Reviews tagging 'Rape'

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

389 reviews

norabeideineroma's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Misogyny, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Grief, Blood, Animal death, Biphobia, Car accident, Drug use, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Murder, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Classism, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Cursing, Mental illness, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Homophobia, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship

amberg25's review against another edition

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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Antisemitism, Emotional abuse, Animal death, Death, Sexual harassment, Violence, Xenophobia, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Drug use, Grief, Incest, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Cannibalism, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Rape, and Injury/Injury detail

miriam_mal's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

3.0

I originally put 4 stars but changed to 3. While the plot held my interest everyone was so despicable and their decisions so morally bankrupt that it did actually detract from my enjoyment. These people need jobs and responsibility beyond drinking, drugs, and experimenting with bacchanals lol. I understand the narrative POV doesn’t show any of it in too forgiving of a light but then the main character/narrator is no better than them at all. Bunch of irritating idiots really. It was suspenseful tho

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Suicide attempt, Drug abuse, and Drug use

Minor: Incest, Animal death, and Rape

theeo's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• 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 mostly enjoyed this! I found the plot to be a thrilling slow burn, and disliking the majority of the characters was strangely fun. The writing style is also really wonderful. The characters sometimes sound overly-formal, which at first is a little jarring, but it works because it adds to the weirdly entertaining unpleasantness of their personalities.

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.

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Content Warnings

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

kierrareads_'s review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• 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

3.0

Really should've read the content warnings going into this book!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, and Death

Moderate: Violence and Suicide

Minor: Sexual harassment, Homophobia, Incest, Rape, Racism, and Racial slurs

mskingbean69's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious 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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

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

therecoveringbookworm's review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Murder, and Homophobia

Moderate: Misogyny and Classism

Minor: Rape

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

emmafiletti's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia and Racial slurs

Moderate: Misogyny

Minor: Rape

livpaige93's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide and Murder

Moderate: Drug use, Incest, and Homophobia

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, and Rape