Reviews tagging 'Outing'

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

44 reviews

ambdocksey22's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

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

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

1.5

this might be the worst book I’ve read in awhile tbh. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Death, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Incest, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Antisemitism, Outing, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

clevermird's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• 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

The latest entry in my quest to read the great classics of Western literature, The Secret History was billed to me as a "modern classic", which often sets me worried - I often do not like "modern classics". But to my surprise, not only was this book not a drag, but I was sucked into the world and found myself really enjoying it. 

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. 

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Content Warnings

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

challenging dark mysterious sad 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

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

andreadelo's review against another edition

challenging dark funny mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Grief, Medical trauma, Outing, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

thefigtree's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Alcohol

Moderate: Incest, Rape, Self harm, and Car accident

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Vomit, Outing, and Classism

standerson's review against another edition

dark reflective tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Incest, Self harm, Suicide, Blood, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Homophobia, Religious bigotry, and Outing

Minor: Rape

esme_may's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense 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

4.0

My deep hatred of

Bunny

knows no bounds. I knew it would be good but no one told me it would be Like This

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Bullying, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Blood, Vomit, Antisemitism, Medical content, Grief, and Car accident

Minor: Cancer, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Outing, and Abandonment

gretag's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Car accident, Murder, Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Vomit and Medical content

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.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cursing, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual violence, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Classism

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Blood, Stalking, Suicide attempt, and Outing

Minor: Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, and Antisemitism