Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Tajemna historia by Donna Tartt

33 reviews

ggcd1981's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.5

Todas as pessoas que falam de livros em alguma plataforma já leram The Secret History, então senti a vontade de fazer parte do clube, e obtive um resultado um tanto misturado. “Altos” muito “Altos”, “Baixos” muito “Baixos”. The Secret History é basicamente um clássico moderno e é um excelente exemplo da estética Dark Academia. Esses também foram fatores que me motivaram a ler a obra de Donna Tartt. Primeiramente a escrita é muito boa, apesar de em alguns momentos parecer se esforçar demais em soar poética, mas antes pecar pelo esforço do que pelo desleixo. O livro é narrado por Richard Papen, um jovem normal da Califórnia com péssimo relacionamento com os pais que se transfere para Hampden College em Vermont. Devido ao seu interesse em Grego ele se torna parte de um grupo seleto de alunos que cursam a disciplina e são orientados pelo professor mais elitista da universidade, Julian Morrow. Esse grupo escolhido a dedo era composto do austero Henry Winter, Edmund (Bunny) Corcoran, os gêmeos Camilla e Charles Macaulay, Francis Abernathy e por fim o próprio Richard. A primeira metade do livro foi, do meu ponto de vista, a melhor parte.

Iniciamos sabendo do assassinato de Bunny pelas mãos dos seus amigos e passamos a seguir a narrativa de Richard de como chegaram aquele ponto. Assim não é um “who done it”, mas um “why done it”. Acompanhamos como o livro constrói a relação de Richard com os outros membros do grupo e como eles tem uma especial amizade. Essa parte foi interessante por que aumentou o suspense sobre como tudo foi para o brejo. Me encontrei extremamente interessada no relacionamento de Richard com o grupo em especial Henry, que em dado momento salvou Richard de morrer por hipotermia. Vemos, depois de um tempo, como Richard percebe uma mudança na dinâmica do grupo. Bunny, vindo de uma família de tradição porem sem dinheiro, passa a quase bully seus próprios amigos. Isso leva a descoberta de Richard de que o resto do grupo cometeu um assassinato, Bunny descobriu antes dele e estava, não intencionalmente, pois Bunny não via como tal, chantageando o grupo. A situação afeta a saúde mental de Bunny que se torna cada vez mais imprevisível e errático, se tornando claro que ele é uma bomba relógio para seus prévios amigos e estes acabam por mata-lo. Richard pela sua necessidade de pertencer ao grupo se torna cumplice no assassinato. Vemos o que acontece após o crime, ficando claro que Henry, Charles, Camila, Francis e até mesmo Richard tem algum, porém não muito remorso (sendo sincera não tive pena de Bunny pois ele era homofóbico, misógino, em resumo uma pessoa horrível). Eles participam da equipe de busca por Bunny, tem que lidar com a polícia e FBI e ao fim escapam, porém não facilmente, de qualquer acusação. Nesse ponto passamos do meio da história, e para mim toda a trajetória até aí tinha sido bastante intrigante. Porém a partir daí o livro se arrasta. A sensação é que a autora chegou no final, porém quis descobrir o que aconteceria se continuasse escrevendo. A narrativa se torna dispersa e acompanha vários momentos que não contribuem em nada. As pessoas chamam de um estudo do personagem, porém estes são pessoas tão horríveis que eu não tinha interesse em acompanhar seus percalços de assassinos brancos, privilegiados e impunes. Não preciso que eles fossem punidos para considerar o livro bom, porém após o principal mistério ser resolvido (porque e como eles mataram Bunny), acompanhar os humores desses personagens enquanto eles seguiam com a vida se tornou bastante tedioso (especialmente no capítulo interminável do velório e funeral de Bunny). Charles se tornou o mais irritante dos personagens, recorrendo ao alcoolismo e se comportando de forma inconsequente depois de perder a irmã gêmea (sim, incesto) para Henry. Outros pontos que não me agradaram: primeiro quão pouco foi mostrado da personalidade de Camila, única mulher dentre os principais personagens; segundo fiquei bastante interessada quando o livro insinuou um relacionamento amoroso entre Richard e Francis, porém a narrativa deu para trás e a autora optou por estabelecer os gêmeos Camila e Charles como os reais interesses amorosos da dupla e frustrar minhas expectativas. No final, que demora a chegar pois se arrasta, mesmo tendo escapado impune de dois assassinatos os personagens não tiveram “finais felizes”. Todos menos Henry, pois este se suicidou no clímax da segunda metade da obra, acabaram presos em vidas infelizes. A última cena do livro é um sonho de Richard em que ele troca algumas palavras com Henry, não sei exatamente o que deve ser tirado dessa cena. Que Henry que havia vivido entediado com o mundo também estava entediado na morte? Imagino que deve ter interpretações melhores da cena por aí.

