Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

The Secret History (Abridged Version) by Donna Tartt

802 reviews

bookzplz's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective 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

4.5

“i’m just having a bit of trouble with my passport.”

i technically started this book in the winter of 2022 and for various reasons, put it down

shortly after bunny’s death

. i think it was a little overhyped and i wasn’t sure what to expect so i decided to leave it there. i’m glad i picked it back up. 

this book does an excellent job of showing the blinders people in academia frequently have on and how the isolation under the guise of supremacy can be detrimental. nobody was ever happy. they studied the classics because it was the thing to do, the only one who concluded their studies was richard because he financially had to and, of course,

was alive to do so

. for most of them, classics was something to study because they could and less so because they were actually interested in the subject. the book also expertly showed the favorite pastime of affluent white people, ignoring things they don’t want to deal with or “sweeping it under the rug”. these people, richard excluded, have no actual experience with dealing with their problems.

when bunny is essentially threatening to go forward with what he suspects about them, they never talk to him about it, they give into his extortion and when that gets too tiring they decide to murder him.

it’s less a secret history of what happened and more so outing the secret ways that the wealthy go about ignoring their problems and finding ways of not dealing with them.

i guarantee you i will read this book again. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Death, Antisemitism, Grief, Homophobia, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Alcoholism, Addiction, Murder, Incest, Violence, Alcohol, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Misogyny, Gun violence, and Body horror

olorin85's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Sexism, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Murder, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Transphobia

Minor: Islamophobia, Violence, Racial slurs, and Vomit

mcosmic's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Murder, and Addiction

Moderate: Incest, Blood, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Islamophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Drug abuse, Self harm, and Sexism

idahol7221's review against another edition

adventurous 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? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Classism, Racism, Suicide, Violence, Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Sexism, Antisemitism, Blood, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Incest

schwambibambi's review against another edition

dark reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• 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: Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Violence, Gun violence, Murder, Drug use, Antisemitism, Death, Drug abuse, Incest, Homophobia, Self harm, Sexism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Misogyny, and Addiction

libellumartinae's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark informative sad tense 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

3.25

Alright, I just think that this genre of dark academia is just not my cup of tea, as I oftentimes aim for something far more uplifting. Especially in this case, although I did love the obvious criticism of the elitist nature of academia with characters such as Henry and Julian (hated them), I still felt like the writing in itself was so exceedingly classist and boring, to the point that after a streak of constantly reading one book after another, this was probably the one I got stuck on the most throughout this first year. Can't deny the obvious mastermind behind this creation, but I also can't deny that it isn't my thing. Definitely a worthy read with the lyricism of writing and the building of the characters but ugh. Not my cup of tea.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Suicide attempt, and Suicide

romy_elizabeth13's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I was initially expecting to read a really meaningful, deep, emotional, relaxing-(ish) novel when I picked up Donna Tart’s The Secret History. It ended up being one of the most dark, shocking, twisted, intense books I’ve ever read and it was incredible, oh my word. After reading all these tearjerking, emotional books about love and loss and life, it was nice to have something that kept me hanging on the edge of my seat, while still being incredibly intellectual and offering many interesting perspectives on life. Just when I thought the plot twists would stop, they kept coming in an ever flowing stream and I loved that. The characters, while incredibly flawed were really well written and their personalities were delved deep into. 100% worth the read but if you are under 14/very mature 13 year old, I wouldn’t recommend reading this book just yet. Overall really incredible - something tiktok was right about.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Death, Addiction, Gore, Suicide, Blood, Gun violence, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Vomit, Sexual content, Incest, Classism, and Racial slurs

grace_b_3's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Gun violence, Drug use, Violence, Murder, Death, and Alcohol

Moderate: Incest, Animal death, Sexual content, and Animal cruelty

Minor: Homophobia and Panic attacks/disorders

mary_do_12's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious 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? No

5.0

giving this book anything below 5 stars would be criminal.

the way donna tartt grazes the surface of emotions, never quite submerging in, yet letting the reader feel them fully, is truly mesmerizing, just as the way she creates characters and tells a story.

and yet i have some things that threw me off in this book.
i think this story is meant to kind of make you question your morals a little, which is why it features things that made me— uneasy. i always have a hard time distinguishing whether an author is simply writing about a certain topic, or if they are romanticizing it.
i mean murder— that‘s one thing. in fact, a common thing in literature.

however, incest??! uhm, idk. made me queasy. made me a little uncomfy. or well, you could say outright disgusted. the thing is, i really liked the twins, UNTIL I FOUND OUT THEY FUCKED ON A REGULAR BASIS??! like WHAT. are you guys okay? do you— do you need help?

and then richard casually mentioned getting the overwhelming urge to rape camilla while she’s just standing in his room? honey, i—? what? i liked you as well…

also — you gotta give this to the author — i was SHOOKETH. henry?? my poor baby boy?? AND THEN FRANCIS?? in the EPILOGUE? WHEN I THOUGHT THE DAMAGE WAS OVER??

i think i need help after reading about this, because i still feel the urge to throw up, and this is funny because you are reading this in a five star review. 

truly a piece that leaves you thinking for days. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Suicide, Racism, Death, Racial slurs, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Animal death, Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Drug use, Alcohol, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Homophobia, Incest, and Murder

Minor: Rape, Car accident, and Domestic abuse

jordynjohnson's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide, Gun violence, Murder, Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug use, Biphobia, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol

Minor: Incest