Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

143 reviews

taleofabibliophile's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense slow-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Emotional abuse, Gore, Violence, Alcoholism, Addiction, Animal death, Toxic friendship, Gaslighting, Incest, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Misogyny, Racism, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Bullying, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Suicide, and Confinement

Moderate: Medical content and Eating disorder

Minor: Death of parent, Sexual content, Ableism, Vomit, Antisemitism, Infidelity, Car accident, and Cancer

peach_pie's review against another edition

I really wanted to like this book, but man it was so depressing and anxious. And I know it’s probably the point, but the characters really aren’t likeable. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Alcoholism, Cursing, Drug use, Homophobia, Suicide, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Self harm, Drug abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Violence, Murder, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Death, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Animal death, Addiction, Blood, and Incest

angstifies's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense 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

5.0

enjoyed this way more than i expected! 

this book is very dark and twisted, and the characters are so complex it was always so hard to understand everything they did or said.

and i personally love when a book makes me THINK, and develop theories on why the characters in the story are acting the way that they are and stuff like that, i literally could not stop writing my thoughts on the margins of the book. loved it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Alcoholism, Homophobia, Suicide, and Murder

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Misogyny, Racism, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Incest, Racial slurs, and Addiction

Minor: Cancer, Car accident, Classism, Xenophobia, Ableism, Cursing, Murder, Rape, Animal death, Antisemitism, Blood, Grief, Physical abuse, Self harm, and Violence

lindseyhall44's review against another edition

dark 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

5.0

“Even more terrible, as we grow older, to learn that no person, no matter how beloved, can ever truly understand us. Our own selves make us most unhappy, and that’s why we’re so anxious to loose them.”
The Secret History follows Richard, a poor transfer student from California, who joins an elite classics curriculum on a whim, only to be pulled into the eccentrics and depravity of his six fellow classics students and their encouraging teacher.

As modern classic and inspiration for many of the writing minds of today, I expected to enjoy this novel greatly. However, I could have never predicted the hold it would have on me, even months after reading.

Richard was such an interesting choice as a narrator, since he emulated the “Nick Carroway effect” from the Great Gastby, navigating the line between accomplice and complicit, outsider versus infiltrator.

One aspect of the novel that gets lost in translation is its satirical premise. While it may be easy to romanticize the aspects of the novel Tartt creates, especially the setting, recognizing the privilege, racism, and elitism in higher institutions is an important part of the story.

Overall, for fans of literary fiction with a blend of thriller, I would suggest The Secret History as your next read! But as always, check trigger warnings before reading!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Drug use, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Classism, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Incest, Mental illness, Animal death, Murder, Violence, Addiction, Alcohol, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Death, Drug abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, Misogyny, and Toxic friendship

kers_tin's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Incest, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Classism, Homophobia, Antisemitism, Misogyny, Gun violence, Xenophobia, Toxic friendship, Sexual violence, Rape, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Racism

Minor: Eating disorder, Bullying, Body shaming, and Addiction

jelliestars's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Death, Drug abuse, Islamophobia, Racism, Suicide attempt, Religious bigotry, Racial slurs, Addiction, Alcohol, Drug use, Toxic friendship, Alcoholism, Blood, Homophobia, Murder, Suicide, Violence, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Sexism, Animal death, Cursing, Gun violence, Hate crime, Incest, Medical content, Misogyny, Animal cruelty, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Antisemitism, and Car accident

Minor: Eating disorder, Excrement, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Forced institutionalization, and Kidnapping

aztlan's review against another edition

How does so much happen yet I felt so utterly disinterested? I was intrigued at the start and I kept listening because I wanted to know how events unfolded, but there was so much time spent on fairly mundane things and I just didn't care that much. At the point I finished, I didn't feel like picking up the book again, so I just read the synopsis and that was enough for me. It's not actually a bad book, it's just that literary fiction is not my usual genre and it was too long for me to subsist on vibes.
It also didn't help that there was a lot of slurs in this book. They made sense in context (the cast consists of young, privileged white men in their own little bubble) but it still did not make it any more enjoyable to read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Xenophobia

linalina's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness

Minor: Antisemitism, Body horror, Classism, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicide attempt, Xenophobia, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Medical content, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Self harm, and Sexism

dingushotline's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Xenophobia, Gun violence, Homophobia, Violence, Incest, and Suicide

Minor: Rape

katiemcgregor's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

4.0

Donna Tartt wrote a book so satirical that it stopped being satire and became the face of Dark Academia and I think that's pretty neat.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Violence, Classism, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Xenophobia, Death, Drug abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racism, and Self harm

Moderate: Incest