To Paradise

To Paradise, published in 2022, is the third novel by American novelist Hanya Yanagihara. After the significant critical and commercial success of Yanagihara’s second novel, A Little Life, To Paradise was hotly anticipated; it was a bestseller but received generally more mixed reviews. The novel engages with themes of masculinity, class, and emotional connection and betrayal; it develops these themes within a complex structure including reimagined accounts of American history and a dystopian future in which humanity is imperiled by contagious viruses. Yanagihara is part Hawaiian and grew up between Hawaii and the mainland US, and Hawaiian culture and postcolonial politics play a large role in To Paradise.

This guide references the 2022 McClelland & Stewart edition.

Content Warning: This guide includes discussion of racism, anti-gay bias, and sexual assault.

Plot Summary

The first section of the novel takes place between autumn 1893 and spring 1894, in an alternative version of American history. In this alternate reality, America is divided between the Free States (in the North), the Colonies (in the South), and America (largely the Midwest). In the Free States, marriage equality is legal and accepted. David Bingham lives in a lavish mansion in New York City with his grandfather; he comes from an illustrious, powerful, and wealthy family.