Reviews tagging 'Ableism'

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

27 reviews

bookishfaye's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective 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

2.0

This book is very comparable to movie Saltburn in the sense that they both tragically fail at representing and continue to perpetuate the issues they are meant to be commentaries of. This very much reads like it was written by a rich white nepo baby & I have so many issues with it. Pretty much every -ism/-obia occurs in here in super unnecessary & gross ways & it got to the point where I was only holding on to be able to say that i’ve read it. The second star is because I’ll give Donna the grace that at times there’s some really good quotes in here, & I found Henry to be a pretty well written character, but quite frankly fuck this book overall. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Ableism, Islamophobia, Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Violence, Murder, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Racism, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Antisemitism, Blood, Classism, Sexism, Suicide, Gun violence, Addiction, Drug use, Fatphobia, Homophobia, and Toxic friendship

caelinsullivan's review against another edition

dark tense medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Self harm, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Homophobia, Ableism, Alcoholism, Animal death, Islamophobia, Murder, Racial slurs, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Racism, Classism, Drug use, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Misogyny, Addiction, and Incest

Minor: Sexual assault

feralbookwife's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-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

3.75

I have never craved a cigarette so much. A visceral, pretentious read filled with coming of age angst, greed, ego, and a dash of nihilism. Be sure to be in the mood to enter this world before starting it all the characters will feel insufferable.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Panic attacks/disorders, Classism, Domestic abuse, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Animal death, Drug use, Ableism, Mental illness, Murder, Death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Grief, Self harm, Animal cruelty, Incest, Suicide attempt, Misogyny, Rape, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, and Racism

alexandrabelze's review against another edition

dark emotional funny 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

omfg. donna tartt is my mother. she’s insane for this.  holy SHIT!!! every single word was a vital part of this novel–down to the damn syllable. she has perfected the art of writing. the pacing of the book was magnificent and the characterization was stellar. every moment was so VIVID! her word choice was so perfect in every sense and every sentence and paragraph and piece of dialogue flowed so perfectly throughout the entire novel. her use of prose is so …entertaining? idk how to describe her writing but it’s everything i ever needed and more. she created a plot so full and detailed that i have no qualms at all; everything was perfectly laid out and set into place. this is the longest review i’ve written BY FAR. 

okay FIRST OF ALL, the INCEST? mawma i was floored. and camilla refusing to marry richard because she was in love with henry…girl please. be so real. henry’s death was fucking insane. every second of that encounter starting from charles barreling through the door to henry’s body hitting the ground was insane. AND THEN we find out that marion married one of bunny’s brothers!!!!!! stfu!!! and they had a baby!!! and the family decided to nickname it BUNNY. IM SORRY?! and when i read that letter that francis sent to richard my heart STOPPED. i would’ve been so mad at donna had she killed him off istg. he’s my one and only i love him far too much. good god this book. I JUST REMEMBERED the entire ritual that they had? oh my god!!!! donna!!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Classism, Drug use, Gun violence, Islamophobia, Suicide, Violence, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Gaslighting, Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Toxic friendship, Grief, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Body horror, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Confinement, Vomit, Antisemitism, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, and Stalking

Minor: Ableism, Fatphobia, Rape, Cancer, Death of parent, and Eating disorder

greyyy's review

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• 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: Incest, Alcohol, Grief, Blood, Suicide, Homophobia, Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug use, and Murder

Moderate: Cursing, Racial slurs, Racism, and Ableism

roseisvibing's review against another edition

dark reflective 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

3.0

The Secret History is so slow-paced, oh my god. While the writing is very descriptive, there is so much unnecessary writing that makes you want to give up reading it. It takes like 200 pages (out of 600) of build up for any major plot development to happen. I like the intended message, but it is presented so indirectly in a text that is overall so longwinded that it almost loses meaning. It's the kind of book where you have to sit and process once you've finished- not in the 'wow, this has really affected me' kind of way, but in the 'what in the fuck did I just read' kind of way. The meaning/themes are very subtle, which meant I was left trying to figure out what point Tartt was intending to make with them. At times, it feels like events are just happening without a point to them. 

Also, I find the book's recent BookTok popularity very ironic given its intended message. I've seen people recommending this book because it's very 'dark academia' or 'aesthetic'- people are recommending it based on the aesthetics of the setting and the descriptive writing, which the book absolutely does provide (in an overly longwinded manner). However, the book's intended message is that having an obsession or fixation on aesthetics or outward appearances can lead to people overlooking necessary practical or internal traits. So, ironically, Tartt's text has kind of become exactly the opposite of what she intended, given that most readers' descriptions are reducing it to its aesthetics rather than its actual message and dark themes. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Drug use, Addiction, Alcoholism, Incest, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Sexism, Homophobia, Ableism, and Misogyny

Minor: Injury/Injury detail

random19379's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Gore, Murder, Grief, and Homophobia

Moderate: Incest, Racial slurs, Violence, Xenophobia, Sexism, Sexual assault, Stalking, Ableism, Antisemitism, Racism, Alcohol, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Animal cruelty, and Fatphobia

Minor: Rape and Religious bigotry

ritugp01's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-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

This novel was lauded as a modern classic from Pulitzer-winning author Donna Tart. I wholeheartedly agree. The disdain that filled me for all the characters in various classics like The Great Gatsby, Giovanni's Room, etc, also permeated throughout the experience of reading The Secret History. I consider this further evidence that it is an exquisite piece of literature.

The novel has been described as "a murder mystery in reverse." While this is a perfect description, the book is also a deep look in how easily murder occurs, even in seemingly normal people, as long as one opens themselves to the possibility. 

In a tl;dr character analysis: Henry was utterly unhinged and I think I loved him regardless. Richard, the narrator was mediocre but served his purpose as a voyeur to multiple murders.  Charles and Camilla? WTF. But also, they both sucked and I cannot decide who was worse. Francis is the only valid character but he's on this ice too. Julian is just Henry but older and willing to fake social skills. Lowkey, Bunny sucked but damn I feel bad he was killed. Like, he was just freaking out that his friends committed MURDER, it's totally understandable he was on the edge of a psychotic break. This book was a lot, and Judy Poovey is the only good person in the whole story.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Death, Drug abuse, Sexism, Misogyny, Addiction, Cursing, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Car accident, Classism, Gaslighting, Excrement, Murder, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Ableism, Antisemitism, Self harm, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Suicide

taleofabibliophile's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Emotional abuse, Gore, Violence, Alcoholism, Addiction, Animal death, Toxic friendship, Gaslighting, Incest, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Misogyny, Racism, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Bullying, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Suicide, and Confinement

Moderate: Medical content and Eating disorder

Minor: Death of parent, Sexual content, Ableism, Vomit, Antisemitism, Infidelity, Car accident, and Cancer

angstifies's review

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-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

enjoyed this way more than i expected! 

this book is very dark and twisted, and the characters are so complex it was always so hard to understand everything they did or said.

and i personally love when a book makes me THINK, and develop theories on why the characters in the story are acting the way that they are and stuff like that, i literally could not stop writing my thoughts on the margins of the book. loved it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Alcoholism, Homophobia, Suicide, and Murder

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Misogyny, Racism, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Incest, Racial slurs, and Addiction

Minor: Cancer, Car accident, Classism, Xenophobia, Ableism, Cursing, Murder, Rape, Animal death, Antisemitism, Blood, Grief, Physical abuse, Self harm, and Violence