Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

28 reviews

jelliestars's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Death, Drug abuse, Islamophobia, Racism, Suicide attempt, Religious bigotry, Racial slurs, Addiction, Alcohol, Drug use, Toxic friendship, Alcoholism, Blood, Homophobia, Murder, Suicide, Violence, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Sexism, Animal death, Cursing, Gun violence, Hate crime, Incest, Medical content, Misogyny, Animal cruelty, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Antisemitism, and Car accident

Minor: Eating disorder, Excrement, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Forced institutionalization, and Kidnapping

nenya's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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 truly interesting - I know that this is generally a very weak adjective but in this case, it is entirely true. It has a somewhat descriptive but then again very subjective and somewhat sentimental first-person narrative which took some time to get used to. But once I did, it was inevitable to fall into such a deep reading flow (I sometimes felt like the book was luring me in) that even the „boring“ scenes make you not want to stop reading. The characters in this book were so incredibly real and deeply (veryyy deeply) flawed which made the reading experience very intense and mysterious. There were some scenes (Chapter 8, i‘m looking at you) that just totally knocked me out of my socks, there is no better way to describe it. Due to the limited knowledge of the narrator and protagonist himself, plot twists are nearly impossible to predict here (unless of course they were being foreshadowed intentionally) which I loved.
However, it is very important here to check the trigger warnings because there is A LOT going on - stuff that is obvious very soon and other things that take a lot of time to become truly clear.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Antisemitism, Blood, Body horror, Classism, Drug use, Gaslighting, Grief, Gore, Emotional abuse, Incest, Homophobia, Medical content, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicide attempt

laurajordensharris's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Racial slurs, Violence, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Murder, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Alcohol, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Animal death, Antisemitism, Blood, Incest, Mental illness, Classism, Cursing, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, and Homophobia

esme_may's review against another edition

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

4.0

My deep hatred of

Bunny

knows no bounds. I knew it would be good but no one told me it would be Like This

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Classism, Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Toxic friendship, and Gun violence

Moderate: Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Vomit, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Physical abuse, Ableism, Incest, Mental illness, Antisemitism, Car accident, Bullying, Cursing, Infidelity, and Blood

Minor: Cancer, Kidnapping, Outing, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual assault

ktkeps's review against another edition

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Mental illness, Death, Drug use, Alcohol, Homophobia, Toxic friendship, Drug abuse, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Suicide, Panic attacks/disorders, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Toxic relationship, Classism, Abandonment, Incest, Animal cruelty, and Suicide attempt

ggcd1981's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.5

Todas as pessoas que falam de livros em alguma plataforma já leram The Secret History, então senti a vontade de fazer parte do clube, e obtive um resultado um tanto misturado. “Altos” muito “Altos”, “Baixos” muito “Baixos”. The Secret History é basicamente um clássico moderno e é um excelente exemplo da estética Dark Academia. Esses também foram fatores que me motivaram a ler a obra de Donna Tartt. Primeiramente a escrita é muito boa, apesar de em alguns momentos parecer se esforçar demais em soar poética, mas antes pecar pelo esforço do que pelo desleixo. O livro é narrado por Richard Papen, um jovem normal da Califórnia com péssimo relacionamento com os pais que se transfere para Hampden College em Vermont. Devido ao seu interesse em Grego ele se torna parte de um grupo seleto de alunos que cursam a disciplina e são orientados pelo professor mais elitista da universidade, Julian Morrow. Esse grupo escolhido a dedo era composto do austero Henry Winter, Edmund (Bunny) Corcoran, os gêmeos Camilla e Charles Macaulay, Francis Abernathy e por fim o próprio Richard. A primeira metade do livro foi, do meu ponto de vista, a melhor parte.

