Reviews tagging 'Stalking'

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

25 reviews

koiolee's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• 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

Maybe I'll up the star rating after i mull it all over. But this book was incredibly slow. Wonderful prose and addictive writing. I'm left feeling like I'm a pig trotting through mud. I'm happy, but still going so very slow. I think this book would be wonderful for people interested in classics or Greek for them to cross reference, find lil tidbits, analyze why certain paragraphs were there necessary or even what they're alluding to. Unfortunately that's not me, i did not do that and it was a fine enough read. A bit long, a bit tedious, but not a bad read at all. 

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Content Warnings

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

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

gothmiku's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• 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: Alcohol, Toxic friendship, Alcoholism, Murder, Classism, Incest, Misogyny, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Physical abuse, Drug abuse, Suicide, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Car accident, Grief, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Antisemitism, Vomit, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Stalking, Outing, and Self harm

kimveach's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense slow-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

3.5

This book is hard to review and equally hard to rate.  I both liked it and was annoyed by it.  It was slowly paced, but the further I got into the book, the more I wanted to finish it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Outing, Bullying, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Self harm, Alcohol, Sexual content, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Animal cruelty, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Incest, Medical content, Child death, Grief, Murder, Blood, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Violence, Vomit, Classism, and Toxic relationship

beckyg1016's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

2.0

The book description seems, to me, incredibly misleading. "Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor" - you mean the one who barely shows up at all, has minimal lines, and doesn't seem to influence anyone but Henry.  Henry is the driving force of this story and all of its actors. "...discover a way of thinking and living that is a world away from the humdrum existence of their contemporaries." - You mean that one time? While that event is the catalyst for all others, it is not the point of the story - these characters don't "find a new way of thinking and living" - they spend a semester trying to avoid getting caught for a crime they are only somewhat remorseful about and then move on with their lives in much the same way as all of their "humdrum" classmates. 
Additionally, as noted in the Content Warnings section, Bunny is a difficult character to read. I get that you aren't supposed to like him, he is typical for the time, etc. but I was uncomfortable nearly every time he opened his mouth and that, at least, puts you on the side of the other characters. I surely did not miss him once he was gone.
To be fair, Tartt has a lovely writing voice. If she didn't, this would absolutely be my first DNF of the year. The story was captivating for maybe 250/550 pages - the rest was just a push to finish so I could move on to the next book in my TBR pile.
Every book has its reader - and I've seen plenty of people giving this book high ratings - so maybe that reader is you, and you will love it. I hope so. It certainly wasn't for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Murder, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, Alcoholism, Suicide, Homophobia, and Self harm

Moderate: Drug use, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Stalking, Sexism, Classism, Racism, Animal cruelty, Incest, Toxic friendship, Religious bigotry, and Homophobia

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

pbthealien's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

The Secret History is a perfect representation of the most carnal violent desires of the human experience, a perverse obsession with the macabre, and the arrogance of (specifically wealthy) youth. Allowing the audience to grow to love these characters, to empathize with them, was a stroke of genius by the author. For the first few hundred pages I thought the pacing was too slow, but the author was merely allowing enough time for the characters to become familiar and relatable. 

Without spoiling the plot, I believe the narrative was divisive and engaging throughout, while still deeply linking to the novel’s core themes. The juxtaposition of the groups’ erratic and cruel actions and their sophisticated environment serves to highlight their depravity even more. 

Richard, specifically, was a character who felt like a blank slate in the best way. He is the Everyman in a sea of wealthy elites, who is just along for the ride with the others. He is the only part of the book on which I am torn. I would have loved to see his character expanded upon more considering he was the MC, but his (relatively) passive role in the plot serves to provide a reliable narration.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Drug use, Drug abuse, Violence, Murder, Incest, Suicide attempt, Racism, Suicide, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, Mental illness, Death, Cultural appropriation, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Classism, Alcoholism, Addiction, and Alcohol

schorlett's review

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Addiction, Death, Murder, Alcoholism, Blood, and Violence

Moderate: Drug use, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual violence, Stalking, Car accident, Classism, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Animal cruelty, Sexism, Rape, Misogyny, and Vomit

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

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