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Content snapshot
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Violence
Some
Implied violence; scientific exploitation
Language
None
No profanity
Sexual Content
A lot
Sexual abuse of minors (thematically central to the novel)
Substance Use
None
No substance use
Emotional Intensity
A lot
Profound moral discomfort; the narrator's crimes are unresolved and disturbing
What this book is about
Yanagihara's 2013 debut novel is narrated by Dr. Norton Perina, a Nobel-winning scientist who discovered a tribe with extreme longevity and is later convicted of the sexual abuse of children. Features depictions of pedophilia (not graphic but thematically central), scientific ethics, and moral complexity. Adults only.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
Sexual abuse of children as central theme
Unreliable narrator who is a pedophile
Reader Verification
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