Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'

Le Maître des illusions by Donna Tartt

511 reviews

the_neeerd's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious reflective 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

5.0

This is my favorite book because everyone in it sucks so bad. not a single character makes a good choice. and then they all make each other worse. If you take this book seriously, you're missing the point. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, and Antisemitism

Minor: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, and Grief

lindsfindley's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Biphobia, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Islamophobia, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

I

cynthia_wlms's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug use, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Suicide attempt, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Blood, and Grief

Minor: Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Car accident, and Death of parent

thisiserintehe's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark inspiring mysterious 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

I have so much to say about this book, and yet nothing to say at all. It arguably made me a more intelligent person.
If there was only one book in the world, it would be this one. 
My most favourite book ever <3

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Cursing, Death, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Suicide attempt, Murder, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

georgialee01's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Alcohol

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Incest, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Blood

roaming_enn's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-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

4.75

Does such a thing as "the fatal flaw," that showy dark crack running down the middle of a life, exist outside of literature? It used to think it didn't. Now I think it does. And I think mine is this: a morbid longing for the picturesque at all costs.

Beauty is terror. Whatever we call beautiful, we quiver before it. And what could be more terrifying and beautiful, to souls like t he Greeks or our own, than to lose control completely? To throw off the chains of being for an instant, to shatter the accident of our mortal selves?

Summary:
This book is about a bunch of Ancient Greek undergraduate students and that time they murdered one of their classmates. The one who dies is revealed in the beginning, and it is the HOW they get there that's the real story. The story is told in first-person through Richard Papen's POV, a newest Greek student that the professor accepts, newest member of the group that had been together for longer. He is writing just under a decade after the events of the book. 

Thoughts:
I love how academic it was, and it feels like a book written by an academic (which it was) for other academics. The author doesn't hold your hand, assuming you're smart enough to follow the story with what she gives you. There was at least one scene that I thought was entirely unnecessary for the Islamophobia it spewed, and I'm still not sure why it was included. The ending was a little disappointing because I wanted things to be a particular way but they ended up not. I wish it had been more than just a handful of years later when the story is told, rather than Richard still being a young man. But in either case, a lot of people seem to hate this book. I loved it. I don't love the characters, but I found them, and the story, REALLY compelling. And for me, that makes up for not loving the characters. 

Be sure to check all the content warnings. I tried to include as many as I could think of in this review. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Murder

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Islamophobia

Minor: Cursing, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Vomit, and Antisemitism

fkshg8465's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

I loved The Goldfinch and was expecting to love this one too, but instead, I’m unclear why this book was such a big deal. The whole time, I keep wondering if this book inspired Shonda Rhimes into How to Get Away with Murder, and like that TV show, I hated the premise of the plot and still watched every episode and read every page, and in the end, all I am left is to wonder why I did.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

brivie's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

This book has become one of my favorites!!! I love the found family trope but this was done in such a unique way. I love how Richard (the narrator) isn't as involved in the secrets of the story and this reminded me of Nick from The Great Gatsby. The end made me close the book shut and reflect before I left myself move on to the epilogue. The dark academia vibes in this book are unmatched!!! The exposition and descriptions of the characters always created such a vivid image in my mind. Such a stunningly dark story that I fell in love with!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Incest, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Sexual harassment

singalana's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

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

3.75

This book was different from what I expected. I hope I would have taken my time with it and read it more slowly and thoughtfully, but alas, it was from the library, and I was pressed to return it.

From the blurb, I expected this book to be different: I expected the professor to play a more significant part and the group of students to be almost like a secret society of sorts (hence the name). I expected more action, crimes, and violence, but that was not the case. I’d characterise The Secret History as a slow-burn psychological thriller. It’s Donna Tartt’s debut novel, but you’d never guess it from the writing.

Our main character, Richard, comes from a humble background and tries to get away from his family. He gets into college in Vermont, where he gets a place in a small group studying under a classics professor. Slowly, he gets to know the other students better and better and becomes entangled in something that changes his life forever. 

The characters have distinct personalities, and the author describes them in a way that makes them easy to picture. The writing flows quite nicely, and I found it pleasant to read. The events flow at a slow, almost dreamlike pace, and I, as a reader, find myself in the main character’s head, almost like a passenger, watching the events unfold.

Plotwise, I don’t have much to critique. I suppose my main gripe about this book is that it’s rather long. But perhaps if I had read it at a more leisurely pace, then the dreamlike quality of the events would have clashed so much with my “need for speed”. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal death, Cursing, Death, Incest, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Car accident, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

asymmetricwhale's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Xenophobia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail