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4.18 AVERAGE
4.18 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
wtf just happened
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
reflective
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
Someone told me I was too old to enjoy this book—and I think they might be right, because here we have a group of college students, very young, very privileged, very elitist, doing all sorts of nonsense. We know Bunny, one of the friends, has died, but we don’t know how. That’s the first part; the second focuses on the consequences of his death and what happens to the group of friends—the guilt, and how each of them deals with those feelings in very different ways. I liked Donna Tartt’s writing, but the resolution fell short of my expectations, and I think it could have easily been 200 pages shorter, because how many times can you describe college students drinking, smoking, and going to parties?
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
DNF. Obviously in the minority here, but I just Did. Not. Care. Didn’t like the characters, didn’t care what the mystery was. Not for me
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
*Deep breath* Okay, lets do this.
If I was younger and still in my Tumblr era, I think I would have made this my whole personality. I would have romanticized the shit out of this and would have reblogged any dark academia edits of it.
Alas, I am a 30 year old woman now and, unfortunately, don't always view things with rose tinted glasses.
First and foremost, I want to preface this by saying that although I have critiques, it does not mean I did not like this or that I did not 'get it'. I can see the value and can see why so many people are absolutely devoted to this book. I get the hype that all the girlies are talking about.
Things I loved: Like most people, I devoured the first half. The writing in this section of the book was so compelling and had such decadent, lush writing and imagery. It had such an addictive and mesmerizing narrative. The author uses this as a wonderful tool to make us fall in love with such insular, insufferable, pretentious and elitist characters. The pacing was perfect. I also love the allegories, and the allusions to Greek tragedies and all the connections you can go on a deep rabbit hole doing. It's all so fascinating. Its quite literally, part of the fun and appeal and I can't wait to dive even deeper and listen to analyses and podcasts.
Things I didn't love: Talking about rabbit holes....I went on one learning about how potentially racist the author is. Her use of slurs/stereotypes of Arabs left me such a bad taste. I get it, it's all in the name of satire and criticisms of people who actually speak and think that way. But with media like this, the lines can get blurred really easily and it can become the very thing it is criticizing. Which brings me to my next point. Like mentioned, this book is one big critique and satire of the woes and follies of academia and its elistist and insular people. But by writing it in such a 'picturesque' way, it attracts the very people its critiquing!!! I don't know, this particular point can be a flaw, or it can be genius depending on the audience. Lastly, the second half of the book also lost a lot of the compelling characteristics that made the first part so enthralling. I was sick of reading about people knocking on each others door at like 3 am and smoking cigarettes and getting drunk. I honestly couldn't wait to get to the end and figured out what everyone was up to. Again, this can be a particular stroke of genius depending on who you ask (one can argue that that was the point of the second half, to view these characters without those rose tinted glasses). Still, whether deliberate or not, it was still such a slog to get through.
The ending did quite redeem the sluggish third quarter of the book, I will say that!!
I can't in good conscious give this book five stars, mostly because of everything that can be said about racism. However, I LIVE for discourse and I LIVE for media that can be interpreted in a number of ways, and a LOT can be said about this book. That, coupled with the beautiful and mesmerizing writing, is why I'm giving this four stars.
Perhaps, my fatal flaw is that I, too, have a morbid longing for the picturesque at all costs.
If I was younger and still in my Tumblr era, I think I would have made this my whole personality. I would have romanticized the shit out of this and would have reblogged any dark academia edits of it.
Alas, I am a 30 year old woman now and, unfortunately, don't always view things with rose tinted glasses.
First and foremost, I want to preface this by saying that although I have critiques, it does not mean I did not like this or that I did not 'get it'. I can see the value and can see why so many people are absolutely devoted to this book. I get the hype that all the girlies are talking about.
Things I loved: Like most people, I devoured the first half. The writing in this section of the book was so compelling and had such decadent, lush writing and imagery. It had such an addictive and mesmerizing narrative. The author uses this as a wonderful tool to make us fall in love with such insular, insufferable, pretentious and elitist characters. The pacing was perfect. I also love the allegories, and the allusions to Greek tragedies and all the connections you can go on a deep rabbit hole doing. It's all so fascinating. Its quite literally, part of the fun and appeal and I can't wait to dive even deeper and listen to analyses and podcasts.
Things I didn't love: Talking about rabbit holes....I went on one learning about how potentially racist the author is. Her use of slurs/stereotypes of Arabs left me such a bad taste. I get it, it's all in the name of satire and criticisms of people who actually speak and think that way. But with media like this, the lines can get blurred really easily and it can become the very thing it is criticizing. Which brings me to my next point. Like mentioned, this book is one big critique and satire of the woes and follies of academia and its elistist and insular people. But by writing it in such a 'picturesque' way, it attracts the very people its critiquing!!! I don't know, this particular point can be a flaw, or it can be genius depending on the audience. Lastly, the second half of the book also lost a lot of the compelling characteristics that made the first part so enthralling. I was sick of reading about people knocking on each others door at like 3 am and smoking cigarettes and getting drunk. I honestly couldn't wait to get to the end and figured out what everyone was up to. Again, this can be a particular stroke of genius depending on who you ask (one can argue that that was the point of the second half, to view these characters without those rose tinted glasses). Still, whether deliberate or not, it was still such a slog to get through.
The ending did quite redeem the sluggish third quarter of the book, I will say that!!
I can't in good conscious give this book five stars, mostly because of everything that can be said about racism. However, I LIVE for discourse and I LIVE for media that can be interpreted in a number of ways, and a LOT can be said about this book. That, coupled with the beautiful and mesmerizing writing, is why I'm giving this four stars.
Perhaps, my fatal flaw is that I, too, have a morbid longing for the picturesque at all costs.