Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

65 reviews

ashley_turch's review

challenging dark 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

5.0

I wish every book I read was like this. Perfectly atmospheric, academic but not too difficult to understand, left enough to the imagination to leave you thinking about it for a long time afterward. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Cursing, Incest, and Car accident

Minor: Child abuse, Car accident, and Death of parent

Most trigger warnings apply. Warning for animal lovers: animal cruelty is mentioned and discussed by the characters — but we do not “see” it happen. Watch out around page ~230 (digital version — otherwise in Chapter 5 near the discussion of mushrooms) for the most heinous description, in my opinion. Easy to skip over the paragraph and pretend it didn’t happen, although it is very briefly referred to later in the book.

violetdisposition's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious slow-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

4.25

This book started out pretty slow but there were enough odd details woven into the elaborately detailed yet rather mundane descriptions of daily life at a liberal arts college to keep me engaged - once things slowly started to reveal themselves, I was eager to see how all of the threads would come together. Even now, I think I would need to reread the book in order to truly capture all of the details and foreshadowing left in each scene. I don't know if I would say I particularly *liked* the main cast of characters - but they had such a charm to them that I was curious to know them better. The narrator is clearly unreliable, and even says so himself, which is my favorite type of narrator - we KNOW he is romanticizing his past and was even romanticizing it when he was living in the moment, and yet his narration is all we have with which to piece the true story together. I would be remiss to mention this book is (over)written with achingly pretentious and flowery language, but I am known to love this type of writing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Blood, Murder, and Alcohol

Moderate: Drug use, Homophobia, Incest, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Violence, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Death of parent

asrasher'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? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Fantastic stuff. bit slow in the last third.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Classism

Moderate: Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Physical abuse, Antisemitism, and Death of parent

mariareviews's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

5.0

i’m honestly at a loss for words. the final pages leading up to the epilogue left me utterly stunned.

The Secret History is an extraordinary novel, where the narration immerses you so deeply that it feels like you're right there with the characters—experiencing their panic, paranoia, and the weight of their decisions. it’s definitely a story that lingers long after you've finished it.

that said, it isn’t exactly a book you'd reach for if you're looking for a traditional crime or mystery novel. instead, it’s more suited for those who appreciate deeply layered character interactions. i wouldn't say i necessarily relate to the characters personally, but their paranoia, doubt, and almost impulsive decisions feel incredibly true to the human experience. Richard, Charles, and Francis saw Henry as a kind of Sherlock Holmes—Richard even compares himself to Watson at one point—but in reality, while Henry was undeniably brilliant, he was still just a young adult whose life had spiraled out of control, much like the rest of them.

i feel like i’ll need to reread it to truly grasp everything, but even now, i’m completely captivated by this novel.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Blood, and Alcohol

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicide, Grief, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal death, Cursing, Eating disorder, and Death of parent

themis_biblos's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad 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

4.25

 [It was] my own fatal tendency to try to make interesting people good. 

 I loved Donna Tartt's writing. I was absolutely absorbed in these terribly pretentious, unlikeable characters' lives. That's probably also why it was so horribly depressing. I'll keep some passages I loved most, but otherwise this book has to go into the freezer. I am disturbed.

 The Greeks had a passion for order and symmetry, but they knew how foolish it was to deny emotion, darkness, barbary. 
 The more cultivated a person is, the more repressed, then the more he needs some method of channeling the primitive impulses he's worked so hard to subdue. Otherwise those powerful old forces will mass and strengthen until they are violent enough to break free, more violent for the delay. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Misogyny, Murder, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Self harm, Blood, Grief, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Car accident, and Death of parent

shaleen64's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

3.75

Donna Tartt’s writing is unmatched, her character building is exceptional, and this is why her novels are as long as they are.

The characters are all vastly different and mostly wholly unlikeable, however I found Richard’s drive to fit in relatable but particularly sad when considering the final scenes, and Francis’s character heartbreaking due to his inability to ever be his true self.

The story is much more than a group of rich college students committing crimes, but the true story is written in between the lines and for this reason I think it would be better on a second read or even more so analysing the book.

The only reason I’ve not rated higher is because of how I rank this book with Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch, but would still recommend it to selected people.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Mental illness, Sexism, Medical content, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Incest, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Vomit, Religious bigotry, and Classism

Minor: Rape and Death of parent

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

111rachel555's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

Love this book. Very cross that I have finished it. Somehow Donna Tartt manages to reveal the biggest plot point in the Prologue and still keep you on the edge of your seat for 600 pages. This is an excellent work of character study- I usually struggle to relate to or invest with characters, but I felt like all the main characters were so fleshed out and real. Midway through the book I felt like I really knew all of them and was attached to them despite all their flaws. 
Also, highly recommend the audiobook (uploaded for free on youtube). 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Medical content, and Death of parent

ettegoom's review against another edition

dark 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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I don't know what it is about American novels as a genre, but they all seem to have truly terrible humans in them.  I couldn't decide whether I wanted things to work out for everyone in the end, or for them to all end up dead/incarcerated. 

The story is a complete train wreck from start to finish.  The characters are a bunch of 'poor little rich kids' joined by the narrator, a scholarship student, who manages to join the group, yet remains an outsider whilst still being intimately involved in trying to protect the group. 

A friend saw me reading this, and asked if a review that she'd seen entitled "what the hell Richard" was correct.  Yes it's correct, but I'm still not entirely sure what the reviewer was referring to, because there are so many what the heck? moments for every character, that is hard to single out any particular moment that could have triggered the reviewer's response

The writing is compelling and I read the book over about three days where I struggled to put it down.  I don't know whether I enjoyed it per se, but I most certainly wanted to know what was going to happen next. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Classism

cynthia_wlms's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug use, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Suicide attempt, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Blood, and Grief

Minor: Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Car accident, and Death of parent