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jessfastlane's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Murder, Death, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Alcohol, Bullying, Cursing, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Violence, Vomit, and Drug use
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Islamophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, Religious bigotry, Racial slurs, and Drug abuse
Minor: Antisemitism, Death of parent, Incest, Kidnapping, Misogyny, and Domestic abuse
ajasmine'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
3.5
Graphic: Murder, Physical abuse, Death, Suicide, Addiction, Homophobia, Racism, Alcoholism, Blood, Drug abuse, and Drug use
Moderate: Classism, Incest, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, and Racial slurs
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Rape, Antisemitism, Animal death, and Forced institutionalization
eliever'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
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Racism, Toxic friendship, Classism, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, and Murder
Moderate: Racial slurs, Suicide attempt, Panic attacks/disorders, Animal death, Forced institutionalization, Incest, Addiction, Medical trauma, Misogyny, and Self harm
Minor: Rape, Death of parent, and Eating disorder
cviii'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
3.5
Graphic: Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Addiction, Alcoholism, Classism, Alcohol, Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Toxic friendship, Incest, Mental illness, Murder, Suicide attempt, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Homophobia, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Medical content, and Misogyny
Minor: Rape, Forced institutionalization, Sexual assault, Stalking, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, and Religious bigotry
frantically's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
The supposed criticism or commentary on the uptight, elitist, privileged world of academia or more specifically humanities is so obvious, it felt like it was constantly screaming at me. It was so overdone at some point that it felt like Tartt didn't even stand for it, just needed a theme for her book. And I despised it. Do you honestly expect me to care for characters who reek of privilege, whose lives seem to revolve around ignoring the problems in their own studies and never facing any consequences for their actions?
I'm all for criticising the system but maybe all this would've been better suited for a non-fiction book. A book with not one sympathetic character leaves little to enjoyment. If you want a Dark Academia book that handles the inequalities and elitism in academia a lot more nuanced, I'd recommend Leigh Bardugo's Ninth House.
The actual inequalities in academia are so much more subtle but so much more real too than they are portrayed in this book. It's not the money needed for nice clothes or booze but rather the lack of connections, the expensive conferences, the cost of publishing a dissertation, the limitations forced upon you by coming from a less university oriented school, the lack of money for funding or grants, the inaccessibility for any students who aren't mentally or physically healthy, the walls you run into trying to research as a woman in general but also trying to find funding and supporters for "female" subject matters, like sexuality or gender studies. Tartt makes it seem like the biggest challenge in academia are other students, when it's really the whole system that's at fault.
Tartt is definitely good at intimitating classical author's style — think Hardy or maybe even C. Brontë. Sadly, the magical world of New England we get sucked into is always contrasted by characters who were just living normal lives, having normal college experiences. I get that this was meant as a stylistic device to show just how different (and maybe even isolated?) the Classics students were but for me it just served to make their characters seem even less real.
I am that pretentious history student, I am constantly around other pretentious history students, I spent my trips to other countries deciphering Roman inscriptions and coins but by making humanities students into almost satires of the academic bubble, we encourage the continuation of that inherient elitism many humanities degrees still hold. Not just for ourselves but for outsiders as well. It serves absolutely noone to make our community so inaccessible by portraying ourselves as this idealized version of a humanities pupil (even one who commits murders on occasion). We're humans, we're students, we're all connected in this mess of academia and we're still allowed to like parties, to want normal relationships and friendships. Start realizing that Dark Academia is a genre of fiction — not something you should aspire to embody in your time at university. Live a little 🤍
Graphic: Drug abuse, Homophobia, Suicide attempt, Classism, Death, Drug use, Murder, Sexism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Gun violence, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Eating disorder, Alcohol, Physical abuse, Animal death, Incest, and Alcoholism
Minor: Forced institutionalization
anton13'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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
After all of this I’m just left with one question:
What did Henry whisper to Camilla?
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Death, Grief, Murder, Blood, Cursing, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Medical content, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Gun violence, and Drug use
Minor: Rape, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Self harm
jelliestars'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
5.0
Graphic: Classism, Death, Drug abuse, Islamophobia, Racism, Suicide attempt, Religious bigotry, Racial slurs, Addiction, Alcohol, Drug use, Toxic friendship, Alcoholism, Blood, Homophobia, Murder, Suicide, Violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Sexism, Animal death, Cursing, Gun violence, Hate crime, Incest, Medical content, Misogyny, Animal cruelty, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Antisemitism, and Car accident
Minor: Eating disorder, Excrement, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Forced institutionalization, and Kidnapping
torismazarine'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: Suicide, Drug use, Grief, Addiction, Classism, Blood, Alcohol, Death, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, and Murder
Moderate: Chronic illness, Forced institutionalization, and Violence
lissybeth91's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The Secret History is a story about murder, but the who and what are revealed right from the start. What remains is a fascinating, twisted exploration of the why and how. The writing is brilliant, at times making me feel as if I myself had committed the crime.
Graphic: Classism, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Suicide, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Drug abuse, Suicide attempt, Incest, Alcoholism, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Classism, and Bullying
Minor: Child abuse, Eating disorder, Car accident, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Forced institutionalization
fjerda's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Death, Grief, Murder, Addiction, Gun violence, Alcoholism, Drug use, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Self harm, Alcohol, Blood, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Sexual violence, Mental illness, Incest, Suicidal thoughts, and Rape
Minor: Body horror, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Forced institutionalization