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peppermintz's review against another edition
- 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
Also, was Donna Tartt paid by the word?? Why is this book so long with soooo much unnecessary detail.
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Classism
Moderate: Animal death, Drug use, Gun violence, Incest, Racial slurs, Racism, Islamophobia, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
tea_and_reading'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
3.75
Graphic: Murder
Minor: Homophobia, Sexism, Antisemitism, and Islamophobia
shireenreid'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
3.75
I liked the book, but every time I came across racism (it was towards my people too) I contemplated not finishing it.
the writing style was good but i skipped over so many paragraphs cuz it got so slow and boring sometimes. I dont really care to read three paragraphs on what a tree looks like.
other than that, it was a good book. It actually made me shed a few tears.
Graphic: Homophobia, Incest, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Suicide attempt, and Murder
bookishfaye's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
dhritidipa7's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
moonbeamdmercutio's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Animal death, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Grief, and Car accident
Minor: Racism, Vomit, and Islamophobia
beckyg1016's review against another edition
2.0
Additionally, as noted in the Content Warnings section, Bunny is a difficult character to read. I get that you aren't supposed to like him, he is typical for the time, etc. but I was uncomfortable nearly every time he opened his mouth and that, at least, puts you on the side of the other characters. I surely did not miss him once he was gone.
To be fair, Tartt has a lovely writing voice. If she didn't, this would absolutely be my first DNF of the year. The story was captivating for maybe 250/550 pages - the rest was just a push to finish so I could move on to the next book in my TBR pile.
Every book has its reader - and I've seen plenty of people giving this book high ratings - so maybe that reader is you, and you will love it. I hope so. It certainly wasn't for me.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Gore, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Self harm, Suicide, Islamophobia, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Incest, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Toxic friendship, and Classism
esther_d'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
4.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Drug use, Incest, Suicide, and Murder
Moderate: Homophobia, Racial slurs, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Xenophobia, and Suicide attempt
globgr's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Alcoholism and Murder
Moderate: Drug use, Homophobia, Incest, Racial slurs, and Suicide
Minor: Islamophobia
barbiedreamlibrary'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
3.5
This is a story told from the viewpoint of the most milquetoast NPC of a narrator to ever narrate named Richard. 🙄 It’s about a student that transfers from California (his home state) to an elite liberal arts college in Vermont. He becomes enamored with and befriends a group of students that are also studying Ancient Greek. Anyways, what I was anticipating was a robust plot with an occasional bacchanal but I would often take breaks from this book because there’s only so much drinking, drugging and smoking one can do and it was boring and worrisome for the characters and the reading became such a drudge. To sum up this book, you’re essentially privy to 550+ pages of the moral decay of this friend group which includes: murder, incest, suicide, alcoholism, drunk driving, drugs, homophobia, Islamophobia, racism, etc. While I was reading this I was expecting this to be an unreliable narrator twist but sadly Richard remained devoid of any personality through the end.
The only redeemable main character in the story for me was annoying af Bunny, not even Richard found murdering people to be enough of an objectionable offense to stop hanging out with these people. The writing was descriptive and at times really nice but the plot and character building was too anemic to thoroughly enjoy.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Incest, Racism, Suicide, Islamophobia, and Murder