Reviews tagging 'Blood'

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

510 reviews

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: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Murder, and Alcohol

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

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

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Incest

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

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

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

Minor: Domestic abuse, Rape, and Car accident

meic's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

a marvelous read and now Bunny Corcoran is my roman empire, an asshole but I just can’t stop thinking about him 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Cannibalism, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Classism

piikasmalls's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense slow-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Xenophobia, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Blood

ducktofu's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Suicide, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, and Toxic friendship

lotties_corner's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

I don’t think that I have ever encountered a piece of art or literature that makes murder seem excusable based purely on aesthetic and convenience grounds. Donna Tartt not only encircles the reader in a richly descriptive corner of her creation, but encapsulates the very art of being human through her characters.

This book is clearly also a critique of the hyper-intellectual complacency and arrogance of many classics students and other members of academia who consider themselves above the rules of society on account of their own perceived superior intelligence and judgment. It is a slippery slope when one believes that their own intelligence and judgment outweighs that of common morals and societal standards and Tartt portrays this ‘fatal flaw’ impeccably.

With such an unreliable narrator but such an enthralling plot, one cannot help but be dragged into the complicated dynamics of this dysfunctional friend group. It also helps that Henry, the glue of the group is such an intriguing character himself.

I was worried that this book would not live up to my expectations, created by such raving reviews from family and friends. However, I knew I would love The Secret History from before I even finished it. It is almost sad to me that this was not Tartt’s second work as I do believe that had it been, she would’ve won the Pulitzer as having read the Goldfinch, I now believe The Secret History to be her superior work.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Death and Blood

Minor: Drug use, Incest, and Alcohol

iordanmoore's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense 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

3.75

Gorgeous prose, but a slow read. Worth staying with book until the end.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Blood

s000ul3's review against another edition

dark 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, Animal cruelty, Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Classism