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koiolee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Vomit, Violence, Stalking, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Classism, Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Death, Body horror, Incest, Hate crime, Gun violence, Drug abuse, Antisemitism, Alcoholism, Rape, Racism, Suicide, Self harm, Mental illness, Islamophobia, Grief, Gore, Gaslighting, Drug use, Murder, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Religious bigotry, Racial slurs, Misogyny, Medical content, Addiction, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol
cherryfreckle's review
- 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
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Suicide attempt, Cursing, Drug abuse, Murder, Suicide, Violence, Alcohol, Drug use, Incest, Alcoholism, Classism, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Medical trauma, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Medical content
Minor: Death of parent, Cancer, Vomit, Eating disorder, and Misogyny
sasquatch_3's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Murder, Incest, Gun violence, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Sexual violence, Self harm, Religious bigotry, Toxic friendship, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Drug abuse, Grief, Drug use, Death, Cursing, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Antisemitism, Hate crime, Mental illness, and Vomit
marleysclassics's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Because, though it might seem strange, in my opinion one of the best parts of this book was the developments of the characters in terms of likability. I liked all of them as I didn‘t know them at all and with every page I read I began to detest every one of them a little more. While I wouldn‘t call every single person of in this book a bad person, some certainly are. And I was so here for it, because it felt like hating them more meant understanding them more.
If you want to read this book because of the vibes - definitely. They‘re there, yet I wouldn‘t expect too much of the academia and a little more of the dark aspect. Not to say that academia isn‘t a reoccurring theme, because it is, but there really aren‘t that many lessons or anything. It‘s more about the whole setting, and the motives of the characters yet in a more abstract way.
I also loved the writing, because it is beautiful and meaningful and often SO pretentious - and it knows it is and it‘s okay because it romanticises and critiques its own style and contents at the same time. (I actually think that‘s the essence of the whole dark academia genre.) I flew through the pages, and especially the first part of the novel was SO addictive. You know what‘s going to happen from page one and still you become more interested with every page. And sometimes you can‘t even tell what draws you too the pages, yet there is something. Unfortunately, this lacked a bit in the second half. Especially towards the end, there were some parts which really grabbed me, but there were also long passages which I wasn‘t interested in. At some point, this narrative just turns into a fever dream/nightmare/sequence of drug abuse, and partly this became a tiring. But also not entirely.
In the end, I‘m pretty sure I‘ll have to read this again.
P.S.: I never answered the question „Are the flaws of the main character(s) a main focus of the book?“ more confidently.
And now I‘ll put this book in my shelf right next to The Picture of Dorian Gray
Graphic: Murder, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Mental illness
Moderate: Gun violence, Hate crime, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Incest, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicide
Minor: Antisemitism, Blood, Car accident, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Animal death, Homophobia, Islamophobia, and Racism
just_a_random_dead_thing's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Grief, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Murder, Toxic friendship, Incest, Gaslighting, Drug abuse, Drug use, Death, and Addiction
Moderate: Sexism, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Religious bigotry, Homophobia, Antisemitism, Hate crime, Classism, Animal death, Sexual assault, Cursing, and Animal cruelty
Minor: Car accident, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, and Domestic abuse
darkty's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
like bro! But I have to confess, I coud not put it down...sadly
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Classism, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Domestic abuse, Death, Cursing, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Pedophilia, Rape, Drug abuse, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Addiction, Blood, Incest, and Misogyny
briochebun's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
“Love doesn’t conquer everything. And whoever thinks it does is a fool.”
ੈ✩‧₊˚
The Secret History has been on my TBR for quite some time and I am so glad that I finally put some time aside to read it.
While I cannot say that my life was forever altered by this novel (though my feelings on that may change with time) I feel as though giving it anything less than 4 starts would be doing it an immense disservice. Readers of TSH will be able to see the impact that the novel has had on the Dark Academia genre and I think that in and of itself is an incredible feat that speaks to Tartt’s skill.
Graphic: Homophobia, Incest, Murder, Violence, Grief, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Outing, Alcoholism, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Death, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Vomit, Xenophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Alcohol, Drug use, Drug abuse, Islamophobia, Medical content, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, and Gore
Moderate: Car accident and Death of parent
Minor: Kidnapping
alyx7564's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Antisemitism, Classism, Death, Drug use, Gore, Medical content, Racism, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide, Rape, Suicide attempt, Transphobia, Violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Biphobia, Islamophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Medical trauma, Blood, Car accident, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, and Toxic friendship
sskalon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Drug use, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Toxic relationship, Murder, Incest, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Suicide attempt, and Death
2j4d3's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Homophobia, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Incest, Racism, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts