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littlehedgehog's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
2.5
- TSH pretends to be a critique of elitism while simultaneously romanticising every aspect of it. It feels like Donna Tartt wrote this initially to scrutinise the class of young, rich elites who feel like they are above everyone else because they have enough money to study pointless classes like Greek, but fell too much in love with the romance of this lifestyle on the way, so all in all this reads like classicism fanfic (which seems to be the general takeaway for a lot of people if you look at how this book is treated by people who love dark academia).
-The characters -
Most of the characters are flat as a pancake. Except for Henry and Bunny, no one, not even the main character, is really anything. This is especially peculiar because you as a reader are supposed to detest the characters - because they are wealthy, haughty and ignorant. Which I didn't, which is probably in part caused by the fact that they are essentially hot elitist cardboard-cutouts instead of real three-dimensional characters.Like how can it be that Camilla sleeping with Charles (which is revealed at 80% of the book), her twin brother, is the only remarkable thing you get to know about these two?? The reveal of Julian actually being a coward the whole time was so badly done. No one in their right mind would've thought that Julian is some kind of charming guy. I found him to be pretentious and slimy from the first page on. And the book trying to sell to you that Bunny being an asshole wasn't apparent until he went mad is so?? He wasn't "hearty" or "endearing", bro I can READ he was a piece of shit and a freeloader from page one, why are you pretending I'm stupid.
On a meta- level, it is hilarious that this character study is in fact so bad that a lot of people (see other reviews) actually think it is desirable to be a part of such a group of friends because they are so ✨aesthetic and erudite✨.
However, most of the time, I found them to be tepid and pretentious. All of the characters are essentially that dude from uni who has more money than is good for him and keeps talking to you unpromptedly about nihilism and Nietzsche and you just think "bro don't you have enough money to buy yourself a tad life?".
- The plot -
Everything about the "thriller" part of the plot has been done better in Tana French's "The Likeness", which has a very similar premise. I also found it particularly infuriating how every time something interesting could be happening, Donna Tartt spoilers it just 20 pages before it happens by saying things like "but that would be the last time I saw X" or"in three days, Bunny's body would be found" . Just so you are not surprised in any way, that would be a shame. Also, when in the middle part the big secret of the friend group is revealed (them holding these baccanalia and the subsequent murder) , Richard remembers a lot of times where, due to missing context, he didn't understand what was happening. However, you as a reader, were absent for all of them! How is that any kind of a satisfying reveal? On the other hand, the scenes alluding to this secret, are not really being brought up again? All of that felt so weird.
- The writing -
The writing is one of the more positive aspects of this book. People love Donna Tartt for her ornate language and extensive metaphors, which I found amusing at best and annoying at worst. In isolation, they might seem to spring from a meaningful book; however, I can assure you, they don't. Most of these extensive descriptions and great metaphors go nowhere, have nothing to say. They make great quotes on an insta page in front of a vintage letter background, but that's it.
- The pacing -
My god, the fucking pacing. For example: We know that this friend group kills Bunny. We even know how, since all of this is explained in the very first pages. Interesting premise, right? Wrong. Donna Tartt wastes your time so much with coming to any kind of plot point. There are, at times, 200 pages in a row where nothing is happening regarding the plot. There is even a part where the characters surmise what the best way is to kill Bunny - Well, we as a reader KNOW how they killed him! Since page one! Instead you have to watch these buffoons pondering with which poison to kill him while knowing they will push him down a ravine. Just wow.
- Other aspects -
There is some sexual violence sprinkled in pretty randomly. Francis basically has, even in the most benevolent eye, sexual intercourse with his male friends under dubious circumstances (them always being blackout drunk to have deniability why they engaged in homosexual activities) which becomes even more appalling when he advances in a clearly rapey way on Richard. Speaking of Richard: One day, he talks to Camilla who shows him the severe injuries she suffered through Charles' abuse (yes that's the brother she fucks) because he is possessive and doesn't want her to fuck Henry, another friend (you still keeping up?). She is then engulfed by a stream of the sun shining in, a light that makes her glow in such beauty that Richard can't help but be entangled by such a fondness for her, that he wants to throw her on the bed and strangle/rape her. You were surprised? Yeah, me too. Hitted me like a fire truck, that one. Btw she's, before and after that scene, his love interest. He even proposes to her. Just Lovely.
Overall, the only thing that saves this book is that, in 1992, this was probably a new idea and the writing is nice sometimes. Oh, and it's a great book to learn flowery words if English is your second language.
