Reviews

Le Chardonneret by Donna Tartt

jc560's review against another edition

dark reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.75

deanashuman's review against another edition

2.0

I had super high hopes about this book, and they were not realized. What an interesting premise! Good bones, you could say. But the narrator, clearly a porte-parole for the author, goes off on these ridiculous self-absorbed rants that I can only describe as mental masturbation, the point of which appears to be convincing the reader that life is “a cesspool”, and that “to try to make meaning out of all this is unbelievably quaint”. Theo’s philosophical ramblings throughout but especially towards the end of the novel do not fit with the impulsive, definitely NOT introspective character who spends his life making one bizarre choice after another. To Tartt (thinly disguised as the narrator towards the end), things like “health, domesticity, social connection” are but “blandly held virtues”. Ugh. Fatalistic, nihilistic, snobby, materialistic bunk. And to top it off, she appears to have a short list of big vocabulary words that she just MUST find a place for, or two. “Fractious” used twice within a short space, then “indefatigable” twice, suggesting that these sentences were simply a vehicle for her desire to show off the big words that she knows. I’m glad I read it, and given how beloved it is by some I’m sure that I could re-read it and get something else out of it. But nah...too many good stories out there!

sashosho's review against another edition

4.0

“Who’s to say that gamblers don’t really understand it better than anyone else? Isn’t everything worthwhile a gamble? Can’t good come around sometimes through some strange back doors?”

I want Hobie in my life! The best character in this book. Period!

marysues's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

kale_kale's review against another edition

emotional medium-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

2.75

I liked some parts of the book and others not so much. The beginning sucked me in and kept me reading, but it dragged on seemingly forever. The ending wasn’t as exciting as I hoped it would be. 

born_reading's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

owen_scanlan's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

jfearing5's review against another edition

5.0

If Of Human Bondage had a criminal element...

The book transports you to a world where a teenage drug addict really, really notices color, and for once unleathy relationships function pretty close to reality.

bibliobrandie's review against another edition

3.0

I finally finished...took me forever. Still not sure how I feel about this one. I liked the writing and the story, but didn't love it. I've read/heard from people that they didn't like the long middle part. That was the part that I most enjoyed. The ending, I dunno.

samtate's review against another edition

challenging dark inspiring mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0