Reviews tagging 'Sexual harassment'

Die geheime Geschichte, by Donna Tartt

40 reviews

kelseyr713's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• 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

2.0

I appreciated this on a technical level, but there is so little happening (in terms of plot) from page to page and it’s just not what I’m looking for in the contemporary books I read. I love this level of detail in science fiction or fantasy or speculative novels, but I don’t think it’s necessary here.

It definitely made the English Literature major part of my brain light up again though. I was thinking about essay topics as I read (the amount of character analysis alone…)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Toxic friendship, Suicide, Addiction, Toxic relationship, Homophobia, Murder, Classism, Racial slurs, and Alcohol

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Animal cruelty, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Animal death, Xenophobia, Drug use, Abandonment, Incest, Blood, Car accident, Antisemitism, Racism, Rape, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Drug abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Mental illness, Self harm, Medical content, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, and Violence

wormgirl's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Toxic friendship, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Drug use, Incest, Alcoholism, Sexism, Mental illness, Homophobia, and Grief

Minor: Antisemitism, Animal death, Toxic relationship, Classism, Sexual harassment, and Sexual content

angejasmine's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

• 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

4.25

honestly this is one of the few books i’ve read that actually lived up to its hype. i loved all of the moments where i thought “hmm that’s kinda weird” and it turned out to actually be something that was batshit crazy. i would love to re-read this and notice all the things that lead up to the main moments in the story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicide, and Sexual harassment

nicoleanthony's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Animal death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Violence, Suicide attempt, Animal cruelty, Blood, Cursing, Sexual assault, Classism, Drug use, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Incest, Murder, Racism, Rape, and Suicide

mirivii's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

I seldom engage in 300+ pages books, as I tend to be stuck with them even if I am not enjoying it –  just for the sake of finishing the story. So deciding to start The Secret History was a leap of hope.

I don't know what Donna Tartt laced these pages with ... probably cocaine? I could not put this book down. Had me reading at night, which has not happened since I was a teenager 🥴

The plot was beautifully built and her way of writing it's so captivating. Her views on how to build suspense are refreshing, and the fact that this is a 1992 novel speaks for itself.

Much like the main character Richard, the first half of the book is set up on adoring this clique of literary and elitist students. You want to (want to) be them, with them, as erudite as them. As their flaws come to light they are viewed as whimsical and exciting, just to add to the mystic aura that they project.

What I really liked: the disenchantment of Richard in the second part of the book – the way the spell was broken and just like an addict that stopped being elated by their presence, he sees the mess all around and within them. The god-adjacent portrait of the chosen humans; the analogies to classical myths; how Bunny flew too close to the sun and his fall.

What I wish we saw more of: The twins' psychology – they were both lambs until one of them turned wolf almost inexplicably. What really happened during the bacchanal and what is up with Julian.

For what concerns the bacchanal, I could even live without knowing what went down. As Richard says in the book, when he reads biographies of serial killers, they tend to fixate on the most mundane things instead of the villainous acts and desires. It could be kind of the same here – I admit that the whole bacchanal ordeal was far more fascinating to me than the murder.

Something that I cannot get over is Julian Morrow, described as this wise whisperer that fascinates the smarts and eludes the mundanes. And yet we see that he is merely a human too. How could Henry be so violently attached to such a haughty person? He could have surely seen beyond Julian's most superficial attitude and his pride. Is Julian supposed to be seen as the Christians' almighty God? Above everything, interested in nothing, incapable (or unwilling) of aid.

Anyway, glad that I stumbled upon the BBC's Donna Tartt interview as hearing her speak was what made be grab the book from my to-be-read shelf. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Mental illness, Murder, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, Drug use, Death, Gaslighting, Incest, Suicide, Classism, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Homophobia, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Blood, Racism, and Racial slurs

Minor: Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, and Car accident

nat_pinche's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

 The writing is entincingly unreliable and the characters are intricate and complex.
 At each time you read it you end up catching new details and nuances about the events that happend.
 During the reading, the purpuse of the critic against the Academia itself is almost lost as you and the narrator become enchanted with the surroundings of the university, and the eccentric greek club (which the history centers).

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Biphobia, Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, Cursing, Drug use, Racism, Racial slurs, Sexism, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Islamophobia, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Animal cruelty, Death, Animal death, Bullying, Classism, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Drug abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Incest, and Murder

May cause addicition. You will think about it for a long time. Good luck.

zoe_werdy's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

A haunting book, you know right from the start the central tragedy but how it comes about and what happens after isn't what you expect. A complicated cast of characters, distinctly unlikeable but also alluring. Interesting to read and really interesting to delve into the subculture that has sprung up around this book. I will be thinking about this book for a long time. Its so long, but already I kind of want to read it again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Drug use, Racial slurs, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Addiction, Blood, Incest, Mental illness, Classism, and Death

austenite93's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Murder, Drug abuse, Suicide, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Sexual harassment

emilyplun's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, Gun violence, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, and Sexual harassment

boston_fern420's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark 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

4.0

Oh god, what a book! The Secret History is a dark academia staple, full of classical mythology and blood.  Donna Tart's writing is dark and gripping; especially in her descriptions of the lush Vermont landscape that envelopes the campus. My favorite part was the section about their weekends at Francis' country home. The way the serenity they feel out in the woods contrasts with the darkness that looms overhead is absolutely delicious. 

As much as I enjoyed it, I do have to say it has a quite a long list of flaws. For starters, there is not a likeable to be found. The main character Richard is, to be frank, an idiot.

Spoiler

The chapter where he decides to risk freezing to death instead of taking the rest of the Greek Club's offer of lodging is incredibly irritating and I wanted to throw my book at the wall the entire time I was reading it. I also do not understand how it took him so long to realize he had joined a cult.

The rest of the Greek club is entirely comprised of pretentious, rich fucks. My least favorite was the king of homophobic-but-also-gay himself, Bunny.

Spoiler

although I of course loved the part where he's pushed off a cliff

There is also no character development; in fact I would argue that every single character regresses at least a little bit. 

The pacing is incredibly slow up until

Spoiler

Richard finds out about the murder of the farmer and Bunny is subsequently killed

. After the Big Climatic Event the pacing slows to a halt once again and the plot begins to feel a little lost. Then, out of nowhere, towards the end the plot jumps to a breakneck sprint culminating in a finale that feels very rushed and unsatisfying. It almost fells like Donna Tart knew how she wanted to begin and end this story, but was unsure of what to do in the middle. Oh, and don't even get me started on the afterword (it's dumb as fuck). 

All that said, this is still one of my favorite books. It skates by entirely on vibes and I definitely understand why someone would not like it. However, I still find myself unable to stay mad at it for too long. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Gaslighting, Murder, Sexism, Homophobia, Misogyny, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Incest