Reviews - Щиголь | The StoryGraph

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22.1k reviews for:

Щиголь

Donna Tartt

3.96 AVERAGE

itshoustonsproblem's review against another edition

4.25

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

kens_reads's review against another edition

4.0

Enjoyed this book. So hard to watch Theo's life devolve and see where the loss of his mother and subsequent actions takes him. Found myself cheering for him on his upswings and rooting for him to find his way back as he fell off the rails. Also found myself loving Boris despite it all.

rs_'s review against another edition

4.0

emotional medium-paced

sleepypandaa's review against another edition

3.0

challenging dark mysterious sad slow-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

Content Warnings

eleanor_rose22's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This was an odyssey, a gorgeous and exquisite tale about grief, beauty, nostalgia, growing up, art, and human connections. Following Theo as he grows up from a traumatised 13 y/o to a self-destructive, socialite adult, all while obsessing over this painting, his final connection to his mother, was just breath-taking in Tartt’s characteristically exceptional prose. Theo reminded me a lot of Hamlet: an absolute bastard with a head full of trauma that makes you laugh at the darkest points and cry at the most tender. And when you think it’d be easier to escape this rotting world and just die, maybe instead you should hang on just one more day - because why the fuck not.
Though the structure isn’t as tight as TSH and it could certainly be more concise, it would be criminal to give this less than five stars.

Content Warnings

miarboretum's review against another edition

5.0

A heart-wrenching story that took nearly a year to finish reading.

The writing is beautiful, careful, with eloquently described inner and outer landscapes- the distinctive descriptive quality that Tartt has .

I've heard that the last half of the book is the hardest to read for some, but for me, it was the beginning. After finishing it (and staying up several nights past my bedtime to do so, ha) my heart feels full.

sweaterheather27's review against another edition

5.0

This book was a beautiful form of messy escapism. Every time Donna Tartt writes it's like she's fathoming pieces of a human soul into words- I love it.. This book has changed the way I see art and there are creases everywhere in passages that I see myself wanting to read again and again. Characters in this book are humorous, flawed, and just beautifully constructed. A must-read if you want to live someone else's life for a while.