Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

113 reviews

jessmbark's review

dark emotional slow-paced

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

1.25

This book probably could have been at least 100 pages shorter, but as someone who unexpectedly lost both parents as a young adult, I resonated with the exploration of grief. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Drug abuse, Murder, Drug use, and Gun violence

Moderate: Sexual content, Alcohol, and Alcoholism

theprinceofdenmark's review

dark emotional inspiring reflective sad 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

the best book about grief and loss since catcher in the rye.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Animal cruelty, Blood, Drug abuse, Drug use, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Emotional abuse, Violence, Grief, Infidelity, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Stalking

grcompain's review

challenging dark funny mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

5.0

While I don’t think this book is for everyone I love this book because Tartt writes in a way that touches me so personally. The in-depth over detailed descriptions and pages describing the mental perspective of the characters moving through PTSD and depression and substance abuse is so detailed and spans so many years. It felt like such an authentic encapsulation of a life. While I don’t think the book is perfect, I loved it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Death of parent, Infidelity, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Classism, Alcoholism, Addiction, Vomit, Violence, Suicide attempt, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Death, Child death, Blood, and Alcohol

denijaaa_s's review

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

3.75

man likās, ka beigas būs kaut kas graujošs, pavisam negaidīts, bet tā nebija, kas rada šo grāmatu kopumā kā ne ļoti sliktu, bet arī ne ļoti labu. 
no sākuma var nobīties no 700+ lapaspusēm, bet ir sajūta, ka lasot grāmatu, skaties filmu - bagātīga valoda, visi varoņi ir dzīvi, skaidri redzami. 
protams, stāsts par to, kā draugi var ietekmēt tavu dzīvi - šoreiz es teiktu, ka boriss teodora dzīvi ietekmēja negatīvā ziņā, un es šīs viņu savstarpējās attiecības neuzskatu kā draudzību. 
teodora dzīve bija ļoti skumja, likās, ka zemāk un sliktāk nemaz nevar krist, bet kļuva arvien sliktāk un sliktāk. mazliet radās sajūta, ka sākoties grāmatas otrajai pusei, rakstniece sāka mazliet steigties, jo posms no 13 līdz 15 gadu vecumam bija izstiepts, un tad bija ātrs pārleciens uz teodora 20+ gadiem. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Grief, and Drug use

Moderate: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Murder, Suicide attempt, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Blood, Cursing, and Alcoholism

retswerb's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad 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

4.25

A masterpiece of a book, but maybe not entirely for me. Theo is believable and incredibly fully embodied, a character I feel I know like few others. But the pacing is so glacial (except for the jarring skips ahead) and the book so long, I couldn’t help but look forward to being done. An extra quarter star for Hobie alone, a character so lovable and trustworthy that I couldn’t help but hold my breath and hope he remained true.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Drug abuse, and Death of parent

readwithsophsx's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Alcoholism, Blood, Bullying, Car accident, Cursing, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Death, Drug use, Grief, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Toxic friendship, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, and Alcohol

woweewhoa's review

dark reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

While this book is very well written and a compelling character study, I unfortunately don't think I liked reading this book very much. It's a long and miserable read about Theodore Decker, our protagonist, ruining his life and getting his life ruined by others. It's a tragedy from the get go, and while its not all his fault, it's still hard to read at times. 

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Gun violence, Racial slurs, and Homophobia

Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death

k_vira's review against another edition

dark reflective sad 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Gun violence, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Murder, Violence, Alcoholism, Alcohol, and Addiction

Minor: Death and Death of parent

nikelback's review

dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• 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: Death of parent, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Addiction, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Murder

floorse's review

dark mysterious sad slow-paced

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

3.5

A solid read, pretty similar in tone and fashion to Tartts other work. I find her characters quite difficult to sympathize with (not least because of the social echelon they tend to occupy, but also because of the strange ignorance of non-upper-class life that seems to pervade all of her works). The latter third of the book dragged on twice as long as I'd have liked. There's also something painfully annoying about a character moralizing for a dozen pages on issues that should be evident to anyone who isn't a oxy-snorting nihilist. Prose was excellent, though, and I really did enjoy it up until about page 600.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Child abuse, Alcohol, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Alcoholism