AUDIO

The People in the Trees

by Hanya Yanagihara
13 CDs. retail ed. unabridged. 16½ hrs. Dreamscape Media. 2013. ISBN 9781624066955. $47.99; 2 MP3-CDs. retail ed.; digital download. F
COPY ISBN
Yanagihara's immersive debut, many years in the making, charts the trajectory of a Nobel laureate's reputation and subtly underscores the inadvisability of equating status with credibility. Consequent to discovering the source of a Micronesian tribe's unique longevity, Dr. Norton Perina gains significant power over more than one fragile domain whose future ultimately hinges upon his integrity. Within such worlds—pristine jungles, sterile labs, guileless native settlements, wary academic environs, his bizarrely assembled household—Perina's interactions propel the narrative toward admonitions against the hubris of scientific adventuring. News articles and footnotes effectively read by Erin Yuen and William Roberts grace Arthur Morey's suave, accomplished rendering of Perina's memoir.
VERDICT Recommended for all literary fiction listeners, followers of Barbara Kingsolver, and fans of Mark Helprin's Memoir from Antproof Case. ["Yanagihara's work, which appears to be loosely based on the life of Nobel Prize-winning scientist Daniel Carleton Gajdusek, is fast-moving and intriguing, although it does darken toward the end," read the review of the Doubleday hc, LJ 5/1/13.—Ed.]
Reviewed by Linda Sappenfield, Round Rock P.L., TX , Jan 01, 2014
Comment Policy:
  • Be respectful, and do not attack the author, people mentioned in the article, or other commenters. Take on the idea, not the messenger.
  • Don't use obscene, profane, or vulgar language.
  • Stay on point. Comments that stray from the topic at hand may be deleted.
  • Comments may be republished in print, online, or other forms of media.
  • If you see something objectionable, please let us know. Once a comment has been flagged, a staff member will investigate.

RELATED 

MEDIA

A Year of Last Things: Poems
by Ondaatje, Michael
MEDIA

Greta & Valdin
by Reilly, Rebecca K
MEDIA

The Sisters of Belfast
by Maure, Melanie
MEDIA

The Blueprint
by Rashad, Rae Giana
MEDIA

This Spells Love
by Robb, Kate
MEDIA

Last Seen in Havana
by Dovalpage, Teresa
More
ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?

We are currently offering this content for free. Sign up now to activate your personal profile, where you can save articles for future viewing

ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?