Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

The Secret History, by Donna Tartt

197 reviews

james1star's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

The Secret History is undoubtedly a very well written and theorised book, Tartt gifts us, in my opinion, the perfect balance of plot and character analysis alongside some truly exquisite passages. Without including many spoilers, all I can say for the plot is we follow the student Richard Papen as he tells the story of his time at Hampden College in Vermont. Not wanting to neglect the Greek he had previously studied, he joins the cohort headed by the odd teacher that is Julian, becoming close to him and his fellow classmates: Henry, Francis, Edmund (Bunny) and the twins Charles and Camilla. This group who I called ‘the Greeks’ in my notes lead fairly strange lives from fellow students at the college but one that certainly intrigues Richard. And then things happen… 

This is for sure a Big Brain Energy book: there’s untranslated Ancient Greek, Latin and French in it, multi-syntaxes sentences containing ‘()’s ‘-‘s and lists within, parts inferred and much more. So whilst it’s not the most accessible and definitely makes you think, it’s still an enjoyable reading experience. Some parts went over my head but I did feel a bit intelligent I guess reading it. This may put some people off and I get that but personally I could follow well enough and enjoyed the engagement of my brain at times. The way Tartt pulls it all together with a multilayered plot and very nuanced characters shows her BBE off, she clearly knows her stuff and I guess wanted to show this off - however, the story and flow isn’t negatively impacted in doing so. I absolutely loved how parts were pieced together and everything just clicks in place, so so good! 

The characters are primarily unlikable but you get to know them so well and in such depth that at times you do root for them, in essence wanting the baddies to get away with it. But they are jarringgggggggg. Like wow did they annoy me and it does get quite repetitive at points too. I think Bunny was the character I liked least and Francis most but there is nuance for days in this book. The developments, analysis and interactions between the characters is all done very well and intelligently so. 

The things I didn’t particularly like all that much was how about the page 400 mark I felt it was at a great ending point but then it kept on going… and going… and going. I still enjoyed these parts in terms of writing style but the actual events weren’t to my taste in all honestly with certain plot points, a major plot twist I didn’t see coming, didn’t really add up all that well. Therefore, the messages the book portrays weren’t the best specifically in terms of suicide and reasons why people are led to it - a bit too much was left to the imagination. I also felt in this final third that I had spent too long with these characters (I’m not accustomed to long books btw) and their annoying qualities shone out a bit too much. I’d say an enhanced epilogue might have been a better solution or thinning out this part of the book I’d have preferred. 

Overall, I would definitely recommend this book but look into the trigger warnings first as there are quite a few and know it’s written in a BBE pretentious way that might not appeal to everyone. I’m glad I read it and would be one I’d be interested in revisiting in a few years to see if I could get more out it. I’ve also just written this after finishing the book so I might add to this review in the coming days or possibly make a video for my YouTube channel. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Alcohol, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Classism, Drug use, Murder, and Drug abuse

Minor: Toxic friendship, Cursing, Sexism, Suicide, Racial slurs, Suicide attempt, Bullying, Injury/injury detail, Misogyny, Homophobia, Incest, Racism, Blood, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts

elia123's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective 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

4.25

Great !

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Sexual assault, Incest, and Suicidal thoughts

ritugp01's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

4.75

This novel was lauded as a modern classic from Pulitzer-winning author Donna Tart. I wholeheartedly agree. The disdain that filled me for all the characters in various classics like The Great Gatsby, Giovanni's Room, etc, also permeated throughout the experience of reading The Secret History. I consider this further evidence that it is an exquisite piece of literature.

The novel has been described as "a murder mystery in reverse." While this is a perfect description, the book is also a deep look in how easily murder occurs, even in seemingly normal people, as long as one opens themselves to the possibility. 

Spoiler

In a tl;dr character analysis: Henry was utterly unhinged and I think I loved him regardless. Richard, the narrator was mediocre but served his purpose as a voyeur to multiple murders.  Charles and Camilla? WTF. But also, they both sucked and I cannot decide who was worse. Francis is the only valid character but he's on this ice too. Julian is just Henry but older and willing to fake social skills. Lowkey, Bunny sucked but damn I feel bad he was killed. Like, he was just freaking out that his friends committed MURDER, it's totally understandable he was on the edge of a psychotic break. This book was a lot, and Judy Poovey is the only good person in the whole story.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Death, Drug abuse, Sexism, Misogyny, Addiction, Cursing, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Car accident, Classism, Gaslighting, Excrement, Murder, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Ableism, Antisemitism, Self harm, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Suicide

em_gauts's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Alcoholism, Addiction, Classism, Homophobia, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Death, Violence, Murder, Injury/injury detail, Animal cruelty, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Alcohol, Grief, Racial slurs, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Animal death, and Drug use

Moderate: Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Incest, and Outing

Minor: Sexual assault, Stalking, and Rape

morgane_mntg's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-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

4.0

eventhough i don't like being scared and tense book, i loved this one. we love and then despise the characters and want to know their deep thoughts. i'm a bit disapointed by the second half of the book because it was sometimes very slow

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, and Violence

maryamgo9909's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny informative mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Classism, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Gaslighting, Racial slurs, Bullying, Chronic illness, Drug use, and Homophobia

Minor: Abandonment

andreadelo's review against another edition

challenging dark funny mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Homophobia, Murder, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Antisemitism, Vomit, Addiction, Death, Drug use, Racial slurs, Racism, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Violence, Alcoholism, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Outing, Medical trauma, Injury/injury detail, Incest, Grief, Domestic abuse, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Animal death, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, and Cultural appropriation

dannilmp's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.5

A dark academia book unlike anything I have read before. While The Secret History is quite a slow burner to begin with, I found myself reading the latter half in 100 page sections in one sitting. A story about Richard and his discovery of both a new way of thinking and a new way of approaching life thanks to the teaching of his Greek Classics teacher Julian and his small group of classmates. 

I enjoyed the fact that through certain paragraph or chapter opening sentences you could tell at what point in time Richard was narrating the details of the book from. To me this whole book had the feeling of suspence, as the main plot point had been introduced in the prolouge that was always at the back of my mind while I was reading. I was absorbing any small detail if I thought it could help me unravel the mystery before the book itself revealed it. I much preferred the second half of the book, espeically watching how the characters developed post major incident

Spoiler

for those of you who have read it I am referring to Bunny's murder

and how it would affect them in later life. 

However, there were some aspects of this book that I didn't enjoy. One was the way such simple aspects or concepts were so detailed that it felt uneccessary at times, activities such as smoking, drug use or even drinking dragged on far longer than they had any right to, or the repeated descriptions throughout the book were a little tiring. I also think without the plot points detailed in the prolouge, I would not have had the interest to keep reading through that first half as there would truly have been nothing to grab my attention. I also felt the ending was a little bit weak considering the build up in those final pages, I expected more of a bang ending and got a whimper. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Alcoholism, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Animal death, Injury/injury detail, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, and Gore

Minor: Incest, Homophobia, and Rape

mijtje's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Incest, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Racism and Homophobia

lindsaylhunter's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.5

It's rare to find a book over 500 pages that holds your attention from start to finish. Don't get me wrong, there are absolutely moments in the book which feel needlessly drawn out, but I'd reread it in a heartbeat.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, and Incest

Minor: Murder