Reviews tagging 'Excrement'

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

5 reviews

_viola__'s review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol

Moderate: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Excrement, Drug use, and Blood

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

jelliestars's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Death, Drug abuse, Islamophobia, Racism, Suicide attempt, Religious bigotry, Racial slurs, Addiction, Alcohol, Drug use, Toxic friendship, Alcoholism, Blood, Homophobia, Murder, Suicide, Violence, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Sexism, Animal death, Cursing, Gun violence, Hate crime, Incest, Medical content, Misogyny, Animal cruelty, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Antisemitism, and Car accident

Minor: Eating disorder, Excrement, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Forced institutionalization, and Kidnapping

readinghavoc's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.75

I really enjoyed this book – it was dense at times and intimidatingly long, but the pay-off is well worth it. Kept me on the edge of my seat and continuously shocked me. The first hundred pages dragged and I almost put it down, but I'm so glad I didn't. The last 100 pages alone more than make up for it. The characters were hard for me to connect to because they were so pretentious but as you progress through the book it becomes clear that that serves its own purposes in the story. Super bizarre story, would recommend it to someone looking for a really thoroughly laid out thriller who doesn't mind making the investment for a big thrill. Interested to read some of Tartt's other work (after some easier, quicker reads lol).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, Violence, Addiction, Body horror, Incest, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Sexual content, Cursing, Suicide, Gore, Mental illness, Gun violence, Alcohol, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Panic attacks/disorders, Forced institutionalization, Drug use, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Domestic abuse, Blood, Grief, Gaslighting, Classism, Suicide attempt, Animal death, Sexism, and Infidelity

Minor: Animal death, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Outing, Sexual harassment, Animal cruelty, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Vomit, and Toxic friendship

tori214's review

dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

Oh.... uh.... alright. 

 

Well then. I don’t really know how to articulate my thoughts on this well, so I’ll do it in the simplest possible terms. 

 

I thought the story was enjoyable and interesting but the characters were extremely unlikable.

I really only liked one (and a half) character(s), but he didn’t even get a happy ending. None of them did really,

and my dislike of this book might also be due to the fact that I’m finishing this the day after Christmas and I’ve simply been in the mood for something upbeat and warm. 

 

The writing style was dense and definitely and acquired taste, but I personally really, really enjoyed it. However, the timeline was a little messy at times. There was this one thing Tartt did an astonishing amount where she would have the characters say “Remember when {this thing} happened?” but it wouldn’t be something that had previously been explained to the reader. The characters would have a conversation about it, AND THEN she would explain the event to the reader, instead of just letting us know when it happened in the first place and calling back to it later. 

 

Not to mention the fact that the last 100 pages or so where very repetitive, but then there was the final couple pages and the epilogue that was sort of a reprieve. 

 

It was alright. There were a few things I really enjoyed but there were too many flaws for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Antisemitism, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Violence, and Islamophobia

Moderate: Body horror, Chronic illness, Gun violence, Suicide, Islamophobia, and Incest

Minor: Animal death, Body horror, Cancer, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Excrement, Grief, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, and Violence