Reviews with content warning for Gun violence - The Secret History

Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

602 reviews

saeruh's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No

5.0

This is without a doubt the strangest book I have ever read. I did not particularly enjoy reading this as I became disgusted almost every line with everything the characters said or did. All of the characters were just so heartless and lacked any type of empathy. However, this is the best writing I ever seen and while I may not want it to, this novel and its prose will stay me for my entire life.
I really don’t know how to feel about any of the characters since Tartt was so good at making you sympathize with them and then immediately having them do something incredibly rude/perverse/gross. Also I recommend reading a list of content/trigger warnings BEFORE you read this because I did not and oh boy there is so so many.

Overall, I wasn’t really grossed out by the murdering since it wasn’t that graphically described but when it came to the part when Tartt describes the incestuous relationship between Charles and Camilla where Richard watches them kiss, I literally thought I was going to throw up. And it was so fucked up how nobody else in the group really cared/already knew 🤢🤢🤢🤢🤮🤮🤮. And then Richard only cares because he wanted to fuck her!!!! what??? There was another scene where you really see how fucked up Richard has become by being involved in all this/maybe it was in him all along when Camilla is in a vulnerable state describing the physical, emotional, and sexual abuse she receives from her brother and the narration is actually something like “I thought I might rape her” What The Fuck man. Who is this dude that we’ve spent so long in ONLY his head actually.

Content Warnings

ging090803's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective 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? No

3.75

So... I was dissapointed? I liked how it was written even though the chapters were extemely long. I liked how it was litterary yet simple. Also, I liked how themes like murders, cover tracks, etc., were discussed as it was normal?

Like, the characters were talking about murdering a friend as if they were organizing a dinner together. It was normal.

Tartt made us feel a some sort of empathy (?) for the characters making us see them as normal people, good people when they are not.
However, I really didn't like how long it was for nothing. It was as if nothing was happening for 600 pages.

It was repetitive. Murder, get away from suspicions, afraid that someone will tell the truth to the police so a little murder to take care of it.

It was the same storyline two times in one book. Everyone was important yet they were irrelevant. The end felt also rushed.
Good book, I still recommended it for people who dont really know if they should or not.

Content Warnings

pinpilinpaux's review against another edition

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reflective slow-paced

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

2.0

This whole book was meh. I found the characters bland and the plot boring. I expected more from a book so hyped, specially for its characters, than

rich snobby kids running around getting drunk and high while thinking they’re the smartest people in the room.

I feel like it was way too long. The very little that happens could have happened in 200 pages less. And I was also disappointed the professor wasn’t in it more, just because of the blurb. Don’t go in thinking he appears much because he doesn’t.

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fa1ryts's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense slow-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

5.0

beautifully written book about a bunch of homosexuals no i know this isn't a book with a happy ending or morally good characters that are lucky but i wish richard ended up with henry or francis or at least confessed his love to either of them i dont care who but his love for camilla felt so forced

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grboph's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense medium-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

4.5

What do I even say about this book? I finally caved and read it after a months-long pressure campaign by my friend and my discovery of a copy at my grandparents' house, and I was not disappointed. I have to say that this is one of the most engaging and entertaining books I've ever read - it didn't take me too long to get sucked into it and it didn't lose my attention for any significant periods of time until I finished it. It was also beautifully written, which made even the less-interesting parts enjoyable. For pure enjoyment and entertainment value, as well as its ability to make me emotionally invested, I would give this book five stars. I docked half a star because of the fact that all the characters are objectively horrible, terrible, no good, very bad people who are so completely disconnected from reality that it is almost embarrassing at certain points, because there are a lot of aspects of the book that felt like Tartt had just said "What's the most screwed-up thing I could write about next?" and then just written the first thing that popped into her head as an answer to that question, because the only female characters were sort of one-dimensional and only there for the men to fight over or be annoyed by (also, the whole Richard-Camilla thing at the end was just weird and totally out of the blue), and because the ending was just so unnecessarily depressing. All in all, I loved every second I spent reading this book. It has a good mystery, some shocking/messed up plot twists, and involves rich people making bad choices that eventually come back to bite them all in the ass (and what's not to like about that?). I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a good murder mystery or something that will fully invest them.

Content Warnings