-The characters -
Most of the characters are flat as a pancake. Except for Henry and Bunny, no one, not even the main character, is really anything. This is especially peculiar because you as a reader are supposed to detest the characters - because they are wealthy, haughty and ignorant. Which I didn't, which is probably in part caused by the fact that they are essentially hot elitist cardboard-cutouts instead of real three-dimensional characters.
On a meta- level, it is hilarious that this character study is in fact so bad that a lot of people (see other reviews) actually think it is desirable to be a part of such a group of friends because they are so ✨aesthetic and erudite✨.
However, most of the time, I found them to be tepid and pretentious. All of the characters are essentially that dude from uni who has more money than is good for him and keeps talking to you unpromptedly about nihilism and Nietzsche and you just think "bro don't you have enough money to buy yourself a tad life?".
- The plot -
Everything about the "thriller" part of the plot has been done better in Tana French's "The Likeness", which has a very similar premise. I also found it particularly infuriating how every time something interesting could be happening, Donna Tartt spoilers it just 20 pages before it happens by saying things like "but that would be the last time I saw X" or
- The writing -
The writing is one of the more positive aspects of this book. People love Donna Tartt for her ornate language and extensive metaphors, which I found amusing at best and annoying at worst. In isolation, they might seem to spring from a meaningful book; however, I can assure you, they don't. Most of these extensive descriptions and great metaphors go nowhere, have nothing to say. They make great quotes on an insta page in front of a vintage letter background, but that's it.
- The pacing -
My god, the fucking pacing. For example: We know that this friend group kills Bunny. We even know how, since all of this is explained in the very first pages. Interesting premise, right? Wrong. Donna Tartt wastes your time so much with coming to any kind of plot point. There are, at times, 200 pages in a row where nothing is happening regarding the plot. There is even a part where the characters surmise what the best way is to kill Bunny - Well, we as a reader KNOW how they killed him! Since page one! Instead you have to watch these buffoons pondering with which poison to kill him while knowing they will push him down a ravine. Just wow.
There is some sexual violence sprinkled in pretty randomly. Francis basically has, even in the most benevolent eye, sexual intercourse with his male friends under dubious circumstances (them always being blackout drunk to have deniability why they engaged in homosexual activities) which becomes even more appalling when he advances in a clearly rapey way on Richard. Speaking of Richard: One day, he talks to Camilla who shows him the severe injuries she suffered through Charles' abuse (yes that's the brother she fucks) because he is possessive and doesn't want her to fuck Henry, another friend (you still keeping up?). She is then engulfed by a stream of the sun shining in, a light that makes her glow in such beauty that Richard can't help but be entangled by such a fondness for her, that he wants to throw her on the bed and strangle/rape her. You were surprised? Yeah, me too. Hitted me like a fire truck, that one. Btw she's, before and after that scene, his love interest. He even proposes to her. Just Lovely.
Overall, the only thing that saves this book is that, in 1992, this was probably a new idea and the writing is nice sometimes. Oh, and it's a great book to learn flowery words if English is your second language.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Sexism
Minor: Sexual violence and Sexual harassment
the_neeerd's review against another edition
dark
funny
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
This is my favorite book because everyone in it sucks so bad. not a single character makes a good choice. and then they all make each other worse. If you take this book seriously, you're missing the point.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, and Antisemitism
Minor: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, and Grief
thisiserintehe's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I have so much to say about this book, and yet nothing to say at all. It arguably made me a more intelligent person.
If there was only one book in the world, it would be this one.
My most favourite book ever <3
If there was only one book in the world, it would be this one.
My most favourite book ever <3
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Cursing, Death, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Suicide attempt, Murder, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
brivie's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book has become one of my favorites!!! I love the found family trope but this was done in such a unique way. I love how Richard (the narrator) isn't as involved in the secrets of the story and this reminded me of Nick from The Great Gatsby. The end made me close the book shut and reflect before I left myself move on to the epilogue. The dark academia vibes in this book are unmatched!!! The exposition and descriptions of the characters always created such a vivid image in my mind. Such a stunningly dark story that I fell in love with!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Incest, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Sexual harassment
andromedapls's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
It was in that's an Esoteric read. It's a story about a group of white kids. I'm getting away with murder. Can tell that from the summary. And?
It's filled with this beautiful language that at times it could be hard to follow or hard to keep going because of the tangents. She, you could take, but when she grabbed your attention again. It made clear as to wht it became so popular of a novel. A classic in dark academia.
