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esme_may'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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Classism, Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Toxic friendship, and Gun violence
Moderate: Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Vomit, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Physical abuse, Ableism, Incest, Mental illness, Antisemitism, Car accident, Bullying, Cursing, Infidelity, and Blood
Minor: Cancer, Kidnapping, Outing, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual assault
gretag'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
5.0
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Antisemitism, Bullying, Car accident, Classism, Drug abuse, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Outing, Homophobia, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Medical content and Vomit
saeruh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
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.
Graphic: Gaslighting, Alcohol, Toxic friendship, Sexism, Physical abuse, Murder, Misogyny, Incest, Homophobia, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Sexual violence, Drug abuse, Cursing, and Classism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Homophobia, Suicide attempt, Stalking, Blood, Outing, Suicide, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Gun violence, Racial slurs, Antisemitism, and Racism
hamarhemmo's review against another edition
- 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 fair amount of LGBTQ characters (all of whom are awful but that's unrelevant). Probably my favorite book ever.
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Xenophobia, and Murder
Moderate: Antisemitism, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Suicide attempt, Sexism, Mental illness, Homophobia, and Incest
Minor: Sexual content, Self harm, Religious bigotry, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Bullying, Outing, Domestic abuse, Animal death, Rape, and Misogyny
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.b0ygenius's review against another edition
- 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
the past four days i just spent reading this book cannot be described as anything else but a trance. this book's effect on me was nothing short of hypnotic. obsession doesn't seem like a strong enough word to describe the death grip this book held me in. i do not think i have ever been as wholly absorbed into a book in my life. normally i struggle a bit with focusing while reading but this book had my complete, undivided attention. i could not think of anything else in the moments i was not reading it. i had two separate dreams about this book. i have never read a book anywhere near this long so fast in my fucking life. i could continue to go on and on and on about how i fell facefirst into the world of hampden and never want to leave but, now, onto an actual review of the contents of this book:
donna tartt is an absolutely brilliant writer. this book is a masterpiece and it does not shock me in the slightest the obsession and cult following this book has amassed. her writing creates this undescribable atmosphere that makes the world of hampden college feel both like something straight out of an epic myth and incredibly real. i became so incredibly attached to these characters. i really do not think we as readers are supposed to root for them the way that i did for most of the book but man. these people are, for the most part, absolutely awful but tartt has crafted them in the most meticulously perfect way that makes you willing to look past all these faults. from the very beginning i was completely enthralled with henry in particular, although i had a feeling he would end up being the worst of them all (and alas i was right) i still was obsessed with him, not necessarily from a place of sympathy or relating to him or liking him but because he was just so goddamn fascinating. everything about him, from his strange mannerisms and aesthetic and his intelligence and the cold, strategic, and calculated way with which he planned all of the terrible things that happen made me just obsess over him. definitely one of my favorite literary characters ever; again, not really because i supported his actions but because he is one of the most well-written, charismatic, obsessively intriguing characters i have ever come across.
i really adored richard. normally the narrator/protagonist of any book ends up getting on my nerves quite a bit and is rarely among my favorite characters but i was incredibly fond of richard. he is intelligent and perceptive and sympathetic but above all, he is painfully human, which is somewhat of a breath of fresh air in a story full of quite eccentric and mysterious figures.
i also really loved francis. he's pretentious and snobbish and quite dramatic but so immensely likeable and had a truly good heart and i felt quite bad for him. i loved his relationship with richard especially in the aftermath of bunny's death; i think they really understood each other and what they were feeling the most and found comfort in each other while everyone else around them was slowly descending into madness. he deserved better.
i can't really think of anything substantive to say about camilla. i didn't love her, i didn't hate her; she had her moments, i guess. towards the end she really started to get on my nerves, though.
charles, for the first three-quarters of this book, was also quite neutral. nothing he said or did really left much of an impression on me for the majority of the book but his downfall kinda made me feel bad for him. the incest stuff tho.......... ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew
i really truly hate bunny but i can somewhat understand why he acted the way he did after finding out about the murder. still, i really did not feel bad for him in the slightest. he was just cruel and the homophobia he spewed at francis and the misogyny at camilla was truly revolting and that bit towards the beginning where bunny invites richard to dinner and makes all those terrible homophobic comments really killed any ability for me to find any sympathy for him. but i feel like that is one of the brilliant beauties of tartt's writing: she makes us feel so entwined with the group that we began to feel the same way as they do towards bunny.
julian was interesting but his character didn't feel anywhere near as fleshed out to me as any of the other main characters. his relationship with all of them, particularly henry, felt undeveloped
Graphic: Homophobia, Cursing, Grief, Incest, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, Violence, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Addiction, Alcohol, Racism, Xenophobia, Blood, Bullying, Drug use, Gun violence, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Classism, Alcoholism, Death, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Rape, Animal cruelty, Outing, Animal death, Antisemitism, Car accident, and Forced institutionalization
zoehakim'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? It's complicated
5.0
Moderate: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Bullying, Car accident, Classism, Cursing, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Antisemitism, Confinement, Dysphoria, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Animal death, Grief, Murder, Outing, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual violence, Vomit, Body shaming, Suicide, Violence, Ableism, Blood, Child death, Gaslighting, Gore, Islamophobia, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Alcohol, Body horror, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Xenophobia
readinghavoc's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Murder, Death, Violence, Addiction, Body horror, Incest, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Sexual content, Cursing, Suicide, Gore, Mental illness, Gun violence, Alcohol, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Panic attacks/disorders, Forced institutionalization, Drug use, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Domestic abuse, Blood, Grief, Gaslighting, Classism, Suicide attempt, Animal death, Sexism, and Infidelity
Minor: Animal death, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Outing, Sexual harassment, Animal cruelty, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Vomit, and Toxic friendship
buchstabenmaedchen'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
4.5
Minor: Racism, Religious bigotry, Toxic friendship, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Outing, Racial slurs, Animal cruelty, Suicide, Domestic abuse, Grief, Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Antisemitism, Classism, Incest, Islamophobia, Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Cursing, Bullying, Car accident, Death, Murder, Physical abuse, and Blood
juliettea's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death, Alcohol, Addiction, Classism, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Drug use, Biphobia, Blood, Violence, Sexism, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Xenophobia, Gun violence, Toxic friendship, Self harm, Misogyny, Grief, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Murder, Homophobia, and Incest
Minor: Abandonment, Sexual content, Racism, Racial slurs, Vomit, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Islamophobia, Ableism, Religious bigotry, Medical content, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Outing, Gore, Violence, and Gaslighting
tiemzahra's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Classism, Death, Mental illness, Murder, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, and Body horror
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, and Incest
Minor: Sexism, Animal death, Dysphoria, Misogyny, and Outing