Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

7 reviews

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

stvalentine's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

i have been implored for years by my friends to read this book, and i knew why only a few pages. donna tartt's writing style is magnetic - the way that she tells the narrative draws you in, just as richard is drawn into the cult-like friend group (classics students are exactly like that). there are times when the text is indistinguishable between narrative and poetry, and is all the more beautiful for it. i see now why this book is such a legend, has a comfortable, gilded seat on so many essential reading lists, and is endlessly described as having a cult following. creepy, enthralling, intimate, poisonous, life-changing. go read it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Grief, Animal cruelty, Car accident, Confinement, Cursing, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Violence, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Gore, Gun violence, Animal death, Blood, Death, Xenophobia, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Drug use, and Vomit

Moderate: Classism, Confinement, Addiction, and Racism

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

judehp's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad slow-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

5.0

I found the narrative a bit robotic towards the end 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Grief, Suicide, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Animal cruelty, Car accident, Chronic illness, Incest, Vomit, Death, Sexual assault, Addiction, Drug abuse, Racism, Self harm, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship

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

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

aslanjade's review

dark tense medium-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

2.0

The underdeveloped plot and characters are not-so-cleverly concealed under the guise of a pretentious writing style laced with passages in ancient languages that the average reader is unequipped to understand. Tartt should stop trying to flex her fancy degree when she can't even use it to create a well-written token female character to become the "not-like-other-girls" love interest, lest her readers assume the main male character is gay. Oh, wait...

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Antisemitism, Blood, Car accident, Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Panic attacks/disorders, Gun violence, Grief, Confinement, and Xenophobia

Minor: Rape, Religious bigotry, Outing, and Sexual content

I apologize if I missed any! I used "graphic" to categorize the ones that appear most frequently, but the "moderate" group is still considerably present in the novel. Please exercise caution before reading this book.