Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

25 reviews

lucyford's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing tense medium-paced

• 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? Yes

5.0

This book was SO GOOD. I don’t even know how to describe it in a way that truly encapsulates everything good about it. The plot is so well-written, and is really brought to life by the amazing writing style and slight poetic element to it, and all the atmospheres she creates just feel so real. Not to mention the foreshadowing (when you’re reading, you know it’s foreshadowing to something but you don’t know what it’s foreshadowing to, which is just so cool), and the fact that you’re always wondering how the story is possibly going to progress from point A to point B. The characters are all so complicated and interesting, and the themes of the books are very philosophical which makes the book all the more interesting. Overall, 10/10 read, absolutely exceeded my expectations. (ALSO THE ENDING??? CAUGHT ME SO OFF GUARD OMG)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gun violence, Gaslighting, Murder, Suicide, Body horror, Addiction, Alcohol, Mental illness, Grief, Death, Alcoholism, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Vomit, Gore, Sexism, Drug abuse, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Incest, Physical abuse, Cursing, Drug use, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, and Medical content

Minor: Animal death, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Car accident, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Forced institutionalization, Infidelity, Rape, Stalking, Death of parent, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

colittle's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad tense 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

4.75

Richard failing to remember certain key details near the end of the story when he’s recalled everything else in vivid detail seems more like a cop-out than an intentional literary decision. Other than that, 5 stars. The seminal dark academia novel and an often satirical examination of class, elitism, and aestheticism. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Toxic friendship, Classism, Gaslighting, Murder, Alcoholism, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, and Suicide

Moderate: Addiction, Blood, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Body shaming, Homophobia, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexism, Islamophobia, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Racial slurs, Grief, Gun violence, Infidelity, Outing, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, and Incest

just_a_random_dead_thing's review against another edition

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

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

felofhe's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Cursing, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Grief, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Medical content, Toxic relationship, Classism, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Violence, Death, Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Incest, Homophobia, Misogyny, Murder, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, Drug use, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Stalking, Sexual harassment, and Vomit

redheadorganist's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Grief, Suicide, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Alcoholism, Medical content, Toxic friendship, Blood, Cursing, and Murder

Moderate: Antisemitism

Minor: Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Incest, and Infidelity

5_doogwood_drive's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Alcoholism, Murder, Death, Suicide, Grief, and Alcohol

Moderate: Incest, Homophobia, Sexual violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, and Drug use

Minor: Forced institutionalization, Eating disorder, and Vomit

noo's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Addiction, Child death, Incest, Suicide, Grief, Blood, Drug use, Homophobia, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Animal death, Car accident, Classism, Mental illness, Misogyny, and Racism

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

andreadelo's review against another edition

challenging dark funny mysterious tense slow-paced

• 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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Homophobia, Murder, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Antisemitism, Vomit, Addiction, Death, Drug use, Racial slurs, Racism, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Violence, Alcoholism, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Outing, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Incest, Grief, Domestic abuse, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Animal death, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, and Cultural appropriation

jessfastlane's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Alcohol, Bullying, Cursing, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Violence, Vomit, and Drug use

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Islamophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, Religious bigotry, Racial slurs, and Drug abuse

Minor: Antisemitism, Death of parent, Incest, Kidnapping, Misogyny, and Domestic abuse