Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

48 reviews

tea_kettle's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Physical abuse, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, and Classism

Minor: Animal death, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Sexual content, Antisemitism, and Death of parent

ambdocksey22's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Biphobia, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Outing, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

kelseyr713's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective 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

2.0

I appreciated this on a technical level, but there is so little happening (in terms of plot) from page to page and it’s just not what I’m looking for in the contemporary books I read. I love this level of detail in science fiction or fantasy or speculative novels, but I don’t think it’s necessary here.

It definitely made the English Literature major part of my brain light up again though. I was thinking about essay topics as I read (the amount of character analysis alone…)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Classism

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

stvalentine's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

i have been implored for years by my friends to read this book, and i knew why only a few pages. donna tartt's writing style is magnetic - the way that she tells the narrative draws you in, just as richard is drawn into the cult-like friend group (classics students are exactly like that). there are times when the text is indistinguishable between narrative and poetry, and is all the more beautiful for it. i see now why this book is such a legend, has a comfortable, gilded seat on so many essential reading lists, and is endlessly described as having a cult following. creepy, enthralling, intimate, poisonous, life-changing. go read it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Confinement, Racism, and Classism

rosaleekarisma's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicide, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Addiction, Drug use, Homophobia, Incest, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Antisemitism, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Gaslighting

Minor: Domestic abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Rape, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Car accident, and Death of parent

intrusive thoughts

rae_diant's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Racial slurs, Suicide, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Addiction, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Gaslighting

taleofabibliophile's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Eating disorder and Medical content

Minor: Ableism, Cancer, Infidelity, Sexual content, Vomit, Antisemitism, Car accident, and Death of parent

lindseyhall44's review against another edition

dark 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

5.0

“Even more terrible, as we grow older, to learn that no person, no matter how beloved, can ever truly understand us. Our own selves make us most unhappy, and that’s why we’re so anxious to loose them.”
The Secret History follows Richard, a poor transfer student from California, who joins an elite classics curriculum on a whim, only to be pulled into the eccentrics and depravity of his six fellow classics students and their encouraging teacher.

As modern classic and inspiration for many of the writing minds of today, I expected to enjoy this novel greatly. However, I could have never predicted the hold it would have on me, even months after reading.

Richard was such an interesting choice as a narrator, since he emulated the “Nick Carroway effect” from the Great Gastby, navigating the line between accomplice and complicit, outsider versus infiltrator.

One aspect of the novel that gets lost in translation is its satirical premise. While it may be easy to romanticize the aspects of the novel Tartt creates, especially the setting, recognizing the privilege, racism, and elitism in higher institutions is an important part of the story.

Overall, for fans of literary fiction with a blend of thriller, I would suggest The Secret History as your next read! But as always, check trigger warnings before reading!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Classism

uhh_sydney's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.25

People hyped up this book so much as a dark academia necessity when all they did was chainsmoke, drink too much, and kill people. Richard is the most boring protagonist I’ve ever read. He’s just a vessel for other characters to tell him and by extension the reader what the plot line is. He has hardly any personality if his own. This book doesn’t show, it tells. I want to watch things fall apart before me, not have some other character ramble to Richard for three and a half pages. Also, why is everyone obsessed with Camilla?

Why does Richard love her besides she’s pretty I guess? Why does she get involved with Henry? Why does HER OWN TWIN BROTHER GET ROMANTICALLY INVOLVED WITH HER????? Still don’t understand the exact motives behind murdering Bunny either.

Felt a little uneasy about the portrayal of Francis’ homosexuality, but I can’t put my finger on it. Not necessarily a critique of the elite institution, which is what the book has the potential to be. Definitely more focused on the aesthetic. It had its bright moments, but overall I was dissapointed by this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Incest, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Car accident

Minor: Infidelity, Rape, Religious bigotry, and Classism

uhm_kai's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

2.5

it was wordy & descriptive which i enjoyed, but it was so pretentious and took so long to build up to actual tension - and then it was weird with unnecessary incest and a 'bury your gays' type thing...

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Antisemitism, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail