Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

8 reviews

lisa_m's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book was definitely something. It was way longer than I expected it to be and also quite slow paced but for some reason I still could not put it down. I read it in pretty much a day. It was kind of like a train crash you can't look away from but not because it's bad, just because it's so insane.

The story gets told to us by Richard who is the new guy and through whom we get to know the other protagonists. The setting and the whole group of strange classics students is very intriguing and you just want to know more about them. But as the story continues their behaviour becomes stranger and stranger.

So much is happening that I don't even know how to properly summarise my thoughts on this book. I think the easiest would be to talk about each character individually:

- Bunny:

I have to say that I did not like Bunny. I did not like any of the characters really but they still intruiged me. Bunny though is pretty much the exact person I would hate to be confronted with in reallife. He is manipulative, selfish, elitist and very prejudiced. We find out right in the beginning that by the end of the story, he will be dead and I can't say I was very unhappy about that. He is the first one who actually talks to Richard and includes him but after that good first impression it pretty much just went downhill. I feel bad for him, not just because of his family and upbringing but also because he was murdered by his best friends. I wish we got to read the message he left for Julian in full. He seemed so desperate and scared (and for good reason) After all the bad things he said and did, it humanised him to me again.

- Richard:

He is new and wants to fit in with the others in the group very badly. He is a very morally grey person. As a reader we are automatically sympathetic to him because we learn about everything from his perspective. Still I do not like him.

- Camilla and Charles:

I can only talk about the twins as a pair. Honestly for the majority of the book they were my favourites. Yes they were complicated and also involved in the insanity going on but they were kind and very welcoming to Richard. At least to me the further development of their characters was very surprising. Charles goes completely off the rails and I can't fully merge the kind Charles we get to know in the beginning with the reckless driver-sleeps with and abuses his sister-alcoholic-irrational-tries to shoot someone with a gun-Charles he is towards the end. Camilla was also quite different when I first read about her. To me she was a sort of Artemis figure like how she is described during the Bacchanal. I didn't like how later in the book instead of developing her character individually she just becomes this romantasised love-interest to pretty much everyone except Francis. I didn't like that she was just depicted as this callous woman who likes making people fall in love with her. I also don't believe she was actually in love with Henry. He rescued her from a terrible situation but I don't think he is capable of love. I think he was obsessed with her and very much liked to possess her and she knew that too.
The incestuous relationship between the twins was teased a couple of times but even though I was supicious of it I liked them too much to actually think it was happening. When they kissed in front of Richard I was very shocked. But even more so when Camilla tells him that she is scared of Charles and that he abuses her. I saw that coming even less with how close they seemed to be.

- Francis:

I felt quite bad for Francis a lot of the times. Not only was one of his best friends a raging homophobe who he can't even be alone with for that reason, the boy he actually likes pretends nothing is happening between them and prefers to sleep with his own sister. He is also so stressed about everything happening he has a panic attack and later tries to kill himself. Still through all of that he is not a good person either. (None of them are).

- Henry:

Oh Henry. He's a complicated one. I was very intruiged by him in the beginning as well. He was my second favourite after the twins. Not only is he very generous he's also very focused on his studies which seem to be everything to him. He's clearly very intelligent but in the beginning you don't see that as a bad thing. The more the story continued though, the more I started to doubt him. Many things about him never get explained. He clearly is a psychopath and a very dangerous one too. He's the only one who actually kills anyone. The others were just there and so loyal to him they didn't turn him in. I don't think I will ever fully understand him. Did he leave the plane tickets out for Richard to find? It seems like a stupid oversight that's very unlike Henry. I think he wanted Richard to know. I don't understand why he killed himself. Did he really think he would survive? I don't think it was because of anything like remorse. What was the actual relationship between Henry and Julian? It was way closer than between Julian and the other students but we never find out.
I'm also very curious if Henry would have continued killing if he hadn't died. I really think he would have. He said himself that he enjoyed it and he was the one doing the actual killing. Also even though he denies it I am convinced he tried to kill Charles too. Charles may have been a bit irrational but I think he was very justified and correct in being scared of Henry and what he might do to him.
Henry for a majority of the book had control over the group. He's the one who makes decision  and tells them what to do. He tells Richard about everything. The biggest warning sign was when he poisoned his neighbors dogs to to try out the poison with which he wanted to kill Bunny. Thats psychopath 101

- Julian:

I expected Julian to not only play a more important role in the story but also just to show up more. Except for being the one who chose every student individually he doesn't really have much to do with the story. Unless of course there is something we don't know. Henry looked up to him very much and he's the one who came up with the idea for the Bacchanal. So what if the idea was actually Julians? That would perhaps explain why he ran and cut contact with them all. Julian is definitely a very strange character. He's not a good person either but we don't actually know how much of an influence he had on his students. He isolated them and made them rely solely on him and each other. I wish we got a few more answers about him and his perspective and intentions.

