Reviews with content warning for Animal cruelty - The Little Friend

This was a gritty coming of age story clouded in grief and mystery. It provided an in depth look at privilege and racism in the 1960’s. Harriet was an interesting, unique character who, despite never knowing him, was desperate to solve her brother's murder. This is shown several times through the book in different ways. It shows that grief doesn’t come only from death, but growing up in the shadow of someone else.

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jelliestars's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.75

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kari_t's review against another edition

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challenging dark 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

3.0

I can't say loudly enough how much I love Donna Tartt's superior writing ability. Truly next level and unlike literally any author I have ever read. But, unfortunately, the problems I had with this book outweighted the enjoyment.

First: The constant flow of disturbing events and misery. Just a parade of depression: animal abuse, animal death, animal neglect, child abuse, child death, child neglect, racism, drug abuse, meth dealers, white supremacy...and on and on. It just didn't matter to me anymore how well Tartt could write. I just got SO sick and tired of all the awful everything of EVERYONE's life in this small town.

Second: Not a thriller. After reading (and loving) The Goldfinch and The Secret History by Tartt, I was particularly excited to pick up The Little Friend, seeing it slotted as "Mystery/Thriller" and "Psychological Thriller". It is neither. The blurb proclaims things like "...Harriet...sets out to unmask (her brother's) killer" and "Filled with hairpin turns of plot...". Meh. While true Harriet tries for a time to determine the killer, as a pre-teem might do, she decides quickly who to blame. Then it's all about how she'll try to get revenge or justice. Most of the book is just atmospheric description (albeit brilliantly written) but there is not much going on from page to page. There are scenes of action and suspense at some times, but overall, no...this is not a mystery/thriller.

And so, I'm being generous with 3-stars because of Tartt's writing. But the deeply dreary and subject matter and violence on every...single...page, and the ambling, pointless arc of the plot was a 1-star.

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evelix's review

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

3.25

Okay so… I became really connected the characters (especially Harriet) as the book progressed, which I think DT has a talent for. It definitely felt like I was jumping into the LIVES of the characters, not just the plot, which I have felt reading all of DT’s books. The descriptions are beautiful and the writing is clever. Also, the child’s voice is used SO WELL and the shifting of narrative voice between characters is very very good, a great used of unreliable narration. BUT, there are some things that are kind of hard to ignore. There is a lot of using racist and ableist slurs, which I get is typical for the time period but DT really doesn’t make any meaningful comments condemning the prejudices of the mainly white cast. There are several diverse characters but they are not treated with the same depth or respect as the protagonists, and it feels like the issues of racism and ableism are brought up in passing but not discussed with the respect they deserve. I understand that these topics are not the point of the book, but then why bring them up SO MUCH (and it is a LOT)? The ending was also so abrupt and I felt like the book was soooo slow-paced until the last one hundred or so pages. I don’t mind slow books, but sometimes the pacing felt awkward. It was also just very cobfusing in parts, which might be my lack of understanding, but I guess the ending just annoyed me because it felt like it didn’t really resolve much. I think this book will definitely stick with me, especially the family and characters who I felt like I got so close to, and also because of the incredibly dark subject matter.

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