Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

75 reviews

cstein's review against another edition

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

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

Minor: Antisemitism, Medical content, Trafficking, and Classism

lydiajlong's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-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

4.75

“Turning away, I continued to drift downtown, with no very clear idea where I was going or why, and as I walked I had the oddly appealing sensation that I was undoing myself, unwinding myself thread by thread, rags and tatters falling away from me in the very act of crossing Thirty-Second Street and flowing along amongst the rush-hour pedestrians and rolling along from the next moment to the next.”
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This was the first fiction book I have read in a LONG time. And I love that I committed to this 700+ page adventure. Donna Tartt puts so many hard emotions and complex ideas in so many beautiful words and descriptions. You really fall for some of these characters, their faults and vices. I loved the larger discussion of life, meaning, and right and wrong. Appreciated this read and the journey Donna took us all on. 
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tw: I’d warn my younger friends of cursing, drug use, sexual content, violence, and references to death and grieving — chat with your guardian before picking this book up!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Moderate: Cursing, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Blood, and Murder

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Vomit

rebeccaquinton's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol

e_reader's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

This book was okay. Good, even. But it wasn’t great, and for a book to be THIS long, it needs to be great. I’m glad to have read it, but I wouldn’t read it again and wouldn’t necessarily recommend it to someone else. 

Some entire chapters could have stood to be shorter, or cut out entirely. I didn’t mind the part in Vegas, because it sets up the rest of the book. I just think the whole book should have been a lot shorter. 

The scene in Amsterdam was also a bit confusing—although possibly intentionally so? No doubt, Donna Tartt is a genius. Her descriptions are so incredibly beautiful, and she has the ability to craft such a complex plot with apparent ease. But this book still doesn’t top The Secret History. Maybe because the characters just weren’t as compelling. For example, the time skips were confusing to me because Theo’s narration style didn’t change, and he didn’t *feel* significantly older. I did find Boris interesting as a character though. 

Also, there was the incredible amount of time spent covering Theo’s increasingly concerning drug problems. As one reviewer put it, “is there anything more boring than reading about someone else’s drug habit?” It was important for the plot, I’ll give you that. But man do we spend a lot of time just reading Theo’s narration of the many drugs he tries, starting at age 12? 13?

Donna Tartt’s writing style uses first person, which I particularly enjoy, but can be off putting if you aren’t a fan of that. Overall, maybe worth the read if you are a big fan of Donna Tartt. Otherwise, save yourself the time and read something else. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

casmurphy's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective slow-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship

lucinotlucy's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gun violence, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, and Abandonment

foxgloveinspace's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Grief, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, and Toxic friendship

glutenfreemaggie's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

samdalefox's review against another edition

challenging sad 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? It's complicated

2.0

One of my guilty pleasures is reading about the monstrous activities of wealthy characters. As such, I adored Tartt's 'The Secret History'. Unfortuantely, I cannot say the same for 'The Goldfinch'. I was expecting dark academia, history, priviledge of art. Instead I got a bore. The book is long, and it feels long. The excruciating detail does not add anything substantial to the story and borders on hypergraphia with inconsequential tangents galore. At many points, it just plain bored me.

I was most interested in the art world, art theft, and dodgy dealings underworld of antiques, and yet the book frustratingly spends little time there. All glossy descriptions and no substance of narrative. Why it won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction I don't know. The book attempts at some grandiose reflection of life, juxtaposing beauty and purpose and the transcendent universiality of experience through time (through the painting and Hobie), against chance or a higher 'pattern' (through gambling, drugs, and Boris). The last 3 chapters or so are just incoherent rambling of Theo trying to justify his life through these reflections. I am not convinced that Tartt successfully justifies/condones his choices or criticises them. A series of bad events happen to an unsympathetic character, maybe if the story was cut down it would have held my interest. It started strong with an interesting premise, then meandered its way through Theo's chaotic life, never truly addressing the consequences to himself or others. Altogether, very disappointing. The famous painting itself however, is exquisite.

Bits that did resonate with me:

• I identified with being in a family that's not your own/familiar (The Barbours, class divides), and the description of Theo's Dad/Xandra (in relation to my own Dad)
• Walden - "the mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation". Examining city life vs country life e.g. car dependency
• Boris, anti-capitalist
• Boris - "None of us ever find enough kindness in this world do we" 
• The Goldfinch painting itself, in particular the bird's torturous chain. The description on pg 342 "fluttering briefly, forced always to land in the same hopeless place."
  
  
  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, and Drug use

Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Blood, Murder, and Abandonment

muukhom's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.75

After I finished The Secret History I buy this one immediately because I love Tartt’s writing and I’m glad to say she did not disappoint me

The length of the book kinda overwhelmed me at first but now that I finished it, it was not a long boring book with useless description or sub-plot. It was, in fact, a really fascinating book. Although I find that some part could be cut off but it was not irritating and still enjoyable. Would definitely reread it some time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Car accident

Minor: Cursing, Homophobia, Racial slurs, and Medical trauma