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felofhe's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
briochebun's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
“Love doesn’t conquer everything. And whoever thinks it does is a fool.”
ੈ✩‧₊˚
The Secret History has been on my TBR for quite some time and I am so glad that I finally put some time aside to read it.
While I cannot say that my life was forever altered by this novel (though my feelings on that may change with time) I feel as though giving it anything less than 4 starts would be doing it an immense disservice. Readers of TSH will be able to see the impact that the novel has had on the Dark Academia genre and I think that in and of itself is an incredible feat that speaks to Tartt’s skill.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Islamophobia, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Outing, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Car accident and Death of parent
Minor: Kidnapping
ro_lux's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Grief, Murder, and Alcohol
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Medical content and Outing
star_oats's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Antisemitism, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
jomamma's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Drug use, Homophobia, Violence, Murder, Outing, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Racism, and Sexism
lavendar_fr0g's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Suicide, Murder, and Alcohol
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Incest, and Antisemitism
Minor: Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Outing, Toxic friendship, and Classism
ambdocksey22's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Biphobia, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Outing, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
safgetou's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Death, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Incest, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Antisemitism, Outing, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
clevermird's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Eager to get away from his boring, tense home life in California, Richard Papen gets a scholarship to Hampden College and moves to Virginia. There, he joins the Classical Studies program and gets to know the tiny, insular department: charismatic, old-fashioned professor Julian; eccentric genius Henry; anxious, dissolute Francis; friendly, alcoholic Charles; his sister, the cool, enigmatic Camilla; and extroverted freeloader Bunny. But by the very first chapter, we know this story can only end badly as Bunny is murdered by the rest of the students for reasons unknown. The rest of the book elaborates on the situation - what led five seemingly normal college students to commit cold-blooded murder? What other secrets are they hiding? And how will they live with themselves afterword?
There's a lot this book does right. The characters are complex, interesting, and full of very human contradictions. The prose is well-done and enjoyable to read and Tartt makes several jabs at academia that I found amusing as a former member of that subculture myself. However, the book isn't perfect, either. The writing, while overall well done, does feel a bit full of itself at times. Some of that is the narrator's personality, but it does get grating at times. Additionally, the book drags at points, even for a slow-paced character study.
Overall, however, a fascinating look at the dark side of academia, the facades that people put up, and what can drive seemingly normal people to desperate ends.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, Blood, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Outing, and Classism
em_gauts's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Outing, and Gaslighting
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, and Stalking