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joslyn_cole's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Suicide, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail, Incest, Murder, Mental illness, Self harm, Drug abuse, Addiction, Violence, Gun violence, Death, and Alcoholism
clairebear23'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? Yes
2.0
Did I finish the book in two days? Sure did. I wish I would have gone to bed instead.
I have a lot of problems with this book. It was entertaining, I can certainly admit that. But I wasn't drawn into the story by any measure of concern for the characters. I just wanted to know what the mystery was and how everything turned out. For all his aloofness and intellectual elitism, Henry did manage to get me hooked on finding out his secrets.
I agree with many others that the characterization fell flat. Like used-powdered-sugar-instead-of-flour-while-baking-cupcakes flat. When every character has a selfish motivation, it's boring. There's nothing unique about a person acting in their own self-interest and -preservation. No one was able to actually face their emotions about anything -- the beginning was fine before the drugs and alcohol induced hazes of the next 75% surfaced. For a book about intense emotion and living in the moment, everyone seemed intent on being miserable and trying to stoically ignore their inner turmoil that definitely most certainly most obviously were there (/s).
I really had a problem with the way Francis was portrayed. I think Tartt relied heavily on the "predatory gay" stereotype that tends to pop up in "gritty" stories / anything created earlier than 2014. Francis doesn't respect boundaries, comes on to every male in his life, and only seems to have sexual rather romantic or platonic interests. When Richard reflects on the moment they had in the canoe where their hands brushed, he made it seem like it was an inevitable thing that Francis would hit on him. It wasn't inevitable, Tartt just chose to play along with the oft-touted epithet of closeted bigots: "well I'm a man, and you're gay, so therefore you must be attracted to me" and "what if he hits on me? Because he's obviously interested in me because I'm a man." Didn't like and it put a sour taste in my mouth.
It honestly didn't feel like there were any stakes. I was never worried at any point for them. Again, I simply was curious and wanted to find out what the hell was happening. Even when Julian found the letter at the end, I knew nothing was going to happen. Julian was barely in the whole book, so why now should he play an important role?
The whole story was overly pedantic and pretentious. I kept waiting for them to all turn on Henry and realize how miserable they were living their life in isolation and with their nose stuck in the past.
Generally, I'm not a big fan of "dark academia" because I find them to be overly pretentious. So I admit I had a bias coming into this book, but I feel justified in not liking it as a whole because of the flat characters, loose ends to major plots (ie Charles and Camilla), Francis, and just the vibe. Thanks for reading.
Moderate: Murder, Incest, Suicide, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
stxrlightreaderxx'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
4.25
Graphic: Gore, Death, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Drug use, Suicide, Incest, Alcoholism, and Animal death
Minor: Homophobia and Toxic relationship
theeo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I disliked that some descriptions and details felt unnecessary - the author sometimes goes on tangents that don’t offer much substance or relevance to the plot, and almost feel like filler to an already rich story. This is more of a person gripe, but I also didn’t love how long the chapters were. I don’t like to stop mid-chapter (especially when I’m enjoying it) so I ended up sleeping too late on several occasions while reading this…
I did really enjoy this book overall! I may even reread one day, as it’s quite dense and I read it reasonably fast.
Graphic: Racial slurs, Suicide, Antisemitism, Suicide attempt, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Gun violence, Homophobia, and Incest
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Drug use, and Classism
Minor: Rape
mskingbean69'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? It's complicated
5.0
Moderate: Gun violence, Islamophobia, Body horror, Gaslighting, Bullying, Car accident, Cursing, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Biphobia, Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Murder, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Animal death, Classism, Fatphobia, Rape, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Racial slurs, Violence, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Suicide attempt, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, and Suicidal thoughts
moonstarpower'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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Grief, Murder, Gun violence, and Suicide
Moderate: Toxic friendship and Homophobia
Minor: Incest and Suicide attempt
piikasmalls'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
4.25
Graphic: Suicide, Toxic friendship, Gun violence, Drug use, Alcohol, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, and Self harm
Moderate: Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Alcoholism, Incest, Violence, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Xenophobia, Cursing, Racism, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, and Grief
Minor: Blood
ducktofu's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Grief, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide attempt, Classism, Addiction, Murder, Suicide, Gun violence, and Drug use
Moderate: Cursing, Homophobia, Blood, Animal cruelty, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Misogyny, Alcoholism, Animal death, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, and Incest
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse
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: Animal death, Ableism, Islamophobia, Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Violence, Murder, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Racism, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Antisemitism, Blood, Classism, Sexism, Suicide, Gun violence, Addiction, Drug use, Fatphobia, Homophobia, and Toxic friendship
lucyford'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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Violence, Gun violence, Gaslighting, Murder, Suicide, Body horror, Addiction, Alcohol, Mental illness, Grief, Death, Alcoholism, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Vomit, Gore, Sexism, Drug abuse, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Incest, Physical abuse, Cursing, Drug use, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, and Medical content
Minor: Animal death, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Car accident, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Forced institutionalization, Infidelity, Rape, Stalking, Death of parent, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis