Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

1353 reviews

alexaela's review against another edition

dark mysterious relaxing sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

could this have been more concise, shorter? yes. could this have been richer, fuller? also, yes. i think the parts where the book lost me were the ones where most of the pages were filled with dialogues and very few insight into our narrator's inner conflict and observations on his fellow associates. the best parts were filled with quotes on various themes, but mostly, rich in character moments and insight into the complex and messed up nature of their personalities and relationships. i hated all of them, yet found them so scarily humane and fragile. 

the seeping horror of this ending and epilogue was what i needed most after

Bunny's death

, glad we got it for

Henry's (he deserved it most)

. As much as i loved the supsense, intrigue and thrill of not knowing whether they may or may not get caught by someone else, once

the body was found

; what i loved best was the slower moments of dread and despair showcased by each characters once faced with the true horror of their actions.

Mr Corcoran's wild displays of grief, Julian's cold and cowardly reaction to the truth, Bunny and Henry's dream like apparitions

, those moments, are why i'm glad i stuck through the rougher parts of the story. 

I disagree with those who thought Richard to be a boring pov. I felt both so deeply attached and repulsed by him, specifically, because i could relate so much with where he came from and how much his way of seeing and going about things would undeniably lead him to the wrong path. he was so obsessed with his own lacking parts that he latched onto those who had what he wanted most selfishly, and looked down on those who unapologetically displayed characteristics of a socio-economic background he despised, even when they were the only ones who ever thought of him as an equal. Richard didn't want to be respected or even loved, he only ever wanted to be desperately needed, and he got just that, from the worst (beautiful) people he could find. i don't think this theme could have been translated as well, through such out of touch characters as the rest of them. 

"unreliable pov"? i don't really see how? was he unaware of a lot? yes. was he often blinded by his own jealousy and fear of abandonment, to admit to himself the true nature of others? also, yes. was his ignorance and blindness, to the complex reality lead bare in front him, ever, not incredibly obvious the reader? no. it can only appear unreliable to those who themselves refuse to see the truth. readers are like Julian and Richard, they want to see the best in the make believe characters of their lives, to see the full beauty of theirs, ignoring that what makes them truly beautiful, truly grand, is that these specific moments of humanity, friendship and humour, one loves to see, can also come from deeply rotten individuals. funny, considering, this obsession with perfect displays of pure beauty, is, in fact, the most rotten aspect of this main cast. 
nb : i get serious dorian gray vibes from this side of the story. 

this is probably my longest review on a book, and yet, i only gave it a 4, why is that? this felt very academic, in a modern classic kind of way. almost higher than thou. definitely not bad to analyse but hard to feel close to, on a first read. i do think that, if i ever chose to do so, this could become a 5 star, after multiple reads. in the meantime : 'I hope you'll excuse me, but I'm late for an appointment.'

ps : this was my first book, fully, read in english. i'm really happy (and proud) to see i could manage it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest

Moderate: Homophobia

Minor: Racism and Rape

ronanqk's review against another edition

challenging 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

4.5

one of my favorite books. I reread it at least once a year.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug use, Murder, and Alcohol

Moderate: Homophobia and Religious bigotry

Minor: Racial slurs

alastorthewerewolf's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Holy f*cking sh*t this book has decided to change my whole life goals

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Homophobia, Incest, and Mental illness

Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexism, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Outing, and Classism

helhas3letters's review against another edition

adventurous 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

1.75

Never have I read about a group of people so pretentious yet so vapid, so snobbish yet so thick, so self-involved yet so empty, so exhausting yet so inexcusably BORING.

Not a single one of these characters is likeable (perhaps maybe Georges LaForgue), so I just did not care one bit about what happened to them. And what on earth is with everyone

being utterly obsessed with and casually kissing Camilla?!? This woman is apparently a prop for everyone else to project their desires onto.

An awful lot of male gaze for a book written by a woman.

In terms of the plot, it’s incredibly repetitive and moves frustratingly slowly. Aside from the two or three main events that take place in this story, there is just far too much waiting around, moving back and forth between locations, and nothing happening for my liking. I honestly don’t understand the point of large chunks of this novel, nor certain characters who do not affect the story or world whatsoever.

I thought the ending was pretty bizarre too. Why did it become a

“where are they now”? And why does it include the most random characters?! Including the cat we were introduced to about 20 pages ago?!? To be fair, I cared more about that cat than I did most of the main characters, but still. A strange choice.

Some people love this book but for me, I can’t help but feel it was a massive waste of time. I kept hoping it would get better, but for 600 pages, it never did. I persisted past where it would have been sensible to give up and in the future, I will trust my DNF instincts.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Racial slurs, Suicide, Violence, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Death of parent, Outing, and Classism

suerte_encantada's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicide, and Murder

Moderate: Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Physical abuse, Sexism, Grief, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Forced institutionalization

kbxrchill's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Racial slurs, and Suicide

Moderate: Homophobia, Self harm, and Murder

getyourghosts's review against another edition

dark reflective 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, and Murder

Moderate: Homophobia, Incest, Racism, Suicide, Violence, and Suicide attempt

aidareads's review against another edition

dark funny sad medium-paced

• 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

this could’ve easily been 200 pages shorter without the plot suffering any major changes. also what the fuck was that (and by “that” i mean the entirety of the second part)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, and Murder

Moderate: Homophobia, Rape, and Suicide

splashcat360's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Suicide, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Homophobia, Incest, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, and Outing

atalea's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Deadnaming, Drug abuse, Violence, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Grief, and Murder

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Eating disorder, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, and Vomit