Reviews tagging 'Antisemitism'

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

320 reviews

benteasm's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• 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, Death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Suicide, Antisemitism, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Incest, Infidelity, and Panic attacks/disorders

tayaingrid's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Incest, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Antisemitism, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Almost every character is a raging misogynist.

jellyparfum's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Suicide, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, and Islamophobia

Minor: Incest, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, and Classism

the_neeerd's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious reflective 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

This is my favorite book because everyone in it sucks so bad. not a single character makes a good choice. and then they all make each other worse. If you take this book seriously, you're missing the point. 

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Content Warnings

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

roaming_enn's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-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

4.75

Does such a thing as "the fatal flaw," that showy dark crack running down the middle of a life, exist outside of literature? It used to think it didn't. Now I think it does. And I think mine is this: a morbid longing for the picturesque at all costs.

Beauty is terror. Whatever we call beautiful, we quiver before it. And what could be more terrifying and beautiful, to souls like t he Greeks or our own, than to lose control completely? To throw off the chains of being for an instant, to shatter the accident of our mortal selves?

Summary:
This book is about a bunch of Ancient Greek undergraduate students and that time they murdered one of their classmates. The one who dies is revealed in the beginning, and it is the HOW they get there that's the real story. The story is told in first-person through Richard Papen's POV, a newest Greek student that the professor accepts, newest member of the group that had been together for longer. He is writing just under a decade after the events of the book. 

Thoughts:
I love how academic it was, and it feels like a book written by an academic (which it was) for other academics. The author doesn't hold your hand, assuming you're smart enough to follow the story with what she gives you. There was at least one scene that I thought was entirely unnecessary for the Islamophobia it spewed, and I'm still not sure why it was included. The ending was a little disappointing because I wanted things to be a particular way but they ended up not. I wish it had been more than just a handful of years later when the story is told, rather than Richard still being a young man. But in either case, a lot of people seem to hate this book. I loved it. I don't love the characters, but I found them, and the story, REALLY compelling. And for me, that makes up for not loving the characters. 

Be sure to check all the content warnings. I tried to include as many as I could think of in this review. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Murder

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Islamophobia

Minor: Cursing, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Vomit, and Antisemitism

fkshg8465's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• 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

I loved The Goldfinch and was expecting to love this one too, but instead, I’m unclear why this book was such a big deal. The whole time, I keep wondering if this book inspired Shonda Rhimes into How to Get Away with Murder, and like that TV show, I hated the premise of the plot and still watched every episode and read every page, and in the end, all I am left is to wonder why I did.

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Content Warnings

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

helena_buchwelt's review against another edition

funny mysterious medium-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Alcohol

Minor: Homophobia, Incest, Vomit, and Antisemitism

solarwaltz's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense 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

5.0

I really enjoyed the atmosphere of this book. This writer is so masterful at just writing the most gut wrenching twist and turns in her books. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Incest, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Cursing, Drug use, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Suicide, Antisemitism, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

sabripolin's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Blood, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Classism

Moderate: Chronic illness, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Incest, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

sarahlizzie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense 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

5.0

Horrible book. Read this if you want to be haunted, day and night, by fiction. If you like the feeling of being flayed one inch at a time, read this book. Five stars.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Suicide, Violence, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, and Murder

Moderate: Drug abuse, Homophobia, Incest, and Antisemitism

Minor: Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, and Vomit