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caffeinatedbookdragon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
The characters are morally bankrupt (mostly) rich kids, so it was hard to really care about them. I genuinely don’t understand why Richard in particular went along with some ~particular~ actions of the others.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Murder, and Classism
abigailhaagen's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Classism
Moderate: Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, and Vomit
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Antisemitism
schneehutte's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
The writing style from Donna Tartt was a surprise for good. Although it makes sense that a book about Classics students would have a particular style of writing itself - "literary" writing, so to speak - it wasn't tiring or repetitive to read. I appreciated the author's attention to detail and visuals in this book, and you can see each character's mannerisms through the writing. I am not sure if it was intentional, but I loved the parallels to Dostoevsky's work. I would describe "The Secret History" as a modern retelling - with sparkles of dark academia tropes - of "Crime and Punishment", which sounds like the exact thing I would enjoy. Therefore I am not surprised to rate this book so high on my list.
I suppose I can understand the disappointment of the people who expected a murder mystery out of this book - so I am here to tell you now: it really isn't. The murder is revealed in the prologue, and it becomes quite clear who has done it as the pages go by. Besides, I believe it was the author's intention to portray all the characters in the group as being to some extent responsible for the murder, as it is their shared guilt that haunts them and leads them to their downfall (Crime and Punishment vibes!).
The characters aren't lovable, nor they are meant to be. I kept in mind that this whole story was told from the perspective of the main character Richard, who acted for the most part almost like a bystander in many events of the book. Therefore I would assume that his vision of many characters such as Camilla, Henry, Julian, and many more, is completely romanticized and inaccurate. But I believe that only comes to show how unlikable in "real life" Richard truly is, and how he fits with the rest of the group by being just as arrogant as everyone else - despite coming from humbler origins.
I thought the pacing hurt the overall progression a little. Despite liking slow-paced books, some passages were daunting to read and it was difficult to keep up with the motivation. But when it ramps up, then it ramps up - and you have no idea where the book is going, which adds more and more to the mysterious aspect that surrounds the characters around Richard (especially Henry). Almost all the characters - even not-so-important ones such as Judy - had strong personalities and I liked reading about them.
The ending was somewhat satisfying, but I don't think there is much to add to this. A story this dark and creepy couldn't have a positive ending without sounding strange - so I am glad it decided to take a "middle-ground" route, so to speak.
Despite referencing Greek myths and literature, it is not necessary to have much knowledge of them to understand the story, which is good. I'm on break right now, do you think I want to spend my time doing supplementary reading?
Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Drug abuse, Drug use, Self harm, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Incest, and Blood
_david_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Gun violence, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Suicide attempt, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Incest, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Bullying, Eating disorder, Toxic relationship, Car accident, and Classism
Drunk driving/drunk drivers/driving under influence Description of thoughts of raping a womanmadalina0_0'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
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
the_neeerd'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
5.0
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
lindsfindley's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Suicide, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Biphobia, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Islamophobia, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
Ifkshg8465's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
bugtickle's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Alcohol
uncica's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Antisemitism, Medical content, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Classism