Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

ההיסטוריה הסודית by Donna Tartt

483 reviews

dark mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
challenging dark mysterious reflective 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: Complicated

4/5: Academic reference that 10% of English Lit and Classics students will get, blah blah blah, plot, academic reference that 10% of English Lit and Classics students will get, blah blah, plot. We have now reached page 100 and nothing has happened except for encounters with teachers, let's name it, JULIAN the little weasel, who should be in jail for academic misconduct at the very LEAST, Greek Greek Greek and yet more Greek, and repeated references to white privilege that are mind-blowingly infuriating and then OH MY GOD, more academic references (was seriously thinking of dnf-ing it because I got book-sick of the pretentiousness) but THEN... this got its fourth star solely for the later darkness and the way it ended. Rest in peace decaying youth. I won't miss you.

A few scattered thoughts. I can say absolutely nothing about Tartt's writing. It is immaculate, it is beautiful, I was lost in it. From a technical perspective, by far not as edited as it should be but, surprisingly, even in the unedited, purely self-indulgent bits you can still find something oddly unique to absorb. When it comes to wording, imagery, and describing mental processes, it's safe to say Daedalus designed and built Tartt's mind, not God, not nature. It is beyond me how she came up with all these descriptions, how she set the scene, fashioned the aesthetic, fleshed out the characters so well and how she kept switching between so many genres. This has a little bit of everything; a slice of life, mystery novel, crime novel, YA, gothic elements what have you. She is in total command of language except for when we go into the academic world.

I don't know if anyone else out there with an English or Classics degree felt that way but I got really annoyed with all the academic references. It came across as if this book, Tartt herself, the characters, I don't know who was trying way too hard to prove a point. On top of that, as someone who also completed Classics/Humanities Studies in high school and hated every second of it, I went into this book hoping and praying it would ignite some kind of patriotic love for the language of my ancestors, a language which most people that taught or tutored me managed to reduce to a mere chore, a drag, something I was 'supposed' to do to pass the class instead of something I should be proud of and celebrate. I thought that maybe if I read about students who chose to study the Classics willingly and who, to a certain extent, romanticize the process of learning something as difficult as ancient Greek, I too would fall in love and wish to reconnect with it. I did not find what I was looking for. All I found was broken kids, easily manipulated, out of touch with reality who end up either dead or seriously traumatized. Funny, just like most Greek students graduating from high school. The irony is not lost on me. Safe to say, I look at my copy of Poetics by Aristotle and feel a certain queasiness and then quietly whisper to it 'not today, Satan'. Side note, I don't know how Tartt did it but in the character of Julian, she managed to describe everything wrong with the Greek educational system and its educators 😂 I felt validated. Bunch of elitists who think that if you don't know the conjugation of λύω you are less than... I hope Greeks out there have had much better experiences than me. 

An observation about the use of Greek throughout the novel and the ambiguity around it; I might have missed it but at what point does Tartt differentiate between Ancient and Modern Greek? I see references to 'Greek language' and 'we have Greek composition' but as a native, I sit here and wonder, 'yes, but what version of Greek?' Personally, I find that using 'Greek' to refer to the language as a whole is misguiding. She does refer to ancient Greek rituals and she does, sometimes, talk of ancient Greek in relation to Latin and the Roman world which could potentially lead someone to believe that the characters are learning 'ancient' Greek. Also, saying that they study the 'Classics' doesn't cut it either because some of our best-known classics are actually written in Modern Greek. At no point does she specify that the Greek in this novel is Ancient Greek and that troubled me a bit. If I'm missing something, I apologise in advance. To my eyes, it's 100% ancient Greek. But I kept wondering, what about people who don't know anything about Greece or the language or the Classics? 😂 I hope no one goes around thinking we wear chitons and talk like that while walking up the Parthenon because that is simply not true. British people don't converse in Middle English now do they? 😂 

There is something really dark about this story and for me, it manifested in the reasoning
behind killing Bunny. Henry figures it out so effortlessly, explains and serves it to you as if it is the most natural thing in the world to want to get rid of your friend to save your skin. This is also emphasized by how easy-going Richard is as well, how accepting of it. In his need to please Henry, to elevate himself in Henry's eyes he does not even falter, does not even pause to think things through on his own. And, to be honest, I didn't pause either. At some point, especially after the part where Henry was trying to puzzle out the right mushroom dosages, it became clear to me too that killing Bunny is inevitable, the only possible ending.
It is so tragic but in a very modern way. It follows a typical Greek tragedy structure, is also influenced by revenge tragedies from 16th century Brit playwrights (Richard mentions this as well and I wholeheartedly agree) and it just makes sense, no matter how cruel it sounds. I do not like what it says about me that I normalized murder for a second there😂 But in many ways, it was this dark experience and Henry's dramatic exit that made me give the fourth star. I can't go as far as to give it five because, petty as I am and not at all objective, I didn't like any of the characters. Not even Richard who is supposed to be the voice of reason, the one who deconstructs and exposes the inner rottenness and cruelty of the others. Somewhere, in the back of my head, I'm thinking that that is precisely the point. We are not supposed to like these people. But for me, personally, I have to identify with at least one and in this case, I did not. 

Overall, this one infuriated me, it took me down a dark path, it frustrated me and scarred me and didn't really give me what I was looking for but I'm glad I read it. 


 



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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

francis abernathy supremacy

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dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This is the first contemporary book I’ve read in quite some time, and the writing is equal to the classics I usually stick to. It’s incredibly unique and intriguing, and the accurate and realistic description of daily life at a liberal arts college as a language student was amazing- critical and pastoral in equal and appropriate terms. My one criticism (and reason for not giving the book a full 5-stars) is the treatment of Francis. As a queer reader, it was disheartening to see him guided so heavily into tropes, especially
in his relationship with Charles, in his promiscuity, and in his ultimate forced marriage. The latter especially seemed unnecessary and forced, an oddly cruel fate for a character that could have found some sort of redemption like the others<spoiler/>

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark mysterious slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: N/A
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

So I definitely enjoyed this book but it was just soooo long that it took me so long to reach the end. Admittedly I did read this during my exams so I wasn’t reading as much as usual but still. The book is just deceptively shorter than it is because there are just so many words on each page. 
I loved the themes and ideas  
and all the plot twists and unexpectedness
. Would definitely recommend. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Expand filter menu Content Warnings