Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

129 reviews

annamiaswart's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Addiction, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, and Death of parent

maddierenees's review against another edition

Just was vibing with it. Too emotionally draining in a hits home way for me to finish it right now, but I might go back to it later.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Child abuse

jelliestars's review

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Grief, Alcoholism, Death, Drug use, Addiction, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Cursing, Animal cruelty, Pedophilia, Xenophobia, Physical abuse, Homophobia, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Infidelity, Murder, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Racism, Toxic friendship, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Mental illness

Minor: Animal death, Classism, Deportation, Torture, Ableism, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Trafficking, Car accident, Cultural appropriation, Islamophobia, Antisemitism, Body shaming, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Gore, Sexual content, and Transphobia

jayisreading's review against another edition

dark emotional slow-paced

2.0

I read The Goldfinch over five years ago and didn't particularly love or hate it. I thought it was a compelling Bildungsroman of sorts that was well-written, but I wasn't particularly attached to the characters or the story. I decided to reread this novel to see if my opinion changed (and I was in the mood to pick up a chunky book back when I started this).

My opinion certainly changed, but it was for the worse. This book did not age well by any means with all its racism, ableism, and classism. Tartt certainly writes with eloquence, but her writing is steeped with issues that left me cringing and frustrated. Something that caught my attention was the near absence of nonwhite characters in New York City, of all places, unless they were "the help." I'm not sure how I didn't catch this years ago, considering how glaring these details were.

I also found it even harder to sympathize with the protagonist, Theo, during this reread. The messiness of grief was well presented—even if it was a bit extreme with the addiction and alcoholism—but I was really unhappy with how Tartt went about Theo's relationships in such a dismissive way. He was so wrapped up in his own world that it negatively affected how he treated the people around him. Pippa is objectified in a Manic Pixie Dream Girl kind of way, while Kitsy was treated terribly. The queer experience that Theo had with Boris also went completely unaddressed, which makes me wonder why Tartt bothered adding this detail other than to shock the reader.

A disappointing reread, to say the least.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Addiction, and Grief

Moderate: Classism, Racism, Ableism, and Bullying

Minor: Child abuse

venice_the_vampire's review

challenging dark reflective sad 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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Murder, Drug abuse, and Death of parent

Moderate: Death, Car accident, Child abuse, Suicide attempt, and Mental illness

Minor: Abandonment

lily_eames's review

challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

How is it that nothing can happen in 770 pages spanning 20 years? Don’t ask me. I’ll just say that after Theo became an adult, it felt like every page was a chore—I did enjoy the childhood/teenage parts, but after that… this book is so far from my favorite novel of all time (The Secret History) that it’s hard to believe it was written by the same author. Despite the Pulitzer Prize sticker on the front, I can’t bring myself to muster more than slight admiration for Tartt’s descriptive writing style. The plot, in my opinion, was so slow and anticlimactic that I am honestly proud of myself for getting to the end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug use, Child abuse, Death of parent, and Drug abuse

glasshalffull713's review

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Violence, Murder, Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Drug abuse, and Death of parent

azureumbreon's review

challenging emotional mysterious slow-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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Abandonment, Child abuse, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Addiction

vinniee's review

challenging dark informative slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Drug use

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Death of parent

httpspuppy's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

5.0

WHERE DO I BEGING OMG!!!!! donna tartt is definitely one of my fav authors now, cant wait to read more of her works.
this book follows a painting but with the help of this stolen painting we discover theos life. we struggle with him throughout his childhood and teenage years, and adulthood. we grow up with this character and learn to love his flaws as they are.
i must admit i like movie boris so much more, he is not problematic and not a terrible person.
it took my quite a few months to finally finish this book but it was so worth it, every single part of it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Racial slurs, Drug use, Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Grief