Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

140 reviews

alite428's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Antisemitism, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Classism

nialiversuch's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Antisemitism, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Domestic abuse

megwesley's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, and Alcohol

Moderate: Classism

lexhowdie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.25

Long winded, but compelling.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Gaslighting

Minor: Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, and Vomit

saeruh's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

5.0

    This is without a doubt the strangest book I have ever read. I did not particularly enjoy reading this as I became disgusted almost every line with everything the characters said or did. All of the characters were just so heartless and lacked any type of empathy. However, this is the best writing I ever seen and while I may not want it to, this novel and its prose will stay me for my entire life. 
      I really don’t know how to feel about any of the characters since Tartt was so good at making you sympathize with them and then immediately having them do something incredibly rude/perverse/gross. Also I recommend reading a list of content/trigger warnings BEFORE you read this because I did not and oh boy there is so so many.
   

Overall, I wasn’t really grossed out by the murdering since it wasn’t that graphically described but when it came to the part when Tartt describes the incestuous relationship between Charles and Camilla where Richard watches them kiss, I literally thought I was going to throw up. And it was so fucked up how nobody else in the group really cared/already knew 🤢🤢🤢🤢🤮🤮🤮. And then Richard only cares because he wanted to fuck her!!!! what??? There was another scene where you really see how fucked up Richard has become by being involved in all this/maybe it was in him all along when Camilla is in a vulnerable state describing the physical, emotional, and sexual abuse she receives from her brother and the narration is actually something like “I thought I might rape her” What The Fuck man. Who is this dude that we’ve spent so long in ONLY his head actually.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cursing, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual violence, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Classism

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Blood, Stalking, Suicide attempt, and Outing

Minor: Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, and Antisemitism

ging090803's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective 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? No

3.75

So... I was dissapointed? I liked how it was written even though the chapters were extemely long. I liked how it was litterary yet simple. Also, I liked how themes like murders, cover tracks, etc., were discussed as it was normal?   

Like, the characters were talking about murdering a friend as if they were organizing a dinner together. It was normal.   

  Tartt made us feel a some sort of empathy (?) for the characters making us see them as normal people, good people when they are not.
However, I really didn't like how long it was for nothing. It was as if nothing was happening for 600 pages.   

It was repetitive. Murder, get away from suspicions, afraid that someone will tell the truth to the police so a little murder to take care of it.

It was the same storyline two times in one book. Everyone was important yet they were irrelevant. The end felt also rushed. 
Good book, I still recommended it for people who dont really know if they should or not. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Blood, Murder, and Alcohol

Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, Grief, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders

fa1ryts's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

5.0

 beautifully written book about a bunch of homosexuals no i know this isn't a book with a happy ending or morally good characters that are lucky but i wish richard ended up with henry or francis or at least confessed his love to either of them i dont care who but his love for camilla felt so forced 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

hamarhemmo's review against another edition

challenging dark funny reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

A very messed up book, definitely read the trigger warnings first. Great satire of the dark academia genre while still respecting it. Sometimes a bit hard to read because of foreign languages and odd metaphors and references.
A fair amount of LGBTQ characters (all of whom are awful but that's unrelevant). Probably my favorite book ever.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicide, Xenophobia, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Antisemitism, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Animal death, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, and Outing

There is also a very questionable relationship between a student and a teacher. Both are adults but the relationship has very unhealthy dynamic. It's not a very big part of the book.

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. 

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Content Warnings

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

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

Minor: Gore and Car accident

kylahspages's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• 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: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism