Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

287 reviews

suzylit's review against another edition

dark lighthearted mysterious 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

3.75

I could have given this novel a higher rating if the pace had been a bit faster. The atmosphere and the characters are well built. Suspense and mystery are indeed present, yet there are a des lengthy passages. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Cursing, Gore, Murder, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Violence, Death, Drug abuse, Sexual content, and Blood

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, and Self harm

Minor: Dementia, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Islamophobia

samcanuel's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective 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

3.75

Whatever I expected going into this book, I certainly did not get. I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed this book. It was extremely well-written, with great foreshadowing and beautiful prose. It was dark and a little sublime, but not unrealistic.

I was a little scared how easily I was convinced that not one, but two different murders were justified. I was just as much of a bystander as Richard was in this story.

It reminded me a bit of Bunny by Mona Awad, so if you liked that book I would recommend this one. It felt like a classic.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Cursing, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Alcoholism, Suicide, Murder, Suicide attempt, Animal death, Death, Violence, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Sexual content, Antisemitism, Child abuse, Misogyny, Car accident, Classism, Sexism, Homophobia, Racism, and Racial slurs

Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual violence

lizzym126's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Classism, Addiction, Grief, Violence, Alcohol, Drug use, Drug abuse, Murder, Cursing, Death, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Physical abuse, and Gun violence

lindasoderlundd's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Incest, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, and Drug use

Moderate: Homophobia and Medical content

Minor: Abandonment, Child abuse, Classism, Gun violence, Antisemitism, Misogyny, Racism, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, and Sexual content

carlapastor's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

4.5

It is hard for me to give this book 5 stars because it disturbed me deeply. It does feel kind of a Crime and Punishment. Only not as good, of course, but it is really interesting to see the dynamics of each person.

It took me an awfully long to finish because it is dense, but paired with a playlist (first one you find when you look in Spotify) well, it was great. 
It did felt like I have read this before though, thanks When we were villains! It was literally the same but more likeable characters, less interesting and more family friendly.

Maybe in some time, as I revisit the book, I will lower the rating. It feels like I need to give it five stars, however it does not feel like other five stars I've read.

Also, just something I thought was funny. In page 253, I think, Bunny insinuates that the twins are sleeping together. Camilla says "Just because I don't want to sleep with you doesn't mean I'm sleeping with my brother" or something along the lines. But Bunny was definitely right about that.

June 5th: I did indeed end up lowering the rating.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Classism, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, Violence, Death, Murder, Alcohol, and Suicide

Moderate: Gaslighting and Incest

Minor: Vomit

lavendar_fr0g's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

The first half was great, I was excitedly trying to see what’ll happen next. But after the actual murder, the book went all over the place. It was confusing, all over the place and wasn’t as fun to read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Suicide, Addiction, Cursing, Death, Murder, and Alcohol

Moderate: Incest, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Drug use, Antisemitism, Homophobia, and Drug abuse

Minor: Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Religious bigotry, Gun violence, Mental illness, Classism, Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, Outing, Medical content, and Medical trauma

alexandrabelze's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious 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

omfg. donna tartt is my mother. she’s insane for this.  holy SHIT!!! every single word was a vital part of this novel–down to the damn syllable. she has perfected the art of writing. the pacing of the book was magnificent and the characterization was stellar. every moment was so VIVID! her word choice was so perfect in every sense and every sentence and paragraph and piece of dialogue flowed so perfectly throughout the entire novel. her use of prose is so …entertaining? idk how to describe her writing but it’s everything i ever needed and more. she created a plot so full and detailed that i have no qualms at all; everything was perfectly laid out and set into place. this is the longest review i’ve written BY FAR. 

okay FIRST OF ALL, the INCEST? mawma i was floored. and camilla refusing to marry richard because she was in love with henry…girl please. be so real. henry’s death was fucking insane. every second of that encounter starting from charles barreling through the door to henry’s body hitting the ground was insane. AND THEN we find out that marion married one of bunny’s brothers!!!!!! stfu!!! and they had a baby!!! and the family decided to nickname it BUNNY. IM SORRY?! and when i read that letter that francis sent to richard my heart STOPPED. i would’ve been so mad at donna had she killed him off istg. he’s my one and only i love him far too much. good god this book. I JUST REMEMBERED the entire ritual that they had? oh my god!!!! donna!!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Classism, Drug use, Gun violence, Islamophobia, Suicide, Violence, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Gaslighting, Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Toxic friendship, Grief, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Body horror, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Confinement, Vomit, Antisemitism, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, and Stalking

Minor: Ableism, Fatphobia, Rape, Cancer, Death of parent, and Eating disorder

ambdocksey22's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Classism, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Drug use, Homophobia, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Death, Misogyny, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Sexism, Alcoholism, Animal death, Antisemitism, Biphobia, Blood, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Suicide, Car accident, Gun violence, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, and Rape

ibroughtyouknives's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug use, Classism, Drug abuse, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Violence, Homophobia, Death, Murder, Blood, Cursing, Suicide, and Antisemitism

Minor: Incest, Medical content, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Misogyny, and Physical abuse

greyyy's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Alcohol, Grief, Blood, Suicide, Homophobia, Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug use, and Murder

Moderate: Cursing, Racial slurs, Racism, and Ableism