Scan barcode
lacey_wi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Murder, Alcoholism, Classism, Racism, Violence, Gun violence, Death, Sexism, Physical abuse, Addiction, Chronic illness, Sexual content, Vomit, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Cursing, Self harm, Animal cruelty, Misogyny, Blood, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Incest, Toxic friendship, Medical trauma, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
whoknowss's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Death and Murder
Moderate: Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, and Drug use
Minor: Homophobia, Sexism, and Incest
valmoony's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Grief, Gun violence, Mental illness, Blood, Addiction, Gore, Physical abuse, Vomit, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gaslighting, Car accident, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, Homophobia, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Antisemitism, Classism, Bullying, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, and Incest
bubblyfemme's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is such an interesting study of class, the evils of old money and a brilliant satire of the ever-growing hunger to romanticise old money and elitist acadimia.
Graphic: Classism, Incest, Drug use, Alcoholism, Death, Alcohol, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Murder, Violence, Toxic friendship, and Homophobia
Minor: Car accident and Physical abuse
githgorlfriend's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
i love the writing style so so much and i really feel like i thought i knew what to expect - and then it became totally different from what i expected - but by the end it couldn't have been any other way!
Graphic: Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Murder
Moderate: Physical abuse
Minor: Incest and Homophobia
noamireadsgraphicsmurfnovels's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Antisemitism, Classism, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Emotional abuse, Blood, Incest, Mental illness, Homophobia, Murder, Self harm, Rape, Sexual violence, Car accident, Animal death, Bullying, Drug use, Animal cruelty, Death, and Physical abuse
aritacb's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
3.75/5
Short version to spare those who don’t want to read my sleep deprived rambling (writing this at 3 a.m. on my night shift lol): modern Greek tragedy, elite college kids, and Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment vibes. Big themes were the privilege of wealth, moral depravity, and academic elitism.
This isn’t quite what I anticipated. I’m honestly kind of conflicted and will be looking into other people’s thoughts of this novel. Though I enjoyed the overall story, I felt myself wanting more out of it and the ending had me feeling more like this. My impression was that it was meant to be satirical and I felt it wasn’t clearly evident that it was (at least not typical humorous satire)- especially considering the fact that there are overwhelming amount of people who take this book way too seriously and completely ignore the extreme exaggeration.
Readers commonly put these characters that are written to be unlikable, and that are not “morally gray” but as they later discover are utterly depraved, on a pedestal and romanticize them. At the beginning, the narrator describes the group as almost ethereal and academically transcendental but as the plot progresses, you start to see their true colors and the plot dives further into their character flaws. I did however enjoy the transition into their descent and the difference in how they were perceived between the two books - not the characters themselves (definitely not the narrator who annoyed me) but the juxtaposition of their initial and final impressions.
What I also liked about the novel, was Tartt’s beautiful imagery and the story telling. I loved the academic verbiage even though it got annoying when used outside of the campus setting - which I know was intentional so that the characters would be seen as pretentious. I probably most enjoyed the dark academia aesthetic of the first half of the book the most (tangent - which is why I for sure need to read Babel by RF Kuang which is partly inspired by this novel.)
There were parts in the book that were problematic and although they made sense for the plot, they weren’t really necessary. Also, there were some scenes that I felt didn’t add to the overall plot that could have been omitted. Finally, I felt like Camilla’s character wasn’t as developed as the others, maybe because she was the avoidant manic pixie dream girl type but I wanted a bit more of a backstory for her - especially since the narrator was so obsessed with her. These reasons and the fact that the novel wasn’t I expected are why I gave this rating I did.
This book is fantastic for fall but I don’t think it would be everyone’s cup of tea, so I wouldn’t recommend it to everyone. It’s not an easy going read, especially with the plethora of classical academic references and the countless moral dilemmas (this is the main issue) in the book. I’d recommend looking up the trigger warnings.
12/9 edit:
Changing my rating because her writing keeps popping up in my head. It’s truly excellent.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Murder, Violence, and Drug use
Moderate: Physical abuse and Racial slurs
Minor: Sexual content, Incest, and Rape
sasquatch_3's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Murder, Incest, Gun violence, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Sexual violence, Self harm, Religious bigotry, Toxic friendship, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Drug abuse, Grief, Drug use, Death, Cursing, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Antisemitism, Hate crime, Mental illness, and Vomit
faithstuff's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Panic attacks/disorders, Chronic illness, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Dysphoria, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Classism, Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Death, Incest, Violence, Gore, Grief, and Medical content
lenniealex's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Physical abuse
Minor: Rape