Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Die geheime Geschichte, by Donna Tartt

449 reviews

bubaubz's review against another edition

dark mysterious

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol

Moderate: Alcoholism, Violence, Murder, and Suicide

Minor: Incest, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Racial slurs, and Racism

larajuliette_c's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Homophobia, Animal cruelty, Incest, and Drug abuse

Minor: Physical abuse, Addiction, Alcohol, Suicide, Rape, Misogyny, and Alcoholism

rosaleekarisma's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Death

Moderate: Racial slurs, Gaslighting, Antisemitism, Grief, Homophobia, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Addiction, Incest, Medical content, Violence, Religious bigotry, Racism, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Self harm, Domestic abuse, Gore, Grief, Infidelity, Rape, Toxic relationship, Blood, Car accident, and Death of parent

intrusive thoughts

hefftbundle's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

It wasn't at all what I expected, and probably not something I'd revisit. Well-written, to be sure.


It is an excruciatingly slow book, but hard to put down. You want to know how it will end, even when you can guess at some parts. If you can hang on until the second half, it picks up in interest, but it still moves just as slow. Until about the last 50 pages, when it picks you up, spins you around, slaps you for good measure, and then gently sits you down and bids you a pleasant evening. 

It has all the academic atmosphere and intrigue of Dead Poet's Society, and all the self-absorption and drudgery of Catcher in the Rye. If you like Salinger, you'll probably like this.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Islamophobia, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Violence, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Grief, Racial slurs, Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Antisemitism, Classism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug use, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Murder, Toxic friendship, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Rape

vagrantheather's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Love love love love everything about this novel. The people are people in a way most authors just can't nail. Each character feels fleshed out and real, flickering between genuine warmth and cold, snide, abrasive attitudes; they have real feeling motivations, unacknowledged biases. Not only is the narrator unreliable, but each of the people he speaks to is similarly conveying a version of events filtered through that character's lens. The prose is beautiful in a subtle manner. The setting, the whole vibe of late 80s college life, is executed flawlessly. I will buy this book and read it a half dozen more times.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Suicide, Murder, Alcohol, Death, and Drug use

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Classism, Incest, Blood, and Cursing

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders

konstantina's review against another edition

challenging dark funny reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Reading language: Greek 

I hope we're all ready to leave the phenomenal world, and enter into the sublime?

I don't know what to say about this bizzare, yet beautiful book. I didn't love it, I didn't hate it. It's one of those books that leave you looking at the wall with a blank stare. Reading it in Greek certainly made the experience more poetic.

I don't think it deserves 5 stars but it was such a unique one for me, that I would feel weird giving it anything else. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Murder, Alcohol, Death, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Grief, Homophobia, and Incest

Minor: Islamophobia, Car accident, Racial slurs, Antisemitism, and Classism

nicoleme1212's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Mental illness, Misogyny, Suicide, Drug use, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Murder, Addiction, Bullying, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Toxic friendship, and Sexism

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Antisemitism, Gaslighting, Blood, Chronic illness, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Death of parent and Eating disorder

jorloucooper's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

My only wish is that book 2 onwards kept the same pace as the first, it slowed towards the end and I found myself skim reading. It was still very enjoyable though!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug use, Islamophobia, Murder, Alcoholism, Death, Blood, Racial slurs, Racism, and Alcohol

Moderate: Self harm, Incest, and Suicide attempt

runefactories's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Alcohol, Homophobia, Violence, Drug abuse, and Drug use

Moderate: Animal death, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Self harm, Incest, and Suicide

marzipanbm's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Murder, Drug abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Alcohol, Homophobia, Suicide attempt, Drug use, Alcoholism, and Antisemitism

Moderate: Racial slurs, Vomit, Incest, Homophobia, and Misogyny

Minor: Rape