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Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Der Distelfink by Donna Tartt

185 reviews

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

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dark emotional slow-paced

I read The Goldfinch over five years ago and didn't particularly love or hate it. I thought it was a compelling Bildungsroman of sorts that was well-written, but I wasn't particularly attached to the characters or the story. I decided to reread this novel to see if my opinion changed (and I was in the mood to pick up a chunky book back when I started this).

My opinion certainly changed, but it was for the worse. This book did not age well by any means with all its racism, ableism, and classism. Tartt certainly writes with eloquence, but her writing is steeped with issues that left me cringing and frustrated. Something that caught my attention was the near absence of nonwhite characters in New York City, of all places, unless they were "the help." I'm not sure how I didn't catch this years ago, considering how glaring these details were.

I also found it even harder to sympathize with the protagonist, Theo, during this reread. The messiness of grief was well presented—even if it was a bit extreme with the addiction and alcoholism—but I was really unhappy with how Tartt went about Theo's relationships in such a dismissive way. He was so wrapped up in his own world that it negatively affected how he treated the people around him. Pippa is objectified in a Manic Pixie Dream Girl kind of way, while Kitsy was treated terribly. The queer experience that Theo had with Boris also went completely unaddressed, which makes me wonder why Tartt bothered adding this detail other than to shock the reader.

A disappointing reread, to say the least.

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challenging dark reflective sad 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

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

How is it that nothing can happen in 770 pages spanning 20 years? Don’t ask me. I’ll just say that after Theo became an adult, it felt like every page was a chore—I did enjoy the childhood/teenage parts, but after that… this book is so far from my favorite novel of all time (The Secret History) that it’s hard to believe it was written by the same author. Despite the Pulitzer Prize sticker on the front, I can’t bring myself to muster more than slight admiration for Tartt’s descriptive writing style. The plot, in my opinion, was so slow and anticlimactic that I am honestly proud of myself for getting to the end. 

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

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challenging emotional mysterious slow-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: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
challenging dark informative slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character

WHERE DO I BEGING OMG!!!!! donna tartt is definitely one of my fav authors now, cant wait to read more of her works.
this book follows a painting but with the help of this stolen painting we discover theos life. we struggle with him throughout his childhood and teenage years, and adulthood. we grow up with this character and learn to love his flaws as they are.
i must admit i like movie boris so much more, he is not problematic and not a terrible person.
it took my quite a few months to finally finish this book but it was so worth it, every single part of it.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated

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

took me about seven months to read. somewhat of a comfort book during that time, but nothing i'd pick up again. got attached to the characters and learned to love and hate their flaws. despite the art gallery bombing being an experience that (i'm assuming) no reader has gone through as well as being an art thief, theo himself is certainly relatable. 

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