Reviews with content warning for Physical abuse - Tajemna historia

I really enjoyed this book. Trying to piece out how/why the murder was committed and seeing its aftermath. I begun by really despising Bunny but soon I realized every single character is a bad person. That is the point. They all do horrible tings and are deeply flawed. Richard is also such an unreliable narrator. Most of the time he is aware of half of the things that are happening and he paints everyone in a god like manner, which hided their true identity and character. Henry was such an intriguing figure, always mysterious but also calculative. I was very surprised when he committed suicide. Although it perfectly fits the narrative, They way Henry idiolizes Julien, Richard idiolizes Henry. Charles was the biggest shock, which how he turned out to be an abusive drunk. Richard's narrating truly hid that well. Overall, I loved the story and understand why it is considered a classic of dark academia.

Quote: "Beauty is terror. Whatever we call beautiful, we quiver before it"

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rebekkamafia's review against another edition

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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

4.5

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nexus_nilus's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

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startjpw23's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

In a preface to the book, we learn that a group of college students murdered a classmate. The main body of the book then starts during the previous year when Richard, a native Californian, who is the first-person narrator of the story, applies to get into a small Vermont college. More than anything, he wants to get away from California and his parents. He was previously in a college where one of the things he studied was the Greek language and literature (he didn't complete his studies there). He is accepted into the Vermont college for the fall semester. Shortly after arriving at the college, he learns that the college has a Greek study program. He becomes obsessed with getting into the program. He is initially refused by the professor in charge of the program. This professor has exacting standards about who can join. Richard eventually convinces the professor to let him join. There are only 5 other students. One of the students is the student who will later be killed. Richard and the other 4 students all have some involvement with the killing. The extent of their involvement is only revealed as the book progresses. All of the students in this Greek study program largely keep to themselves. The are pretty much only friends with each other. Everything I said above occurs very early in the book. The remainder is the events that led up to the killing and the aftermath where the students try not to get caught and them trying to deal with the knowledge that they killed someone. The story also deals with the dynamics of the group and how they interact with each other and how they interact with the professor of the Greek study program as well as other people. This is the first Dark Academia book I read. I liked it a lot.

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lizkocher's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

3.0

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ringofkeyz's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.75

there's a reason why this book is so highly recommended.

donna tartt is able to paint a scene so well with the language that she chooses. the characters feel real - while they could all fall into stereotypes quite easily (henry, the serious, studious boy with a dark nature. bunny, the playboy coasting by on forcing others' hand to generosity. etc.), they never come off as caricatures. their personalities and struggles feel believable and, even though they're all horrible people when it comes down to it, you're able to sympathize with them when need be. and those types of characters make a story.

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