To Paradise
A Novel
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To Paradise
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Narrated by:
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Edoardo Ballerini
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Catherine Ho
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BD Wong
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Feodor Chin
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Kurt Kanazawa
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Written by:
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Hanya Yanagihara
About this listen
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • From the award-winning, best-selling author of the classic A Little Life—a bold, brilliant novel spanning three centuries and three different versions of the American experiment, about lovers, family, loss and the elusive promise of utopia.
A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: VOGUE • ESQUIRE • NPR • GOODREADS
To Paradise is a fin de siècle novel of marvelous literary effect, but above all it is a work of emotional genius. The great power of this remarkable novel is driven by Yanagihara’s understanding of the aching desire to protect those we love—partners, lovers, children, friends, family, and even our fellow citizens—and the pain that ensues when we cannot.
In an alternate version of 1893 America, New York is part of the Free States, where people may live and love whomever they please (or so it seems). The fragile young scion of a distinguished family resists betrothal to a worthy suitor, drawn to a charming music teacher of no means. 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. And 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 disappearances.
These three sections comprise an ingenious symphony, as recurring notes and themes deepen and enrich one another: A townhouse in Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village; illness, and treatments that come at a terrible cost; wealth and squalor; the weak and the strong; race; the definition of family, and of nationhood; the dangerous righteousness of the powerful, and of revolutionaries; the longing to find a place in an earthly paradise, and the gradual realization that it can’t exist. What unites not just the characters, but these Americas, are their reckonings with the qualities that make us human: Fear. Love. Shame. Need. Loneliness.
What the critics say
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • ON PRESIDENT OBAMA’S SUMMER READING LIST
A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: VOGUE • ESQUIRE • GLAMOUR • NPR • GOODREADS • O MAGAZINE
“Remarkable…The emotional impact of this novel is less visceral than A LITTLE LIFE but only because the author’s scope is so vast and her dexterity so dazzling….TO PARADISE demonstrates the inexhaustible ingenuity of an author who keeps shattering expectations….she explores the dream of freedom that lures all these characters to risk everything for a paradise they desire but can barely envision. No matter the setting – past present or future – TO PARADISE stems from the hypnotic confluence of Yanagihara’s skills. She speaks softly, with the urgency of a whisper. She draws us into the most intimate sympathy with these characters while placing them in crises that feel irresistibly compelling.” — Ron Charles, The Washington Post
“We are given a patriarch, wealth, children; there is an arranged marriage, an inheritance, a true love, a class divide and a significant twist. Deftly paced and judiciously detailed, the tale makes hay with the conventions of the 19th-century novel. But that’s not all. With breathtaking audacity Yanagihara rewrites America….Yanagihara masterfully repurposes themes, situations and motifs…This ambitious novel tackles major American questions and answers them in an original, engrossing way. It has a major feel. But it is finally in [its] minor moments that Yanagihara shows greatness.” — Gish Jen, The New York Times Book Review (cover review)
"Tour de force…Yanagihara changes the novel landscape: What is different, we accept; what is familiar, we recognize. To Paradise resonates because of its exploration of human relationships and the dismantling of preconceived notions. Biases and hatreds lurk and linger, emerging periodically to remind us that while one form of discrimination may have been eliminated, others remain embedded in our institutions, and cannot easily be eradicated; in the end, threads of prejudice bind all three parts. And yet To Paradise is rich with characters that live and love, with few boundaries. Yanagihara asks us to consider an alternative America that could have existed at any point in history if other decisions had been made, and that might still prevail if we do the right thing." — Oprah Daily
What listeners say about To Paradise
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- ollie
- 2022-02-22
An ambitious story
decided to make ‘To Paradise’ my first Yanagihara read to avoid comparing it to ‘A Little Life’ at every turn. This novel is ambitious and demands a significant amount of patience from the reader. At just over 700 pages, I repeatedly asked myself “what is she getting at?” and “I don’t see how the pieces click together”? Although it loses steam towards the middle and the atmosphere change between sections feels abrupt, I’m glad I stuck with it until the very end because Part III is where I felt the grandeur of this story.
I’d categorize ‘To Paradise’ as speculative fiction with a touch of historical fiction (part I) and dystopian sci-fi (part III). The book is split into 3 parts spanning 200 years: part I taking place in 1893, part II in 1993, and part III in 2093. In each of these sections, Yanagihara distorts aspects of American history to ask : What is America? Who writes history, and who is written out of it? Is America rotten to the core, and is there anything we can do about it?
At first, the only obvious connection between the sections is the recycling of names. As I tried to keep track of who is who and how, if at all, they are related, I felt the weight of each name grow heavier with each reappearance. By the time I reached part III, I was anxious for each name to appear to me once more, carrying a charged history born anew. Apart from the names, there are several themes and motifs that rotate through each section. There’s the discussion of marriage as either an institution or an act of love, of class, social structure and political systems, legacy, identity, race, and illness; essentially, Yanagihara plays around with all forces that challenge or act in direct opposition to humanity.
The dystopia presented in the final part is unsettling, especially knowing that Yanagihara drafted this book before the start of the pandemic. Part III acts as an ecological parable reinforcing the key themes from parts I and II but also asking the reader to dig deeper into the core of this story. Dropped into a totalitarian version of New York, the history of multiple pandemics plaguing the Free States is explained in the form of correspondence from a scientist working on infectious disease. Through his letters he shows how humanity has morphed, resisted, or been extinguished entirely. But even as this altered version of our world is propelled into a dark future, there remains a willingness, although dimmed by time and failed systems, to make amends and to continue to strive to paradise
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Louise
- 2022-08-14
This is a long but but you must finish it
A beautiful story that must be finished to fully appreciate. I would have t assume a tie between California and Hawaii but it wasn’t clear
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Guy G. Gammon
- 2022-01-28
Hope ?...Maybe
Enjoyed the uncertainty that prevails throughout the novel. Will David find love? Will Charlie escape? Will the world survive? If the pandemic didn't frighten you enough, the inevitability
of future diseases and their impact on us will leave you shaken. Excellent performances by all.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Dennaoui
- 2022-02-12
Boring
Couldnt get past the third chapter no matter what i tried . Skip this one and dolnt waste ur breath
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Fraser Simons
- 2022-01-15
Ambitious, Riddled With Issues
While the thematic connect feels managed by all three parts, across 5 narrators, in worlds possibly connected (we’ll never know, since the author focuses on the granular human experience and does perfunctory worldbuilding), there are numerous structural issues.
Primarily, with the change in styles from each, the middle section is just lacking prose wise, and the subject matter less well handled. It was an absolute grind to get through. In the third section, the voice is most captivating for the epistolary account, yet the form is bay far the most contrived, especially when attempting to convey world building in sloppy ways (as you know:, etc.). But the section as a whole manages to draw together the thematic intent quite well. And we actually feel situated in the time, unlike the previous two sections.
So, if you are solely interested in granular human interactions and thematic connective tissue, I think you’d like this very much. The narration ranges from good to excellent across the board. If you need description of the world and for the world building to be well handled, and want a practical way of connecting each section, you will absolutely not get on with this. It has sophomoric issues you see with sci-fi novels combined with literary issues, such as being unable to figure out how to do exposition in an organic manner. If you are a theme reader, it’s gold. If you’re a character reader, it’ll be a mix, I think. And if you’re a plot reader you will probably hate it, as the stories exist merely for thematic attempt. If you require all three to be adequate: Run.
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2 people found this helpful