Reviews tagging 'Car accident'

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

131 reviews

briochebun's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

4 out of 5 ☆’s.

“Love doesn’t conquer everything. And whoever thinks it does is a fool.”

ੈ✩‧₊˚

The Secret History has been on my TBR for quite some time and I am so glad that I finally put some time aside to read it.

While I cannot say that my life was forever altered by this novel (though my feelings on that may change with time) I feel as though giving it anything less than 4 starts would be doing it an immense disservice. Readers of TSH will be able to see the impact that the novel has had on the Dark Academia genre and I think that in and of itself is an incredible feat that speaks to Tartt’s skill.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Incest, Murder, Violence, Grief, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Outing, Alcoholism, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Death, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Vomit, Xenophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Alcohol, Drug use, Drug abuse, Islamophobia, Medical content, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, and Gore

Moderate: Car accident and Death of parent

Minor: Kidnapping

dancingwithourhandstied's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• 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

4.0

I really liked this. All the characters are very interesting and would be for analysis. It was really good, I really liked it. I think it’ll stay with me and I’ll be rereading it in some form soon.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Suicide, Death, Incest, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, and Car accident

Minor: Rape, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, Racial slurs, Self harm, and Death of parent

notnikka's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

“It is is better to know one book intimately than a hundred superficially.” 

 

 

I read this book a year ago and didn't give it much thought until I saw the quote above, at which point I thought to myself, yes, that's right, because every year I set a goal to read at least 100 books (which I never achieved!). At the beginning of July, however, I began reading books with a different approach - absorbing each word, analyzing each sentence, and taking my time. 

 

I have completed 15 days of rereading The Secret History. I read it at my own pace without any pressure, and I have no regrets. While I was reading the novel, all I could think about was a review I had read on Goodreads stating that Richard is an unreliable narrator. This statement enabled me to analyze the book more thoroughly. I've noticed a lot of sentences that suggest Richard is an unreliable narrator, such as when he says, "...it has always been difficult for me to talk about Julian without romanticizing him." Are we reading a story that Richard romanticized? 

 

I find it hard to imagine that this is Tartt's first published novel, because her writing is so excellent. Every single aspect was well-represented. I could go on and on about each and every character in this novel. They're all very intricate. I, too, felt manipulated at times (haha), but the scene where Bunny's dad broke down in tears was quite touching. Even though their relationship is strange, I could sense their grief, and I could tell that Richard felt a lot of guilt after that. 

 

The Secret History is an absolutely captivating tale that has left me speechless. The prose is simply breathtaking, drawing you in and refusing to let go. I find myself totally obsessed with this phenomenal story, and could easily spend more time delving into its intricate details.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Drug use, Body horror, Blood, Car accident, Death, and Grief

stinkeypasta's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.75

fucked up but in a good way I think??

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Suicide attempt, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical trauma, Addiction, Incest, Emotional abuse, Death, Cursing, Car accident, Racism, Mental illness, Classism, Antisemitism, Drug use, Murder, Gore, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Self harm, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, and Suicide

schorlett's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Addiction, Death, Murder, Alcoholism, Blood, and Violence

Moderate: Drug use, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual violence, Stalking, Car accident, Classism, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Animal cruelty, Sexism, Rape, Misogyny, and Vomit

bluehairedraven's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective medium-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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Murder, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Death, Suicide attempt, Violence, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Suicide, and Gun violence

Minor: Mental illness, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Incest, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Medical content, Blood, and Grief

alyx7564's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Antisemitism, Classism, Death, Drug use, Gore, Medical content, Racism, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide, Rape, Suicide attempt, Transphobia, Violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Biphobia, Islamophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Medical trauma, Blood, Car accident, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, and Toxic friendship

samcanuel's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective 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

3.75

Whatever I expected going into this book, I certainly did not get. I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed this book. It was extremely well-written, with great foreshadowing and beautiful prose. It was dark and a little sublime, but not unrealistic.

I was a little scared how easily I was convinced that not one, but two different murders were justified. I was just as much of a bystander as Richard was in this story.

It reminded me a bit of Bunny by Mona Awad, so if you liked that book I would recommend this one. It felt like a classic.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Cursing, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Alcoholism, Suicide, Murder, Suicide attempt, Animal death, Death, Violence, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Sexual content, Antisemitism, Child abuse, Misogyny, Car accident, Classism, Sexism, Homophobia, Racism, and Racial slurs

Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual violence

busy_bee's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Car accident, Death, Drug use, Medical content, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Addiction, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Gun violence, and Incest

directorpurry's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective 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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Medical content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Drug use, Alcohol, Violence, Blood, Alcoholism, Homophobia, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Antisemitism

Moderate: Classism, Incest, Misogyny, Murder, Racism, and Eating disorder

Minor: Animal cruelty and Car accident