Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt

40 reviews

tuesdaydg's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

2.0

There is no doubt that The Goldfinch is a thoroughly well-crafted novel. Is it incredibly long? Yes. Is it incredibly slow? Yes. Is the protagonist/narrator insufferable and infuriating? Yes. Yet, I can’t really seem to fault the novel for these elements. There is nothing wrong with a long, slow book with morally questionable characters. What I can fault it for, though, is my own personal experience spending time with the story and existing in the protagonist’s head. So, did I enjoy this novel? No, not really. I attribute this to an amalgamation of factors, from my own personal tastes to false expectations to the feelings Theo’s narrative elicited from me as I read (or listened, rather). I think I expected the “stolen artwork” theme to contribute a sense of adventure or even a fun thrill that would linger on each page. Instead, this theme creates a constant sense of dread and overwhelming stress which exudes from the pages. This, in combination with Theo’s

Spoiler

severe addiction to drugs and alcohol

, made my reading experience quite unpleasant. I have to commend the author for her ability to bring out such emotion, but I felt the the constant weight of this combination of elements seemed to become exhausting, so that the trudge through felt daunting rather than exciting.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Abandonment, Grief, Addiction, Drug use, Alcoholism, Vomit, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Classism, Suicidal thoughts, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Car accident

misterorms's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Violence, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Drug use, Drug abuse, Alcohol, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/injury detail, Grief, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Car accident, Bullying, Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Death, Cursing, and Addiction

Moderate: Mass/school shootings and Adult/minor relationship

laurelaurel's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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

I know it can be wordy or drawn out at parts but ugh idk the writing just sucked me in and no matter how much I reread it I never get bored or feel like it’s too much or too long. I really really really love this book a lot it is so beautiful 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Death, Child abuse, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Abandonment, Mental illness, Car accident, Physical abuse, and Cursing

japanasi's review against another edition

shelving this as dnf for the time being, I’ll probably need to pick it up from scratch when I start reading it again because I doubt I will do so in the foreseeable future 😅 (not sure if ever tbh, it was super depressing and not what I had expected)

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Addiction, Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/injury detail, Violence, Alcoholism, and Cursing

olvrhkl12's review

emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing sad slow-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Drug abuse, Mental illness, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Death, Abandonment, Bullying, Car accident, and Death of parent

Minor: Gaslighting, Vomit, and Gun violence

bugcollector's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

הסוף היה יפה, 
אבל אני לא בטוחה שזה שווה את עובי הכרך, שכלל עד הסוף המדובר רק רגשות חרדה, מועקה ודחק.

אני גם לא בטוחה אם באמת אהבתי אותו, או שהדרך הארוכה שעברנו ביחד הפעילה עליי מניפולציות. 
 
אפשר להשוות את קריאת הספר לצפייה בסרט אימה כשאתה קטן, מכסה את העיניים אבל עדיין מציץ מבעד לאצבעות כדי לראות. 

מומלץ למזוכיסטים, אוהבי אמנות, דמויות קשות לחיבוב, ותיאור יתר. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Classism, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Murder, Violence, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Drug use, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Stalking, and Toxic relationship

bucknife's review

adventurous 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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic friendship, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, Infidelity, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Death, Death of parent, and Drug abuse

nabila99's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Death of parent, Violence, Gun violence, Infidelity, Injury/injury detail, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Grief, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Murder, Addiction, and Blood

Moderate: Homophobia, Pedophilia, Abandonment, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, Racism, and Sexism

holliesatchell's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Violence, Death, Drug abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Death of parent, and Medical trauma

cstein's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Some racist humor/undertones that the 2022 reader should question. Tartt's description of the attack and its aftermath are moving and memorable, in contrast to later passages and conversations which feel rushed and underexplained. Interesting use of an unreliable narrator and a combination of several narrative styles. Generally entertaining.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Injury/injury detail, Racial slurs, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Blood, Death of parent, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Violence, Medical trauma, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Suicide attempt, Gun violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Vomit, Death, Gore, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Racism, Animal cruelty, Abandonment, and Mental illness

Minor: Antisemitism, Classism, Medical content, and Trafficking