Iniciamos sabendo do assassinato de Bunny pelas mãos dos seus amigos e passamos a seguir a narrativa de Richard de como chegaram aquele ponto. Assim não é um “who done it”, mas um “why done it”. Acompanhamos como o livro constrói a relação de Richard com os outros membros do grupo e como eles tem uma especial amizade. Essa parte foi interessante por que aumentou o suspense sobre como tudo foi para o brejo. Me encontrei extremamente interessada no relacionamento de Richard com o grupo em especial Henry, que em dado momento salvou Richard de morrer por hipotermia. Vemos, depois de um tempo, como Richard percebe uma mudança na dinâmica do grupo. Bunny, vindo de uma família de tradição porem sem dinheiro, passa a quase bully seus próprios amigos. Isso leva a descoberta de Richard de que o resto do grupo cometeu um assassinato, Bunny descobriu antes dele e estava, não intencionalmente, pois Bunny não via como tal, chantageando o grupo. A situação afeta a saúde mental de Bunny que se torna cada vez mais imprevisível e errático, se tornando claro que ele é uma bomba relógio para seus prévios amigos e estes acabam por mata-lo. Richard pela sua necessidade de pertencer ao grupo se torna cumplice no assassinato. Vemos o que acontece após o crime, ficando claro que Henry, Charles, Camila, Francis e até mesmo Richard tem algum, porém não muito remorso (sendo sincera não tive pena de Bunny pois ele era homofóbico, misógino, em resumo uma pessoa horrível). Eles participam da equipe de busca por Bunny, tem que lidar com a polícia e FBI e ao fim escapam, porém não facilmente, de qualquer acusação. Nesse ponto passamos do meio da história, e para mim toda a trajetória até aí tinha sido bastante intrigante. Porém a partir daí o livro se arrasta. A sensação é que a autora chegou no final, porém quis descobrir o que aconteceria se continuasse escrevendo. A narrativa se torna dispersa e acompanha vários momentos que não contribuem em nada. As pessoas chamam de um estudo do personagem, porém estes são pessoas tão horríveis que eu não tinha interesse em acompanhar seus percalços de assassinos brancos, privilegiados e impunes. Não preciso que eles fossem punidos para considerar o livro bom, porém após o principal mistério ser resolvido (porque e como eles mataram Bunny), acompanhar os humores desses personagens enquanto eles seguiam com a vida se tornou bastante tedioso (especialmente no capítulo interminável do velório e funeral de Bunny). Charles se tornou o mais irritante dos personagens, recorrendo ao alcoolismo e se comportando de forma inconsequente depois de perder a irmã gêmea (sim, incesto) para Henry. Outros pontos que não me agradaram: primeiro quão pouco foi mostrado da personalidade de Camila, única mulher dentre os principais personagens; segundo fiquei bastante interessada quando o livro insinuou um relacionamento amoroso entre Richard e Francis, porém a narrativa deu para trás e a autora optou por estabelecer os gêmeos Camila e Charles como os reais interesses amorosos da dupla e frustrar minhas expectativas. No final, que demora a chegar pois se arrasta, mesmo tendo escapado impune de dois assassinatos os personagens não tiveram “finais felizes”. Todos menos Henry, pois este se suicidou no clímax da segunda metade da obra, acabaram presos em vidas infelizes. A última cena do livro é um sonho de Richard em que ele troca algumas palavras com Henry, não sei exatamente o que deve ser tirado dessa cena. Que Henry que havia vivido entediado com o mundo também estava entediado na morte? Imagino que deve ter interpretações melhores da cena por aí.

Dou 3.5 estrelas pelas Dark Academia Vibes e pelos momentos bons do livro que foram bastante instigantes, mas não posso dar nota mais alta pelas longas sequencias, na minha opinião, tediosas. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Abandonment, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Incest, Medical content, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Bullying, Classism, Death, Drug use, Murder, Religious bigotry, Suicide, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Mental illness, Animal death, Physical abuse, Grief, Animal cruelty, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Car accident and Gore

adearen's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Alcohol, Addiction, Death, Incest, Toxic friendship, Murder, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Drug abuse, Violence, Alcoholism, Grief, Homophobia, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Suicide attempt, Blood, and Car accident

Minor: Islamophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Animal cruelty, and Eating disorder

silenceglaive's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Suicide, Xenophobia, and Murder

Moderate: Incest, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, and Drug use

Minor: Abandonment and Rape

zoehakim's review against another edition

challenging reflective 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

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Bullying, Car accident, Classism, Cursing, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Antisemitism, Confinement, Dysphoria, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Animal death, Grief, Murder, Outing, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual violence, Vomit, Body shaming, Suicide, Violence, Ableism, Blood, Child death, Gaslighting, Gore, Islamophobia, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Alcohol, Body horror, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Xenophobia

navayiota's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative mysterious reflective slow-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

5.0

No wonder it's such a beloved story, I couldn't stop listening even for a moment. I want to own a copy of this book and read it again. How vivid and atmospheric, it made me want to learn ancient Greek and go to college to study it. Absolutely adored the horrible protagonists, such flawed characters and yet it was so easy for me to love them. I'm so glad I read this book.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Drug use, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Alcoholism, Gun violence, Toxic friendship, Death, Animal death, Murder, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Sexual content, Vomit, Cursing, Blood, Religious bigotry, Child abuse, Infidelity, Medical content, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Classism, Abandonment, and Incest

Minor: Animal cruelty