Reviews tagging 'Suicide attempt'

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

883 reviews

ctb681's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

It’s a book that will leave you devastated once you finish the last sentence. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Violence, and Death

Moderate: Incest, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Child abuse and Car accident

dkamada's review against another edition

dark sad 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

1.5

Obnoxious college boys with over inflated egos do some murders and drink too much

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol and Alcoholism

Minor: Animal death, Drug abuse, Animal cruelty, Murder, Blood, Death, Drug use, Misogyny, Classism, Gun violence, Mental illness, Incest, Addiction, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Physical abuse, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship

dillydallyallie's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

5.0

WOW.

OH MY GOD THAT ENDING I WAS FREAKING ON A PLANE READING THAT

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Incest, Physical abuse, Vomit, Grief, Addiction, Car accident, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Drug abuse, Toxic friendship, Blood, Racial slurs, Suicide attempt, Classism, Cursing, Drug use, Death, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

alenaecook'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? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, Incest, Blood, Cursing, Gun violence, Addiction, Drug abuse, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Murder, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicide

naomi_salters's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Car accident, Chronic illness, Drug use, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Cursing, Drug abuse, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Grief, Incest, Suicide, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Blood, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Medical content, Self harm, Sexism, Addiction, Death, Body shaming, Hate crime, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Bullying, Homophobia, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Animal death, and Violence

thegr1mreader's review against another edition

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Suicide attempt, Suicide, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Rape, Toxic friendship, Sexism, Mental illness, Incest, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Antisemitism, Xenophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Physical abuse, Homophobia, Gun violence, and Death

redflower10's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.0

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was fast paced and engaging until the end. I loved the narrator's self-conscious prosaic anxiety. It's timeless - I had no idea it had been released in 1992 (despite being set in the 80s). There were moments of levity and clever humour despite the subject matter being so dark.

Just when things start to get a little sleepy at the end, Tartt tosses in the twincest and suicide(s), seemingly as an afterthought. Something perverse in me wishes she'd written more about the details of the Bacchanalian sex rituals.

A minor gripe, but my edition (bought 2024) was in desperate need of a copyeditor and proofreader! Its hard to believe this novel has been around for so many years with the number of words missing or misused. I could forgive this as a narrative device but it occurs too many times and too sporadically to count. Also, the phrasing starts to get a little repetitive after a while - there's only so many times you can hear about Henry's sweat beading on his forehead or wind gusting through the windows. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Death, and Suicide attempt

casswerk's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

2.0

I think I said it over and over again reading this book. It was a very detailed story that connects so many different worlds. My problem is that I hated all the characters so there was no one to root for which made it a hard read

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Self harm, and Addiction

aposternak's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Incest

saryy's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Murder, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Suicide attempt