kristinisntokay's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Mental illness, Racism, Racial slurs, Alcohol, Child abuse, Death of parent, Drug use, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, and Bullying
houseratss's review against another edition
4.0
Moderate: Homophobia and Racial slurs
kordonea_'s review against another edition
Moderate: Racial slurs
the slurs weren’t used against people, rather just said as a word.123urmom's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Mass/school shootings, Addiction, Death of parent, Child abuse, Mental illness, Drug abuse, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Injury/injury detail, Racial slurs, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, and Car accident
capucapulet's review against another edition
5.0
Moderate: Drug use, Grief, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death of parent, Racial slurs, Gun violence, Homophobia, and Suicidal thoughts
laurahartfield's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Drug use and Drug abuse
Minor: Racial slurs
bloodredscar832's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
In the end, I don’t quite know how to describe my experience reading this book and my thoughts afterwords. I enjoyed the book well enough, but I especially liked the writing style - I really need to look into more of Donna Tartt’s works, her writing style is so descriptive and flowy and beautiful; I really like it. The characters were all interesting in their own ways (I particularly liked Hobie, Boris, and the Barbour’s, Mrs. Barbour specifically) and I enjoyed all of Theo’s interactions with each character. I think that this is definitely a story that needed to be told, and one that will stick with readers for a long time - whether good or bad.
For negatives, I believe that the book was much too long. My version had 771 pages, and it was an absolute pain to get through. I thought it was pretty impressive that the author was able to have subplots in the middle and keep the book interesting. As I realized later, the way she wrote the middle and the subplots she included actually made the middle of the book read as being rather plain and I had to drag myself through by sitting down and forcing myself to read. I felt that the last 200 or 300 pages were disconnected from the book - like I was reading a completely separate book. It was especially hard to get through that section for some reason, probably because I didn’t care much for the situation or many of the random side characters. It seemed that I was just getting a bunch of names thrown at me and I didn’t really bother trying to remember who was who. Plus, the last 50 pages were strange compared to the rest of the book and didn’t really add anything, although I did enjoy the writing and the philosophical speech, however, it didn’t really fit with the work in my opinion. Almost like Donna Tartt was getting tired of writing and just threw something on there at the end - the ending to me, simply, felt unsatisfying and the book felt incomplete.
All-in-all, definitely a book I’m glad I read (I mean, the writing style alone was just incredible for me, mwah)! The book drew me in with the interesting plot line and kept me hooked with these side characters that were far more interesting than Theo. I don’t necessarily know if it’s a book I would read again, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The words and characters that I’ve read in this book over the past two months have definitely left a lasting impression, and I think that you should (at-least) give the book a shot!
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Drug use, Grief, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Violence, Death, Gun violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Cursing
Minor: Racism, Suicide attempt, Ableism, and Racial slurs
olvrhkl12's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Drug abuse, Mental illness, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Death, Abandonment, Bullying, Car accident, and Death of parent
Minor: Gaslighting, Vomit, and Gun violence
grettel's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I kept putting off finishing it for over a week, I became attached to it, and the way Donna Tartt's writing makes me feel and want to sink between the pages.
I want to read it all again. I don’t care if it will take me another two months.
Graphic: Mental illness, Alcoholism, Grief, Drug use, and Death of parent
Moderate: Addiction, Racial slurs, Cursing, Domestic abuse, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
bookishplantmom's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I have to say that Tartt’s attempt at showing « diversity » in the backdrop of New York was remarkably inept. Her repeated use of the N-word and constant description of BIPOC characters through stereotypes got old really quickly. I found much of her language to be outdated and problematic though I will concede that they fit the characters and era they were living in to a certain extent.
Her exploration of trauma, depression, addiction and grief were compelling and I really felt for Theo despite finding him a little daft at times. Overall this is a very well written book and I’m glad I read it.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Addiction, and Death of parent
Moderate: Homophobia and Racial slurs