Reviews tagging 'Fire/Fire injury'

Le Chardonneret by Donna Tartt

25 reviews

akvolcano's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

If you’d like to get completely immersed into a characters life, read this book. I can not wait to discuss this book in-depth with someone!!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Stalking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation

tuesdaydg's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

2.0

There is no doubt that The Goldfinch is a thoroughly well-crafted novel. Is it incredibly long? Yes. Is it incredibly slow? Yes. Is the protagonist/narrator insufferable and infuriating? Yes. Yet, I can’t really seem to fault the novel for these elements. There is nothing wrong with a long, slow book with morally questionable characters. What I can fault it for, though, is my own personal experience spending time with the story and existing in the protagonist’s head. So, did I enjoy this novel? No, not really. I attribute this to an amalgamation of factors, from my own personal tastes to false expectations to the feelings Theo’s narrative elicited from me as I read (or listened, rather). I think I expected the “stolen artwork” theme to contribute a sense of adventure or even a fun thrill that would linger on each page. Instead, this theme creates a constant sense of dread and overwhelming stress which exudes from the pages. This, in combination with Theo’s

severe addiction to drugs and alcohol

, made my reading experience quite unpleasant. I have to commend the author for her ability to bring out such emotion, but I felt the the constant weight of this combination of elements seemed to become exhausting, so that the trudge through felt daunting rather than exciting.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism

Minor: Car accident

bucknife'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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Alcohol

lucy_36's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

quinn24's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

Moderate: Homophobia

Minor: Sexual content

mishsofil's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment

e_reader's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

This book was okay. Good, even. But it wasn’t great, and for a book to be THIS long, it needs to be great. I’m glad to have read it, but I wouldn’t read it again and wouldn’t necessarily recommend it to someone else. 

Some entire chapters could have stood to be shorter, or cut out entirely. I didn’t mind the part in Vegas, because it sets up the rest of the book. I just think the whole book should have been a lot shorter. 

The scene in Amsterdam was also a bit confusing—although possibly intentionally so? No doubt, Donna Tartt is a genius. Her descriptions are so incredibly beautiful, and she has the ability to craft such a complex plot with apparent ease. But this book still doesn’t top The Secret History. Maybe because the characters just weren’t as compelling. For example, the time skips were confusing to me because Theo’s narration style didn’t change, and he didn’t *feel* significantly older. I did find Boris interesting as a character though. 

Also, there was the incredible amount of time spent covering Theo’s increasingly concerning drug problems. As one reviewer put it, “is there anything more boring than reading about someone else’s drug habit?” It was important for the plot, I’ll give you that. But man do we spend a lot of time just reading Theo’s narration of the many drugs he tries, starting at age 12? 13?

Donna Tartt’s writing style uses first person, which I particularly enjoy, but can be off putting if you aren’t a fan of that. Overall, maybe worth the read if you are a big fan of Donna Tartt. Otherwise, save yourself the time and read something else. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

lucinotlucy's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gun violence, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, and Abandonment

foxgloveinspace's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad medium-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Grief, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, and Toxic friendship

maddalenacesco's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective 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

3.75

kid steals and then feels bad about it for over 800 pages.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

Moderate: Gun violence, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Stalking, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail