micronesian island in search of a rumored lost tribe. There he encounters a strange group of forest dwellers who appear to have attained a form of immortality that preserves the body but not the mind. Perina uncovers their secret and returns with it to America, where he soon finds great success. But his discovery has come at a terrible cost, not only for the islanders, but for Perina himself. Look for Hanya Yanagihara’s bestselling new novel, To Paradise, available now. Read more


Publisher ‏ : ‎ Anchor; Reprint edition (May 6, 2014)


Language ‏ : ‎ English


Paperback ‏ : ‎ 496 pages


ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 3


ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 13


Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12.8 ounces


Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.2 x 1 x 8 inches


Best Sellers Rank: #95,055 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #538 in Cultural Heritage Fiction #6,281 in American Literature (Books) #6,757 in Literary Fiction (Books)


#538 in Cultural Heritage Fiction:


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Top Amazon Reviews

    • A Strong Debut Novel About a Cunning Narcissist
After reading "A Little Life", Hanya Yanagihara's second novel, my favorite book in a look time and a story that totally captivated me, I was ready to devour her debut novel, "The People in the Trees". I didn't come to the story with any knowledge of the real life individual that the core of this books was based upon, only learning more once I finished the story. The book is written in the form of memoirs from Dr. Norton Perina, rationalizing his life, brilliance and ultimate demise (alluded to in the very beginning of the book). After medical school in 1950, Perina travels to a small islands near Micronesia with two anthropologists to study a "lost people". It is on these islands where he makes a profound discovery --- certain tribal members ("The Dreamers") live 5 to 6 times normal human life spans, remaining physically healthy while ultimately losing mental capacity --- that leads to his Nobel Prize in 1974. Perina discovers this condition is the result of eating an indigenous turtle, the Opa'ivu'eke. While on the island, he decides to bring back four "Dreamers" and turtle meat to conduct studies and validate his hypothesis. During his initial time on the island, we begin to see the see the darker side of Perina shine through --- his arrogance, both toward the native culture and his American anthropologist partners, Tallent and Duff, who he views with scorn and disdain. Upon his return to the US, Perina conducts his research, publishes his findings and generally castigates those who questioned him and his findings until they were replicated by a more recognized scientists. Over time, Perina continues making bi-annual trips and adopting native children as the size of his "family" swells to over 40. His motivations are never super-explicit, although his conceit starts to surface as he becomes more famous and older, in the form of saving the savages by acculturating them into Western life. By the final chapter of Perina's memoir, his narcissism and egomaniacal nature fully bubble to the surface. While I enjoyed this novel, I don't believe it approaches the brilliance of "A Little Life". The first 50-75 pages were a little slow and I didn't emotionally connect with any of the characters like in her other novel. Also, I felt the overall pacing of the book was a little uneven and found my mind wandering throughout several sections. I'll profess to prefer novels that tackle tough and controversial subjects. Unlike some other reviewers, I don't believe Yanagihara some of the touchier items in a gratuitous manner. If people prefer uplifting subject matter, books that avoid deeply flawed characters or non-Western based cultural norms, they should do research beforehand and choose other books to read. I did appreciate Yanagihara's ability to write the novel in memoir form, striking the delicate balance of allowing Perina to both tell his story in his own self-serving way while ensuring his hubris and arrogant nature came through. One thing I regret is having read an Amazon review before starting the book that ruined the ending for me. As a result, I was even more attuned to the duplictious nature of Perina than I otherwise would have been. This was definitely a great debut novel that announced Yanagihara as an author to pay attention to and she certainly didn't disappoint with her second effort, "A Little Life". I'll be anxiously awaiting her next effort and definitely will start reading it as soon as it is released. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2015 by William Capodanno
    • I did not like this book at all and reading it to the ...
I did not like this book at all and reading it to the end was difficult. This book is based upon a true story but is, nevertheless, a work of fiction. Saying that, it is to be understood that the story is one of the author's choosing. No publisher would invest in a writer that has no talent so it goes without saying that this author does have talent. What is not understood is why she used that talent to tell a story like this. There is definitely a story, maybe several, worth telling in these facts but I found this story to be tedious, aggravating, and in several key places implausible. The story is about a young physician invited on an anthropological expedition to a South Pacific island to find an undiscovered island tribe. The tribe is found and the doctor makes a discovery about them that eventually leads to winning a Nobel prize. Over the course of subsequent decades the doctor adopts 43 of the island children. Near the end of his professional career one of his adopted children accuses the doctor of sexual molestation. The doctor is tried, convicted, and sentenced to prison for two years. While in prison one of the doctor's loyal former lab assistants convinces him to use his time in prison to write his autobiography. The former colleague agrees to read and edit the doctor's efforts. In a clever technique employed by the author this book is to be viewed as the doctor's draft as being reviewed by his editing friend. The friend also adds through footnotes comments and additional information which adds an air of authenticity to the book and detracts from its fictional reality. Now, what's wrong with the book? First, the doctor and his friend are entirely unsympathetic. The doctor is a convicted child molester. Can we find anyone less sympathetic? Next, the doctor throughout his life is an arrogant, elitist, snob. The friend goes so far as to suggest that the doctor's Nobel should render him immune from such accusations since he is too valuable. Really? So the characters are unappealing in any manner. Lets now discuss the plausibility problems. This doctor makes repeated visits to the island and removes children without documentation of any sort. The children suffer from a host of medical problems including communicable diseases yet he just brings them home with no problems. I cannot imagine our Immigration Service was ever so lax as to allow any citizen to bring undocumented children suffering from undiagnosed tropical maladies into this country without question. Next, the criminal case. I am a retired criminal lawyer and have defended numerous people charged with crimes like this. Based on what was given I find it highly improbable and maybe impossible that he would have been convicted. The boy making the accusation did not do so until he had left the doctor's home and gone away to college. It is highly likely that the events complained of took place beyond the statute of limitations and even had they occurred no prosecution would have been possible. Further, this was one boy of 43 children adopted over many years with a number of them grown to adulthood with children of their own. No police investigation would fail to interview all the other children as molesters tend to be habitual offenders. The fact that the doctor was highly regarded Nobel Prize winner and there were no other accusations from other children and this child had a significant reason to fabricate made prosecution very unlikely. What I found particularly sad was the missed opportunities this story presented. The clash of cultures; the mindless pursuit of youth, of greed, of ambition were all very ripe for illustration yet were ignored. Instead we got a story about a self-centered jerk, the destruction of a primitive culture, and the exploitation of children and all for no purpose. Not a fun read at all. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on July 7, 2015 by D. Eppenstein
    • Not what I was expecting
Honestly didn’t finish this book. I read it for book club, and all of us weren’t impressed. Beautiful description, but very disturbing subject matter.
Reviewed in the United States on October 8, 2022 by Krista Halloran

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