Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

603 reviews

brianareads's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Racial slurs, Suicide, Violence, and Murder

imogenreading's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad slow-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

4.25

This was hard for me to get into but after about the first hundred pages I was hooked! Everything about it was mind boggling, it certainly challenged me to read it and

the ending was so cathartic!

Updated 14/11/22: Second read! I enjoyed it way more this time around. Appreciated the writing so much more. I move my rating up to 4.5 - still not perfect but very very close. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Racial slurs, Suicide, Vomit, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Classism

aslanjade's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

2.0

The underdeveloped plot and characters are not-so-cleverly concealed under the guise of a pretentious writing style laced with passages in ancient languages that the average reader is unequipped to understand. Tartt should stop trying to flex her fancy degree when she can't even use it to create a well-written token female character to become the "not-like-other-girls" love interest, lest her readers assume the main male character is gay. Oh, wait...

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Violence, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Alcohol

Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, Cursing, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, and Car accident

Minor: Rape, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, and Outing

I apologize if I missed any! I used "graphic" to categorize the ones that appear most frequently, but the "moderate" group is still considerably present in the novel. Please exercise caution before reading this book.

nathaniel_in_exile's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Murder

theoclem7's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective medium-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

4.0

This is my favorite book of all time. It’s a dense read and definitely is not for everyone, but it’s satirical nature makes it enjoyable to read.  The characters can be unlikeable but charming all the same. And it’s so incredibly detailed packed that it’s one of the most immersive modern novels I’ve read. 
The plot is incredibly interesting, though the characterization throughout the book is by far my favorite thing about it. By the end of the book you feel as if you know all the characters personally and it’s a book that will keep you thinking for months after you finish. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Alcohol

Moderate: Animal death, Drug use, Homophobia, and Abandonment

Minor: Cursing, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Religious bigotry

shelby_jane1029's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

helenastinks's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

Richard Papen is objectively a good choice for narrator but holy fuck he's so stupid 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicide, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Blood, Antisemitism, and Medical content

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Religious bigotry, and Outing

abbiemreads's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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, Drug use, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Classism

Minor: Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Car accident, and Suicide attempt

racheldkidder's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.5

This was hands down the weirdest book I have ever read. When I was around 200 pages into the book someone asked me what it was about and I had to tell them I did not know because the only thing of significance that had happened was Richard starting his classes. The beginning of this book is incredibly slow-paced and I felt like nothing was happening until around page 250. Things did eventually pick up, but I would still often find myself reading and wonder what the scene I had just read had to do with the story at all other than to develop the characters, which should have been done much earlier in the book. I realize it sounds like I didn't enjoy the book but I truly did. I do not regret reading it but I probably will never pick it up again or recommend it to anyone. I loved the way the characters were so flawed and not all just perfect white kids running around with money to spare and no consequences to their actions. I do think there was a larger message to the story I missed and I am willing to accept that some of my critiques might be explained by whatever that message was. That being said, I still think there are some things that were unnecessary and inexplicable. for example,

Charles and Cammila sleeping together. Why was there incest and what purpose did it serve?

If it was to give the characters flaws, they already had plenty and did not need that one in particular. I also thought it was odd how the author chose to include that detail, but then only mention it in passing and only ever truly address it once. The ending

of Henry killing himself

, while in my opinion unnecessary, did work to improve the story. Logically, I cannot figure out why that seemed like the right thing to do, but it was, in a way, poetic and felt like a good way to end the book. Overall, I enjoyed the book, but it was so strange and confusing that I cannot say I would recommend it. This is the first time I have ever felt this way about a book and hopefully will be the last. As always, please check trigger warnings because there are a lot in this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Homophobia, and Suicide

Minor: Cursing, Drug use, Gun violence, Incest, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Car accident, and Suicide attempt

ah1244's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

francis abernathy supremacy

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Medical content

Minor: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Antisemitism, and Islamophobia