Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

28 reviews

lucyford's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing tense medium-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? Yes

5.0

This book was SO GOOD. I don’t even know how to describe it in a way that truly encapsulates everything good about it. The plot is so well-written, and is really brought to life by the amazing writing style and slight poetic element to it, and all the atmospheres she creates just feel so real. Not to mention the foreshadowing (when you’re reading, you know it’s foreshadowing to something but you don’t know what it’s foreshadowing to, which is just so cool), and the fact that you’re always wondering how the story is possibly going to progress from point A to point B. The characters are all so complicated and interesting, and the themes of the books are very philosophical which makes the book all the more interesting. Overall, 10/10 read, absolutely exceeded my expectations. (ALSO THE ENDING??? CAUGHT ME SO OFF GUARD OMG)

---

Content Warnings

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

camortiz26's review against another edition

challenging dark informative mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Antisemitism, Grief, Cursing, Misogyny, Alcoholism, Drug use, Racial slurs, Biphobia, Death, Incest, Murder, Racism, Sexism, and Violence

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Violence, and Abandonment

medini_l's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Incest, Alcohol, Drug abuse, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Violence, Homophobia, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Self harm, Cursing, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Addiction, Animal death, Death, Bullying, Gun violence, and Sexual content

lindasoderlundd's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

2.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Incest, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, and Drug use

Moderate: Homophobia and Medical content

Minor: Abandonment, Child abuse, Classism, Gun violence, Antisemitism, Misogyny, Racism, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, and Sexual content

kelseyr713's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad 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

2.0

I appreciated this on a technical level, but there is so little happening (in terms of plot) from page to page and it’s just not what I’m looking for in the contemporary books I read. I love this level of detail in science fiction or fantasy or speculative novels, but I don’t think it’s necessary here.

It definitely made the English Literature major part of my brain light up again though. I was thinking about essay topics as I read (the amount of character analysis alone…)

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Toxic friendship, Suicide, Addiction, Toxic relationship, Homophobia, Murder, Classism, Racial slurs, and Alcohol

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Animal cruelty, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Animal death, Xenophobia, Drug use, Abandonment, Incest, Blood, Car accident, Antisemitism, Racism, Rape, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Drug abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Mental illness, Self harm, Medical content, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, and Violence

vnfhcxksiw's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Classism, Drug use, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Physical abuse

Minor: Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Blood, Bullying, Car accident, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Violence, Alcoholism, Animal death, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, Gun violence, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Incest, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Rape, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts

maryamgo9909's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny informative mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Classism, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Gaslighting, Racial slurs, Bullying, Chronic illness, Drug use, and Homophobia

Minor: Abandonment

helenamichelle's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Racism, Alcohol, Incest, Toxic friendship, Alcoholism, Grief, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Addiction, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Suicide, and Toxic relationship

tomoonarmy's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical trauma, and Alcohol

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

Minor: Animal death, Death, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Medical trauma, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Blood, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Alcoholism, Abandonment, Car accident, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Body horror, Eating disorder, and Cursing

calimie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Drug use, Abandonment, Addiction, Death, Incest, and Murder