Okay now that we went through all the main characters let's move on to some theories and thoughts I had while reading.

1. I think it was Richard and Francis who are driving together in a car when they have to stop and they see something that is neither a deer nor a dog and they say it's a big cat. As soon as I read this part I was CONVINCED it would turn out that this big cat was the one who killed the farmer. Wouldn't that have been a twist? If shortly after they kill Bunny it turns out they aren't responsible for the first murder? That they just murdered their friend for nothing? I really thought that would happen, but sadly it did not.

2. I think it's so insane how pretty much the entire group is in some kind of big love triangle. Henry and Camilla, Camilla and Charles, Charles and Francis, Francis and Richard, Richard and Camilla. The only one uninvolved was Bunny and he would be SHOCKED if he ever found out about all this.

3. As much as I did not like Bunny, he had the only understandable reaction to murder. He found his best friends drenched in blood after having killed a man in their delirium. It makes sense that he cannot just move on.

4. I think we never got the full truth about what really happened during the Bacchanal. We only heard Henry's account of it and he clearly only told Richard what he wanted him to know. I wish we got different perspectives on it. I'm not sure I trust anything Henry is saying actually. The whole thing intruiges me but we never get any real answers.

I'm not sure if this is actually a review or just me rambling and venting my thoughts on this book but oh well. I had a couple of issue but all in all I understand why this book is seen as the classic example for Dark Acadmia. It's a bunch of rich, pretentious and educated people trying to rationalise murder. I don't even know what more to say. If you like Dark Academia you will probably like this.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, and Car accident

alexandrabelze's review

dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• 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

5.0

omfg. donna tartt is my mother. she’s insane for this.  holy SHIT!!! every single word was a vital part of this novel–down to the damn syllable. she has perfected the art of writing. the pacing of the book was magnificent and the characterization was stellar. every moment was so VIVID! her word choice was so perfect in every sense and every sentence and paragraph and piece of dialogue flowed so perfectly throughout the entire novel. her use of prose is so …entertaining? idk how to describe her writing but it’s everything i ever needed and more. she created a plot so full and detailed that i have no qualms at all; everything was perfectly laid out and set into place. this is the longest review i’ve written BY FAR. 

okay FIRST OF ALL, the INCEST? mawma i was floored. and camilla refusing to marry richard because she was in love with henry…girl please. be so real. henry’s death was fucking insane. every second of that encounter starting from charles barreling through the door to henry’s body hitting the ground was insane. AND THEN we find out that marion married one of bunny’s brothers!!!!!! stfu!!! and they had a baby!!! and the family decided to nickname it BUNNY. IM SORRY?! and when i read that letter that francis sent to richard my heart STOPPED. i would’ve been so mad at donna had she killed him off istg. he’s my one and only i love him far too much. good god this book. I JUST REMEMBERED the entire ritual that they had? oh my god!!!! donna!!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Islamophobia, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Classism

Moderate: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Incest, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexism, Vomit, Antisemitism, Stalking, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Ableism, Cancer, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Rape, and Death of parent

stvalentine's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

i have been implored for years by my friends to read this book, and i knew why only a few pages. donna tartt's writing style is magnetic - the way that she tells the narrative draws you in, just as richard is drawn into the cult-like friend group (classics students are exactly like that). there are times when the text is indistinguishable between narrative and poetry, and is all the more beautiful for it. i see now why this book is such a legend, has a comfortable, gilded seat on so many essential reading lists, and is endlessly described as having a cult following. creepy, enthralling, intimate, poisonous, life-changing. go read it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Confinement, Racism, and Classism

taleofabibliophile's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective 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: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Eating disorder and Medical content

Minor: Ableism, Cancer, Infidelity, Sexual content, Vomit, Antisemitism, Car accident, and Death of parent

judehp's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad 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

5.0

I found the narrative a bit robotic towards the end 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Incest, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Toxic friendship

zoehakim's review against another edition

challenging reflective slow-paced

• 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

liaandersson's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

I really enjoyed reading this book. I had heard great reviews and plenty of recommendations from friends with similar taste to mine. I can not claim to be disappointed in the least. I listened to the audiobook and was completely submerged into this world, this life. I truly understand the common sentiment that this is considered a dark academia classic.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Alcohol

aslanjade's review against another edition

dark tense 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

2.0

The underdeveloped plot and characters are not-so-cleverly concealed under the guise of a pretentious writing style laced with passages in ancient languages that the average reader is unequipped to understand. Tartt should stop trying to flex her fancy degree when she can't even use it to create a well-written token female character to become the "not-like-other-girls" love interest, lest her readers assume the main male character is gay. Oh, wait...

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Violence, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Alcohol

Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, Cursing, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, and Car accident

Minor: Rape, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, and Outing

I apologize if I missed any! I used "graphic" to categorize the ones that appear most frequently, but the "moderate" group is still considerably present in the novel. Please exercise caution before reading this book.