Dou 3.5 estrelas pelas Dark Academia Vibes e pelos momentos bons do livro que foram bastante instigantes, mas não posso dar nota mais alta pelas longas sequencias, na minha opinião, tediosas. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Abandonment, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Incest, Medical content, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Bullying, Classism, Death, Drug use, Murder, Religious bigotry, Suicide, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Mental illness, Animal death, Physical abuse, Grief, Animal cruelty, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Car accident and Gore

adearen's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Alcohol, Addiction, Death, Incest, Toxic friendship, Murder, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Drug abuse, Violence, Alcoholism, Grief, Homophobia, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Suicide attempt, Blood, and Car accident

Minor: Islamophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Animal cruelty, and Eating disorder

silenceglaive's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Suicide, Xenophobia, and Murder

Moderate: Incest, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, and Drug use

Minor: Abandonment and Rape

zoehakim's review against another edition

challenging reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Bullying, Car accident, Classism, Cursing, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Antisemitism, Confinement, Dysphoria, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Animal death, Grief, Murder, Outing, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual violence, Vomit, Body shaming, Suicide, Violence, Ableism, Blood, Child death, Gaslighting, Gore, Islamophobia, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Alcohol, Body horror, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Xenophobia

navayiota's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

5.0

No wonder it's such a beloved story, I couldn't stop listening even for a moment. I want to own a copy of this book and read it again. How vivid and atmospheric, it made me want to learn ancient Greek and go to college to study it. Absolutely adored the horrible protagonists, such flawed characters and yet it was so easy for me to love them. I'm so glad I read this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Drug use, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Alcoholism, Gun violence, Toxic friendship, Death, Animal death, Murder, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Sexual content, Vomit, Cursing, Blood, Religious bigotry, Child abuse, Infidelity, Medical content, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Classism, Abandonment, and Incest

Minor: Animal cruelty

liaandersson's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-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

I really enjoyed reading this book. I had heard great reviews and plenty of recommendations from friends with similar taste to mine. I can not claim to be disappointed in the least. I listened to the audiobook and was completely submerged into this world, this life. I truly understand the common sentiment that this is considered a dark academia classic.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Physical abuse, Blood, Confinement, Grief, Homophobia, Incest, Toxic relationship, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Sexual content, Abandonment, Antisemitism, Classism, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Racism, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexism, Stalking, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Racial slurs, and Violence

Moderate: Sexism, Sexual content, Alcohol, Toxic friendship, Medical content, Murder, Abandonment, Addiction, Confinement, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Racism, Violence, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Incest, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Chronic illness, Mental illness, Misogyny, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, and Emotional abuse

juliettea's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• 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

3.0

Pretty pretentious and problematic with hardly any redeemable characters although a beautifully written enveloping story. I wouldn’t say I’m in either camp of Bible or abhor but I’m glad I read it. It’s an original story but weirdly felt as if it were written by a man. As Richard’s the narrator, Tartt might’ve done this purposefully so, perhaps I’ll read Goldfinch and see if it translates over. Also, could this have really occurred in the 90s? Of course it’s a more conservative circle, but still seems so dated.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Alcohol, Addiction, Classism, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Drug use, Biphobia, Blood, Violence, Sexism, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Xenophobia, Gun violence, Toxic friendship, Self harm, Misogyny, Grief, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Murder, Homophobia, and Incest

Minor: Abandonment, Sexual content, Racism, Racial slurs, Vomit, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Islamophobia, Ableism, Religious bigotry, Medical content, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Outing, Gore, Violence, and Gaslighting

katalina's review against another edition

dark hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad 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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Racism, Suicide, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, Suicide attempt, Animal cruelty, Alcohol, Classism, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Incest, Murder, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

tiemzahra's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

Richard Papen was one of the six students under the supervision of a classics professor. These six misfits was influenced by this professor and adopted a new way of thinking but accidentally go beyond the boundaries of normal morality. 

 

 My opinions regarding this book are highly polarised. I could give reasons why I like this book and at the same time hate it intensely. In the end, this is an intriguing read from the very start, and I opted for the former. 

 

Why I like this book: thrilling, page turner 

 

Why I could hate this book: no one I could say is my favourite, privileged college kids doing doing privileged things, extremities of everyone’s life choices, everyone is pretentious, (although I think it’s one of the main characteristics of dark academia, and Richard turned out to be fair and non-condescending towards others outside of his group), everything about Bunny 

 

This book does not follow whodunit narrative, plot-driven, quite a slow read (I don’t mind this at the slightest), allusions to many classics (these people are elitists). However, they had their fatal flaws that made them unfitting in a normal society. I should hate them, but in the end, they made me so sad (except for Bunny, I have little sympathy over his death). That distinct melancholic feeling I get after finishing this book was so intense, that I believe The Secret History has impacted me despite the many reasons I have to hate it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Death, Mental illness, Murder, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, and Body horror

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, and Incest

Minor: Sexism, Animal death, Dysphoria, Misogyny, and Outing

steviaplath's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Blood, Drug use, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Toxic friendship, Grief, Death, Gaslighting, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Xenophobia, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Racism, Panic attacks/disorders, Incest, Kidnapping, and Car accident

Minor: Abandonment, Death of parent, Fatphobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content