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Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Incest, Suicide, Islamophobia, Suicide attempt, Murder, Classism
Minor: Violence
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Emotional abuse, Violence, Blood, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Classism
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Drug use, Incest, Misogyny, Racism
Minor: Gun violence, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Antisemitism, Islamophobia
Graphic: Incest, Suicide, Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape
Minor: Islamophobia
It also discusses death and fate, isolation and knowledge, control and obsession, class and wealth. The way that Donna Tartt is able to weave so many themes into one book is phenomenal to see. There is never a point in which this book feels scattered or like it's doing too much. It keeps you enthralled from beginning to end.
This book is a masterclass in writing and intrigue. The fact that the "main event" doesn't happen until halfway through the book, but you are interested for all of the pages beforehand and all of the pages afterward, is quite a unique feat.
I finally feel complete in my dark academic dreams having finally read this book all the way through. I started it once before when I was 13. I got about halfway through and I actually annotated it back then! They are the ugliest annotations I've ever seen and it was pretty funny to be able to see them. I think I thought I was pretty clever lol 😂 I don't know where I got half of the things that I wrote down back then from! The most random, kind of pretentious annotations 💀
All in all, I loved reading and annotating this book, and it absolutely lives up to the hype. There are a few things that felt a little odd or unnecessary to me that are keeping me from giving it a full five stars, therefore I'm giving the secret history a still VERY good 4.75 ⭐
(Please look up the trigger warnings before reading this book)
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Racism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Classism
Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Islamophobia, Murder
Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Classism
Moderate: Homophobia, Incest, Racial slurs, Racism, Blood, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Murder
Minor: Rape, Suicidal thoughts
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Cursing, Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Grief, Classism
Unfortunately, this book is also packed full of bigotry. There is racism, homophobia, and misogyny all over the place. And it isn't simply down to the characters being jerks. An actual line from the text, during Richard's first class with Julian: "He poured the tea as solemnly as a mandarin." The only times that bigotry is ever challenged by the narrative is when the bigotry is cartoonishly overt and hostile.
The following is not a spoiler, and serves as an example of the bigotry in this book and the filler.
There is a full page dedicated to discussing a fictional Middle Eastern country which is named Isram. ISRAM. This fictional Middle Eastern country, with only one letter changed from the dominant religion of the Middle East, is described as a terrorist state and is said to have a jihad against the main character's Greek/Classics professor.
This is all pure filler, too. There's absolutely no reason for it to be there. But there it is. Isram.
There is no convincing me that Tartt isn't a horribly bigoted person after reading that.
Graphic: Addiction, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Murder, Toxic friendship
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, Drug use, Suicide, Blood, Vomit, Murder, Alcohol
Moderate: Chronic illness, Homophobia, Incest, Grief, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Minor: Eating disorder, Sexism, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Car accident, Suicide attempt
Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug use
Minor: Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Suicide, Xenophobia, Blood, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Classism