Reviews with content warning for Gun violence - The Secret History

Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

602 reviews

funmilayo's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective 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

5.0

“One likes to think there's something in it, that old platitude amor vincit omnia. But if I've learned one thing in my short sad life, it is that that particular platitude is a lie. Love doesn't conquer everything. And whoever thinks it does is a fool."

To make the reader care so deeply about characters so rotten and unlikeable is quite an impressive thing. None of the characters are good but all of them are incredibly real. Donna Tartt's writing is unbelievably vivid and beautifully haunting. I have never read anything quite like this novel and I doubt that I shall ever read anything like it again. The story starts out somewhat slow but it is more than worth it to get through those first few pages. I don't really know what else to say about this book so I'll just add some of my favourite Quotes.

“Forgive me, for all the things I did but mostly for the ones that I did not.”

“There are such things as ghosts. People everywhere have always known that. And we believe in them every bit as much as Homer did. Only now, we call them by different names. Memory. The unconscious.”

“Why does that obstinate little voice in our heads torment us so? Could it be because it reminds us that we are alive, of our mortality, of our individual souls – which, after all, we are too afraid to surrender but yet make us feel more miserable than any other thing? It is a terrible thing to learn as a child that one is a being separate from the world, that no one and no thing hurts along with one’s burned tongues and skinned knees, that one’s aches and pains are all one’s own. Even more terrible, as we grow older, to learn that no person, no matter how beloved, can ever truly understand us. Our own selves make us most unhappy, and that’s why we’re so anxious to lose them, don’t you think?”

"some things are too terrible to grasp at once. other things – naked, sputtering, indelible in their horror – are too terrible to really ever grasp at all. it is only later, in solitude, in memory, that the realization dawns: when the ashes are cold; when the mourners have departed; when one looks around and finds oneself – quite to one's surprise – in an entirely different world."

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_dasbrot's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0

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catbuechler's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad slow-paced

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

1.5

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e_r_b's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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abbystevenson's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

3.75

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spicycheesecake's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

God, I finished this book at 1:30am the day before classes start. I can't go to sleep now without getting some of my thoughts down.

This book was beautiful. It's well-written, filled with interesting and captivating events, has loveable and relatable (to an extent) characters.

However, I found that some components of the book were slightly triggering, especially concerning Henry's actions and personality. I found myself feeling miserable as I read through part II. It was the accumulation of Bunny's death, everyone's illness, depression, alcoholism, and erratic behaviour that just made me feel so... depressed.

I read through all of part II in a single day so I could rid myself of these feelings and not have to worry about the suspense of what would happen next.

Even though I felt like shit for half the story, I loved this book so much. I loved every single little part about it. There is not one thing I disliked. Even though I found some things immoral, I think it spiced up the storyline a lot and made things so interesting. Very epic.

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