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lilawsahar's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I think the only true sane person was Bunny.
I want to read more dark academia. Hopefully they aren’t all this slow. I loved the epilogue.
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Death, Addiction, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Homophobia, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Suicide, and Incest
quixie's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Body horror, Gore, Grief, Blood, Mental illness, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Toxic friendship, Antisemitism, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Suicide attempt, Animal death, Classism, and Death
briochebun's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
“Love doesn’t conquer everything. And whoever thinks it does is a fool.”
ੈ✩‧₊˚
The Secret History has been on my TBR for quite some time and I am so glad that I finally put some time aside to read it.
While I cannot say that my life was forever altered by this novel (though my feelings on that may change with time) I feel as though giving it anything less than 4 starts would be doing it an immense disservice. Readers of TSH will be able to see the impact that the novel has had on the Dark Academia genre and I think that in and of itself is an incredible feat that speaks to Tartt’s skill.
Graphic: Homophobia, Incest, Murder, Violence, Grief, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Outing, Alcoholism, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Death, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Vomit, Xenophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Alcohol, Drug use, Drug abuse, Islamophobia, Medical content, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, and Gore
Moderate: Car accident and Death of parent
Minor: Kidnapping
ro_lux's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Grief, Death, Alcoholism, Murder, and Alcohol
Moderate: Drug abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Homophobia, Incest, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Emotional abuse, and Gun violence
Minor: Outing and Medical content
pbthealien's review against another edition
- 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
Without spoiling the plot, I believe the narrative was divisive and engaging throughout, while still deeply linking to the novel’s core themes. The juxtaposition of the groups’ erratic and cruel actions and their sophisticated environment serves to highlight their depravity even more.
Richard, specifically, was a character who felt like a blank slate in the best way. He is the Everyman in a sea of wealthy elites, who is just along for the ride with the others. He is the only part of the book on which I am torn. I would have loved to see his character expanded upon more considering he was the MC, but his (relatively) passive role in the plot serves to provide a reliable narration.
Graphic: Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Drug use, Drug abuse, Violence, Murder, Incest, Suicide attempt, Racism, Suicide, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, Mental illness, Death, Cultural appropriation, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Classism, Alcoholism, Addiction, and Alcohol
goldaerin's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Homophobia, Emotional abuse, Classism, Death, Toxic friendship, and Misogyny
Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Suicide attempt, and Incest
chernobylcat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Classism, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Vomit, and Violence
briiforte's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Murder, Animal death, Antisemitism, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Classism, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Incest, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Death, and Grief
samugranjo's review against another edition
- 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
“It has always been hard for me to talk about Julian without romanticizing him. In many ways, I loved him the most of all; and it is with him that I am most tempted to embroider, to flatter, to basically reinvent. I think that is because Julian himself was constantly in the process of reinventing the people and events around him, conferring kindness, or wisdom, or bravery, or charm, on actions which contained nothing of the sort. It was one of the reasons I loved him: for that flattering light in which he saw me, for the person I was when I was with him, for what it was he allowed me to be” (p. 576)
My entire life I feel like I have been constructing intricate characters of which the skin I can dress myself with, representing a capsule of ideas and values and how I desire to translate these to the exterior. My own name has been chosen on the basis of a character that could represent everything I wish I would be, as well as everything I wish I wasn’t nicely accompanied by people to love me for it anyways. As a queer person who grew up surrounded by social media and mental health issues, I often regard my life as an endless performance. Even my love for reading started as an attempt to be more like the people who read around me – I feel in love with the act of reading before I can remember falling in love with a book itself.
“Though Julian could be marvelously kind in difficult circumstances of all sorts, I sometimes got the feeling that he was less pleased by kindness itself than by the elegance of the gesture.” (p. 539)
If I search my memory well enough, I can find some vivid memories of playing dress up and makeover games in primary school. This was done with a notebook on the side, so I could make notes of everything I did to the animations and be able to do the same to myself later on. These lists of things I would do before the new year, new month, new week, were not just beauty centered. In my mind they translated into making friends, being positively perceived, having good grades and above else just having a clue of what I was doing and enjoying myself while doing it.
“I had spent dozens of hours studying the photographs as though if I stared at them long enough and longingly enough I would, by some sort of osmosis, be transported into their clear, pure silence. Even now I remember those pictures, like pictures in a storybook one loved as a child." (p.10)
I learned how to present myself and how to translate how I wanted to be perceived into aesthetic ideals before I could even quite grasp what those ideals meant, and until this day I have a hard time letting go of this desire for image base simplification.
“Viewed from a distance, his character projected an impression of solidity and wholeness which was in fact as insubstantial as a hologram; up close, he was all motes and light, you could pass your hand right through him. If you stepped back far enough, however, the illusion would click in again and there he would be, bigger than life, squinting at you from behind his little glasses and raking back a dank lock of hair with one hand. A character like his disintegrates under analysis. It can only be denned by the anecdote, the chance encounter or the sentence overheard.” (p. 438)
The morbid longing for the picturesque at all costs (p. 5) is culturally ingrained in us, and in the present, it can be interesting to consider what role does social media and image based websites have on this. We are all increasingly longing for outer beauty and constructing and shifting aesthetic ideals, so we can chase them and feel in control of how we are perceived and what our life is made of. But we often forgot that we also need to fill the shell itself. These aesthetics can be fun and even empowering at times, but on their own they will not make us fulfilled, they will fail in giving us a sense of community as well as one of individuality. And above all, they leave us with a sore taste in our mouths and a sense of disappointment, because the more we attempt to find fulfillment in them, the more we feel like the failure is in ourselves – the aesthetic is not the right one or we are not letting ourselves fall into it enough – and not in the chase itself.
“'After all, the appeal to stop being yourself, even for a little while, is very great,' he said. 'To escape the cognitive mode of experience, to transcend the accident of one's moment of being. (…) . But one mustn't underestimate the primal appeal – to lose one's self, lose it utterly. And in losing it be born to the principle of continuous life, outside the prison of mortality and time.” (p. 182)
And when does it stop? When does the disconnect become too striking to be ignored any longer? When does the romanization start to make the thing itself rotten and disappointing and how do we avoid that? When do we stop and recognize that just because we are deeply absorbed by this road it does not mean we should keep following it?
“There is nothing wrong with the love of Beauty. But Beauty – unless she is wed to something more meaningful – is always superficial. It is not that your Julian chooses solely to concentrate on certain, exalted things; it is that he chooses to ignore others equally as important.” (p. 577)
The imaginary world, the picturesque and its beauty, can be tremendous tools in driving through the madness of the real world. But on itself they are not enough, we need to find fulfillment in reality, and love in presence.
Original review at: The dangers of longing for the picturesque - A... - Ethereal Ageing (tumblr.com)
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Xenophobia, Murder, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Grief, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Toxic friendship, Classism, Cursing, Violence, Suicide attempt, Incest, Addiction, Death, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Body horror, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Homophobia, Animal death, Chronic illness, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Medical content
Minor: Sexual violence, Cancer, Gun violence, and Child abuse
biab00's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Classism, Toxic friendship, Self harm, Incest, Alcohol, Death, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Murder, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, and Rape
Moderate: Body horror, Blood, Addiction, Homophobia, and Suicide