Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

151 reviews

kutreen's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I love Donna Tartt's writing. Her imagery and ability to evoke such honest and specific scenes and emotions is unparalleled. This book is about a murder, but make no mistake, it's not a thriller. It's more philosophical. I've noticed Tartt really likes to ponder death and art. The pace of her books is perfect. Both the plot and the characters suck you in. I will say the end was not exactly satisfying, but I don't think it was meant to be. I wish I spent more time pondering the moral and philosophical questions posed by the characters' actions and the protagonist's thoughts.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug use, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Medical content, Grief, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexual violence, and Xenophobia

solana_'s review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug use, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Xenophobia, and Murder

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

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Content Warnings

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

karotym's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Xenophobia, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Classism

dearbhlanoonan's review against another edition

challenging dark 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? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Incest, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Murder

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Self harm, Sexual content, Xenophobia, and Classism

Minor: Racial slurs and Vomit

booksbutmakeitgay's review against another edition

dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

1.5

The first third of this book was interesting enough, but then it just got worse and worse

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Islamophobia, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

plxtoprojector's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad medium-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Antisemitism, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Toxic friendship

viccocha's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Homophobia, Incest, Racism, and Xenophobia

juliettea's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful 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

3.0

Pretty pretentious and problematic with hardly any redeemable characters although a beautifully written enveloping story. I wouldn’t say I’m in either camp of Bible or abhor but I’m glad I read it. It’s an original story but weirdly felt as if it were written by a man. As Richard’s the narrator, Tartt might’ve done this purposefully so, perhaps I’ll read Goldfinch and see if it translates over. Also, could this have really occurred in the 90s? Of course it’s a more conservative circle, but still seems so dated.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Alcohol, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Biphobia, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Ableism, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Vomit, Islamophobia, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Outing, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

reallyandromeda's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Xenophobia, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol