Reviews tagging 'Religious bigotry'

Тайната история by Donna Tartt

132 reviews

carol16's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

3.25

Really disturbing book that made me deeply depressed - not entirely sure why this is on the list of dark academia books because it just doesn't give much academia vibes. I think I am more of a light academia girlie. I did however think it was well written and gives much to chew on - which is why it is rated 3 stars. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Alcoholism, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Sexual content, Violence, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, and Incest

Minor: Homophobia, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, and Islamophobia

manderleylilacs's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective 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

4.0

I'm really glad I read this, it was down as a bucket list read for a long time. a I'm honestly shocked that so much of the dark academia aesthetic was tied to this novel, since it's shown throughout the book that the students taking Greek are pretentious, self-absorbed pricks; and it seems like everyone else in the university is incompetent or drunk/high constantly. The valley girls who the Greek students look down on seem to be the only semi-decent people here. That isn't a critique at all since that looks to be the point, but I don't know how that part of the fandom was able to emerge, I was gripped towards the end of the book wondering what would happen to the group, not that I was particularly wishing for a happy ending for any of them. I might have been more ~enamoured~ with the characters or aesthetic is I had read this as a teenager.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Violence, Islamophobia, Drug use, Racism, Addiction, Murder, Racial slurs, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Classism, Alcohol, and Gun violence

Moderate: Incest, Abandonment, Physical abuse, and Gore

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Rape, and Religious bigotry

I'm really glad I read this, it was down as a bucket list read for a long time. a I'm honestly shocked that so much of the dark academia aesthetic was tied to this novel, since it's shown throughout the book that the students taking Greek are pretentious, self-absorbed pricks; and it seems like everyone else in the university is incompetent or drunk/high constantly. The valley girls who the Greek students look down on seem to be the only semi-decent people here. That isn't a critique at all since that looks to be the point, but I don't know how that part of the fandom was able to emerge, I was gripped towards the end of the book wondering what would happen to the group, not that I was particularly wishing for a happy ending for any of them. I might have been more ~enamoured~ with the characters or aesthetic is I had read this as a teenager.

carefulfearanddeaddevotion's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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

2.75

 This book has been on my TBR for a decade, and sadly, it disappointed.

The only thing that saved this book from being a 1 star read is the writing. The scenes are well-paced, the conversations natural, the descriptions--both of location and feeling--are extremely vivid. Unlike The Goldfinch, I was able to finish this book. Like The Goldfinch, I found the characters bland and insufferable. I really just could not empathize or even sympathize with any of them. When Bunny was alive, he was bigoted and not very likeable. Once he died, I did feel bad for him, but only because I am not a psychopath and I think murdering a friend because they found out you murdered someone else is bad, actually.

I did find myself actively enjoying the book after

Julian finds out that Henry (and the whole friend group, really) killed Bunny

. Richard is finally able to see how he built up Julian and the whole group to be these perfect, aspirational people, when really they're not perfect, not at all. I could feel his panic, and his disgust, and this is when he started to feel more real, and therefore more enjoyable.

Not really that important overall, but was I actually meant to believe that he's in love with Camilla?? I'd sooner believe that he's in love with Cloke. He definitely had much more believable chemistry with all the boys in the group (or even Judy) than he did with Camilla. Just like Meredith and Oliver(?) in If We Were Villains I don't buy it, I really don't. Stop with the forced heterosexuality, stop shoving that shit down my throat. /lh

ALSO we find out that, actually, Bunny was right and Camilla and Charles ARE fucking. ewewewewewewwwwww.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Alcoholism, and Suicide

Moderate: Homophobia, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Xenophobia, Vomit, Incest, Blood, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Racism, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Mental illness, Islamophobia, Gun violence, Gaslighting, Drug use, Drug abuse, Classism, and Antisemitism

komiification's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

5.0

One of the greatest pieces of literary fiction I've ever read. Unsurprising that this created an entire subculture. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Cursing, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Murder, Gun violence, Death, Suicide, Drug use, Blood, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Incest, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Animal death, Grief, Mental illness, Classism, and Misogyny

Minor: Rape

naomi_salters's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad 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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Car accident, Chronic illness, Drug use, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Cursing, Drug abuse, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Grief, Incest, Suicide, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Blood, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Medical content, Self harm, Sexism, Addiction, Death, Body shaming, Hate crime, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Bullying, Homophobia, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Animal death, and Violence

arthedgehog's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Incest, Gaslighting, Drug use, Drug abuse, Addiction, Grief, Gore, Gun violence, Blood, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Death, and Classism

Moderate: Cursing, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Xenophobia, Gore, Death, Alcohol, Incest, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Racism, Toxic friendship, Forced institutionalization, Classism, Gun violence, Animal death, Islamophobia, Homophobia, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Murder, Infidelity, Antisemitism, Drug use, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Gun violence, Gore, Drug use, Classism, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Medical content, Islamophobia, Cursing, Sexual assault, Rape, Abandonment, Car accident, Suicide, Sexism, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Drug abuse, Biphobia, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Mental illness, Adult/minor relationship, Religious bigotry, Eating disorder, Deportation, Racism, Homophobia, Antisemitism, Misogyny, and Incest

koiolee's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

Maybe I'll up the star rating after i mull it all over. But this book was incredibly slow. Wonderful prose and addictive writing. I'm left feeling like I'm a pig trotting through mud. I'm happy, but still going so very slow. I think this book would be wonderful for people interested in classics or Greek for them to cross reference, find lil tidbits, analyze why certain paragraphs were there necessary or even what they're alluding to. Unfortunately that's not me, i did not do that and it was a fine enough read. A bit long, a bit tedious, but not a bad read at all. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Violence, Stalking, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Classism, Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Death, Body horror, Incest, Hate crime, Gun violence, Drug abuse, Antisemitism, Alcoholism, Rape, Racism, Suicide, Self harm, Mental illness, Islamophobia, Grief, Gore, Gaslighting, Drug use, Murder, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Religious bigotry, Racial slurs, Misogyny, Medical content, Addiction, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol

piikasmalls's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Toxic friendship, Gun violence, Drug use, Alcohol, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, and Self harm

Moderate: Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Alcoholism, Incest, Violence, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Xenophobia, Cursing, Racism, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, and Grief

Minor: Blood

cherryfreckle's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Suicide attempt, Cursing, Drug abuse, Murder, Suicide, Violence, Alcohol, Drug use, Incest, Alcoholism, Classism, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Medical trauma, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Medical content

Minor: Death of parent, Cancer, Vomit, Eating disorder, and Misogyny

dhritidipa7's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Antisemitism, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Violence, Body horror, Bullying, Drug use, Physical abuse, Blood, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Animal death, Eating disorder, Incest, Islamophobia, Murder, Racial slurs, Suicide attempt, Death, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Animal cruelty, Gun violence, Homophobia, Sexism, Religious bigotry, and Toxic relationship