You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Scan barcode
berrytart'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
3.75
(francis best character!!)
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Homophobia, Incest, Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Murder, Alcohol, and Classism
Moderate: Rape, Antisemitism, and Car accident
Minor: Cancer, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
naomi_salters'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, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
thegr1mreader'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
Graphic: Alcoholism, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Murder
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
arthedgehog'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
4.25
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Incest, Suicide, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, and Classism
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Biphobia, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation
phantomeyer's review against another edition
- 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
2.5
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Incest, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Suicide attempt, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Classism
gemmascott'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
On paper, I’m the perfect audience: former classics student; working class background, elite university, but for some reason, it failed to completely hit the mark.
The prose was beautiful and the student archetypes were well constructed, as was the satire of this kind of university life. However, the first half of the book was a bit of a slog to read - very slow paced and could easily have been half as long!
Interestingly though, when I first read the book 8-9 years ago, this is the section I remembered - much more clearly than “Book 2”. What interested me most about this section was the way the characters talked about Bunny’s impending death in a sort of abstract sense, almost as though they were playing a game, as there was no real consideration of the impact of their actions, nor any sense of empathy. This may, of course, be due to the fact that the characters are horrible people, but
“Book 2” was certainly the part of the book that gripped me most, as it dealt with the aftermath of the murder and it’s impact on the perpetrators, which is as far as I know, a concept rarely explored in literature.
The various reactions of the students to the murder also speaks volumes as to their characters - while Henry is largely coded as a sociopath, the twins and Francis seem much more like highly damaged people, who have perhaps a weak moral centre, but some sense of empathy, as they each largely go “off the rails” following the murder. On the other hand, Richard, who paints himself as the most sympathetic character during the novel (even calling himself a “bystander” at one point), is largely able to move on with his life, at least outwardly. For me, this makes him one of the least empathetic characters and suggests he shares at least some characteristics with Henry - despite his purported horror at some of the events, we see very little genuine empathy or even feeling from him. Julian is also a key villain of the novel, and likely of the same mould as Henry and Richard - was Richard a social experiment in terms of allowing a working class boy to join the group, or just another vulnerable person Julian could control/isolate in order to satisfy his god complex?
In terms of my main criticisms of the book, these include the references spread throughout the novel. These gave an impression of almost an old journal article in Classical Studies, where the academics sought to prove their credentials at every possible moment (I once read an article with an entire paragraph in untranslated French, for no apparent reason), and made the book feel at once as though it was gatekeeping, and trying to flatter its readers as to their own academic prowess.
There were also some inconsistencies - Richard is suddenly proficient in Latin (despite Julian saying he won’t learn the language until next year - which I took to mean academic year), and while most of the references were “real”, from brands, to pop-stars to authors, there was an inexplicable inclusion of the “Isrami” government - if the author didn’t want to specify, just say a “Middle Eastern” government - for me a very strange and distracting choice.
I would also have liked to see the theme of class explored a little more deeply - none of the characters seem to mind Richard’s background (which they must have understood), despite their obvious distain for others of a similar socio-economic status.
Overall, an interesting book, but I wouldn’t say it completely lives up to the hype.
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Incest, Rape, Sexual content, and Murder
lia_paige's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Incest, Rape, Suicide, and Murder
karmascycles'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
2.0
Graphic: Death and Homophobia
Moderate: Rape
rayaufebay's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Biphobia, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
amberg25's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Rape, Cannibalism, and Injury/Injury detail