Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

1215 reviews

unassumingdork's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark 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

Such a fantastic read. I will definitely be reading all of Tartt’s other work, I can’t wait for her current project to come out. .25 star deduction for very minor things throughout the book I might’ve liked to see differently.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use and Alcohol

Moderate: Alcoholism, Racial slurs, Suicide, and Murder

Minor: Incest, Racism, Xenophobia, and Islamophobia

sksrenninger's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.0

 

• I’ve never read Lord of the Flies, and now I feel like I might be missing some allusions. They both kill a guy with an animal name. Luckily, I *have read Gatsby. The American dream, everyone! It always ends in someone being in love with someone they can’t be with, and dead people. And apparently it doesn’t pay to be rich.
• I really love when I’m reading a book I enjoy and I look up after reading for a while to discover I still have 200 pages to go. That is… sort of this book. I enjoyed it, but at about the halfway point I skimmed the rest of the book because I lost patience. I still finished it for real, but it’s slow. It’s not the murder mystery / psychological thriller it sometimes gets billed as. 
• I really enjoyed the voice in this book, because it’s very authentic; it doesn’t waver. There were tons of words I didn’t know, which 1) I love in general and 2) I especially enjoyed since apparently Richard earns a phd in English by the time he starts writing. 
• Why does it feel like secret code every time someone addresses the narrator directly as Richard? It’s like they’re breaking the fourth wall.  
• “Do not fear. It is the mother. She is concerned with the dishonor of the son having to do with wine.” Did she try to translate this into Ancient Greek first? There is talk among the citizens!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Alcohol

Minor: Rape

zahliajayne's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

i have never been so hooked to a book from the beginning. 

it was only within the first 70 pages where i discovered that this was possibly going to be my favourite book of all time- and this still holds true after completion. 

the effortless descriptions are like turning back time and recognising the simplicity of youth. all the while, comparing to the most intricate of classic literature and greek ingenious. 

the story eventuates different to how i expected, which kept me intrigued and infatuated. it is surprising, this, because there were hardly any truely good qualities about any of the characters. however, you still are coerced into loving them. 

i will return to this story, and annotate it to the brink. i cannot wait return.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Alcohol

lovemeuntililovemyself_3's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective fast-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

4.0

I think it's incredibly well-written and has amazing character detail, however, it's definitely the kind of book to read twice for full understanding. I ended up hating the characters, especially Bunny and Henry but I also feel somewhat intrigued and sympathetic. Reading it quickly and sometimes in short clumps made it hard to grasp and feel the emotions and plot fully, there are tons of subtle details that need extra attention. It's fast-paced, which is helpful for me as it's been hard to get back into reading, but that pace makes it hard to comprehend everything written. I think my opinion may change on how I feel but for now, I think there's a lot more to this book than what you may read initially and that it is definitely worth reading. I enjoyed the message of the book and keep learning more from the discussion and analyses.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death and Grief

Minor: Drug use, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Sexual content, and Alcohol

hannah8713's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug use, Racism, and Murder

Minor: Incest and Physical abuse

leonkoenig's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.75

how was this 3000 pages long

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug use, and Murder

Moderate: Homophobia and Racial slurs

midnightstory's review against another edition

mysterious reflective tense slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Homophobia, Incest, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Animal death, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Medical content, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, and Antisemitism

st4rryn1ght's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

i don’t even know how to rate this 
it was so good yet made me contemplate about my life decisions 
even though i read it in my native language i still didn’t know a few words and i loved looking them up
i’m so gonna reread this 
it kinda left my heart shattered

WHY DID HENRY HAVE TO DIE AND WHY WOULD RICHARD WANT TO MAVE BACK TO CALIFORNIA???? AND THE ENDING WAS BRUTAL

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug use, and Suicide

Moderate: Incest

pam_'s review against another edition

dark funny reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

One of the best books I’ve read in years. I’m late to the party, but this book was fantastic.

My one complaint: the second act of this book was underwhelming. The story lost steam and started to feel needlessly drawn out. I’m pretty sure we could have cut 100 pages (at least) and still have included all the necessary plot points to bring about the conclusion of the story.

Other than that, I absolutely loved it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Murder, and Classism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, Drug use, Homophobia, Incest, Grief, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

feodora's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug use, Gun violence, Incest, Sexual assault, Blood, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Alcohol