The People in the Trees

By Hanya Yanagihara

Book Overview

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 latest bestselling novel, To Paradise.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0345803310
• ISBN13: 9780345803313
• Release Date: May 2014
• Publisher: Vintage
• Length: 496 Pages
• Weight: 0.83 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.1" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

Hard to put down, hard to forget

This book meaningfully weaves themes of colonialism, science, and family and provides an engrossing experience as both a story of scientific discovery and the personal and ethical collapses that follow success. It barely counts as science fiction to me. The mystery of who this great scientist is and what he could have done pervades every line and makes for a very dark but compelling narrative throughout.