Claire Lowdon

Variations on a theme: To Paradise, by Hanya Yanagihara, reviewed

Spanning 200 years and centring on a house in Washington Square, this complex novel tells the same basic story in a myriad of ways

Hanya Yanagihara. [Alamy] 
issue 15 January 2022

My daunting brief: to tell you about Hanya Yanagihara and her new, uncategorisable 720-page novel in 550 words. It’s the book-reviewing equivalent of a heated round of Articulate. Bums on the edge of the sofa, team. Flip that egg-timer. Here goes!

American, born 1974, childhood spent largely in Hawaii. Debuted with The People in the Trees, 2013: clever, concept-led story about a fictional island whose inhabitants stumble upon the secret of extreme longevity.

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