The People in the Trees

Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses the sexual assault and rape of children, suicide, cultural appropriation, and colonialism.

Accused by one of his adopted sons, Dr. Abraham Norton Perina faces charges of rape, statutory rape, sexual assault, and endangering a minor. Dr. Perina is famous for his discovery of Selene Syndrome, an affliction that stops the aging of the body but not the mind. He made this discovery among the Opa’ivu’eke people of Ivu’ivu, one of the islands of the Micronesian nation of U’ivu. Over the course of his many visits to the islands, Dr. Perina adopted a total of 43 children. He denies the allegations, and his colleague, Dr. Ronald Kubodera, is one of his staunchest defenders.

Dr. Norton Perina is found guilty and sentenced to 24 months in prison.

Dr. Ronald Kubodera is a close friend and colleague of Dr. Perina (hereafter referred to as Norton) and is a prominent public defender of Norton’s work and character. Kubodera maintains contact with Norton while the latter is in prison. About halfway through Norton’s sentence, Kubodera suggests that he write his memoirs to help combat the intense boredom he experiences.