bubblebees's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Drug use, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Grief, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Homophobia
booksandboba's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
When I first read it, I loved it, loved the writing style and character development (it was my first or one of my first encounters with writing like this), really related to descriptions of anxiety and depression, considered it my favorite book. Read it a second time and started forming doubts, particularly with noticing issues of classism and racism. Read it a third time, this time annotating heavily for themes present throughout the book (question of fate vs free will, good vs bad and moral responsibility, depression and grief vs hope, art and its beauty and importance, friendship and love, impermanence vs permanence, time, life and death) and enjoyed doing that, but in doing so realized that the book really could have been edited better. I found the ending to be sloppy and not satisfying. And the way that blatant racism is used in the book (equating East Asian and especially Chinese culture and objects with cheapness) is just appalling.
And apparently it took 10 years or more to write this book, which either means that those choices were deliberate and well-thought out, choosing to only have people of color represented in minor roles mostly as working class serving the white upper class, choosing to use racist notions to make character points, or she somehow in all that time failed to consider these choices — why she might be making them, what they mean, what sort of impact they would have — despite the clear time and attention to detail given to making this book.
Spoiler
Maybe you can claim that Theo, as a character, is racist, and that it just adds to the long list of character flaws and why we can’t trust him as a reliable narrator etc., but we already have so many examples so why would this be necessary? The racism does not directly connect to a point that needs to made either for plot or theme as far as I can see, and even if Theo as a character is just racist, that still doesn’t explain why the only people of color we encounter are in working class positions, save maybe the two social workers. (And he can’t even remember the Korean woman’s name, and just has to mention that her breath smells like garlic?)Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Blood, Death of parent, Mental illness, Murder, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Gun violence
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Car accident, Classism, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, and Homophobia
Minor: Pregnancy
marleywrites's review against another edition
Graphic: Drug abuse, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Addiction, Death of parent, Grief, and Drug use
Moderate: Abandonment, Death, Homophobia, Child death, and Islamophobia
Minor: Sexual content
finleigh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Child abuse, and Grief
Moderate: Homophobia and Suicide attempt
Minor: Racism
houseratss's review against another edition
4.0
Moderate: Homophobia and Racial slurs
capucapulet's review against another edition
5.0
Moderate: Drug use, Grief, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death of parent, Racial slurs, Gun violence, Homophobia, and Suicidal thoughts
emmawoodhouse's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Drug abuse, Death of parent, Drug use, Addiction, Alcohol, Grief, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Murder and Violence
Minor: Car accident, Suicidal thoughts, Animal cruelty, Homophobia, Trafficking, and Vomit
Spoiler
the dog stops getting neglected early on and lives a long, happy lifebugcollector's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
אבל אני לא בטוחה שזה שווה את עובי הכרך, שכלל עד הסוף המדובר רק רגשות חרדה, מועקה ודחק.
אני גם לא בטוחה אם באמת אהבתי אותו, או שהדרך הארוכה שעברנו ביחד הפעילה עליי מניפולציות.
אפשר להשוות את קריאת הספר לצפייה בסרט אימה כשאתה קטן, מכסה את העיניים אבל עדיין מציץ מבעד לאצבעות כדי לראות.
מומלץ למזוכיסטים, אוהבי אמנות, דמויות קשות לחיבוב, ותיאור יתר.
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Classism, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Murder, Violence, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Drug use, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Stalking, and Toxic relationship
bookishplantmom's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I have to say that Tartt’s attempt at showing « diversity » in the backdrop of New York was remarkably inept. Her repeated use of the N-word and constant description of BIPOC characters through stereotypes got old really quickly. I found much of her language to be outdated and problematic though I will concede that they fit the characters and era they were living in to a certain extent.
Her exploration of trauma, depression, addiction and grief were compelling and I really felt for Theo despite finding him a little daft at times. Overall this is a very well written book and I’m glad I read it.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Addiction, and Death of parent
Moderate: Homophobia and Racial slurs
nabila99's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Death of parent, Violence, Gun violence, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Grief, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Murder, Addiction, and Blood
Moderate: Homophobia, Pedophilia, Abandonment, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, Racism, and Sexism