It's filled with this beautiful language that at times it could be hard to follow or hard to keep going because of the tangents. She, you could take, but when she grabbed your attention again. It made clear as to wht it became so popular of a novel. A classic in dark academia.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Violence, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Alcoholism and Alcohol
coralynski's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
joeywins's review against another edition
dark
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Incest and Sexual harassment
Minor: Racism
taylorc19's review against another edition
dark
reflective
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
1.5
I think I should start with the few things I liked about this book, just to begin on a happy note. Donna Tartt is evidently a ridiculously gifted writer. Her descriptions of Vermont in the fall at the beginning of the novel are superb. She created a cast of rich characters with relatively distinct personalities.
Now, for what I didn't like so much:
Now, for what I didn't like so much:
- This book dragged. It took me two months to finish it, and I'm someone who usually can finish a book within a few days of opening it. I couldn't push myself to finish more than a chapter at a time. I found my eyelids growing heavy and my yawns becoming more frequent as I tried to slog my way through the dense yet uninteresting plot. This story could have been written in 300 pages. I gained absolutely nothing from the monotonous chapters of the character who died's funeral or from the search party for them. I found myself skimming through the last 40% of this book, and I wouldn't say I missed much.
- Maybe I'm not made for character-heavy, low-plot books. But that brings me to my next grievance: how can you write a character-driven book and make every single character utterly vile? The only character who I found myself somewhat sympathizing with by the end was Judy, the neighbor of Richard who gossiped too much and frequently did drugs such as cocaine and meth. Could we really not give any more positive personality traits to the core six students or Julian? Camila and Charles (the twins) appear to be kind and relatively receptive towards Richard when he first joins the group, however, they spiral into a violent alcoholic (Charles) and a manipulative liar (Camila). Bunny goes from jovial and bubbly to a person who blackmails their friends and is so insecure he is driven to a mental breakdown. And, my God, don't get me started on Richard. He is possibly the most uninteresting person I have ever had the displeasure of reading about. He seems to live such a pitiful existence where all he wants is acceptance from others. With character-driven books, I feel like I have to actually care about the characters. I wish nothing but the worst for basically every single person in this book. These characters were snobby, elitist, reprehensible, borderline sociopathic criminals yet I'm still supposed to believe Richard's favorable descriptions of them?
- Why are we adding random bouts of incest into this book???? I don't understand what that added to any of the characters nor why it was important to the plot??? It felt included merely for the shock factor.
- I think this book would have benefited from switching narrators during the second half. After the murder (and I use that term rather loosely) occurs, Richard should not have been the narrator. He doesn't know what's going on at all, he isn't involved in any of the police proceedings, and he spends the last 300 pages of the book rambling in a drunken stupor about-wait for it-NOTHING! I wish we had switched narrators to Henry or even Charles. People who were actually being questioned and were actually plotting on how to get away with the murder. Henry is framed to be this psychopathic mastermind. However, we don't actually get any explanation of his thoughts after the murder, who he planned to pin it on, or how he explained virtually anything to the police. I understand it's not a police-proceedings book, but I mean, come on, give us some explanation as to how they got away with this instead of just throwaway comments at the end by a paranoid Charles. Giving us Henry's point of view would have also explained the ending more since that came out of nowhere.
- Why did we throw in that line about Richard having the urge to rape Camila????????????? And why did we never touch on that again???????????
It's strange, I read "If We Were Villians" a few years ago, and many people compare that book to "The Secret History." Critics of IWWV claim that the plot is ripped off from TSH and that TSH is worlds better. I disagree. I enjoyed IWWV far, far more than The Secret History.
This book was dense, boring, and had no real point. Having superfluous, flowery language and rambling about Greek studies does not make for a good book! I almost DNF'd it hundreds of times while reading, but I needed to be able to say I gave it a fair shot. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone unless you enjoy reading about miserable creatures who think they're God's gift to the world. Someone please tell me what I'm missing that is so magical and life-changing about this book.
Good riddance, Hampden. I won't miss you.
This book was dense, boring, and had no real point. Having superfluous, flowery language and rambling about Greek studies does not make for a good book! I almost DNF'd it hundreds of times while reading, but I needed to be able to say I gave it a fair shot. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone unless you enjoy reading about miserable creatures who think they're God's gift to the world. Someone please tell me what I'm missing that is so magical and life-changing about this book.
Good riddance, Hampden. I won't miss you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Antisemitism, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
dillydallyallie's review against another edition
adventurous
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
5.0
WOW. OH MY GOD THAT ENDING I WAS FREAKING ON A PLANE READING THAT
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
naomi_salters's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail