Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing denouement
Review: I agree with all of the negative reviews.. read Tartt's first book many years ago, loved it. I finished this one and wanted to heave it across the room. While Tartt is unquestionably a talented writer, this book lacked cohesive structure (I'm an English teacher). Where was her editor? Did he/she actually read the whole book?
Rating:
Summary: What's Another Word For Tedious?
Review: I too was very excited about "The Little Friend". Tartt's first book, "The Secret History" is one of my favorites. I knew better than to expect another book just like "History" but thought for sure, "Friend" would be just as relentlessly fascinating and I would spend many enjoyable hours buried in it. Well, I did spend many hours buried in "Friend" but they were not at all enjoyable. I realized about 1/3 of the way through that the mystery presented on the first few pages would never be solved and I resigned myself to that but I expected some sort of ending. All the characters she introduced from the Cleves to the Dufresnes to the Ratliffs were beautifully written but not much happened to them and some of the things that did happen were too preposterous to believe. Come on, a snake through the sunroof of a Trans Am? A (looooong, drawn out) struggle in an old water tower? That long, long, detailed part with the snakes and Harriet and Hely in Farish's apartment? Where does this stuff happen?
And what about the little girl from the library with the two younger siblings to care for? What was her name? I just finished the book and already most of the details are fading, thankfully. Why did she and her siblings keep popping up? What happened to them? Why bother with them?
Why didn't Harriet's grandmother do something to help Alison and Harriet? How could she not know their mother was off her rocker and the house was a sty and the girls had no adult guidance whatsoever? Why keep bringing up Alison and the Hely's older brother dating? That too went nowhere. Now that I think about it, the only thing that made any sense or hung together in the book was Harriet practicing to hold her breath in the country club pool and then when she actually had to call upon that practice in the water tower. That practicing sure came in handy!
It was a very unsatisfying novel and regardless of all the themes it introduced, it should have had a more conclusive ending. Something should have been resolved. After all, we suffered through and slogged though 500 plus pages for NOTHING.
Rating:
Summary: I really wanted to like it...
Review: I am an enormous fan of The Secret History; it has been my favorite book since it was published. I could hardly wait to receive this book in the mail & read it. I am sorry to say-there is no good reason to recommend this book. It is way too long; the storyline about the redneck Ratliff family is boring and feels out of place with everything else (even though those characters are part of the "plot.") The main character is not too likable-though she has a really lousy life-so you can't blame her for her behavior. I hope this book turns out to be an aberrant blip in the remainder of Donna Tartt's writing career.
Rating: 
Summary: Dead Great-Aunts & Lost Servants, Oh My!
Review: When I finished this book I threw it across the room. I even lost sleep over it, I was so angry. Such a waste of time, energy and money! After enduring nearly 500 tedious pages of the idolized black maid's departure and a great-aunt's fatal stroke, I felt cheated by the ending. The book bifurcated into two incomplete stories -- the halfhearted family saga and a confusing, lame adventure tale -- never fusing into a cohesive novel. While I admire many "unclassifiable" works, "The Little Friend" bills itself from the start as a "whodunit" or at least a mystery-type story. This is misleading because the author never resolves the central question as to who the hell killed Robin!!! The writing never rises to the level of "The Secret History". Much of the writing feels unfinished, embryonic. The plot is just a run-on mess, crawling to the end where you're just about to say, "Enough already!!!!" Very little suspense permeates the work, as every event is telegraphed by thunderstorms or fluttering birds. For the most part, the characters are detestable. I burst out laughing when a carful of the great-aunts and the grandmother suffered an automobile collision. If only the whole cast of "The Little Friend" had been on board.
Rating: 
Summary: PERFECT IN SOME ASPECTS...BUT NOT IN OTHERS...
Review: ...I have to admit that I had a couple of problems with this novel. The writing is wonderful - and the characters are developed fully and completely believably. The 'slow pace' that some of the other reviews complain about below is, I believe, a stylistic necessity in this case - the novel is, after all, set in the South in (I think) the 1970s, and things DO move more slowly in the South. Speech is slower, lives unfold at their own paces - I've lived in the South all my life (in Texas, not in the DEEP South), and I think it's the heat and humidity as much as anything else. I digress...The novel's central character is an impossible-to-forget 12 year-old girl named Harriet Cleve Dufresnes - she and her family live in Alexandria, a small Mississippi town. When she was just a baby, her brother Robin was brutally murdered - he was found hanging from a tree on the family property. In the ensuing years, no one has ever been arrested or charged with Robin's murder - and his death has had a shattering effect on the lives of not only his family, but also the entire town. Harriet's older sister Allison and their mother Charlotte spin off into their unique clouds of depression; Harriet's father - already distant - moves to Nashville, taking a mistress (a secret everyone in town except Harriet's immediate family knows) and sending them checks through the mail; Harriet's grandmother Edie - and her sisters, Harriet's great aunts - never mention Robin, quickly and uncomfortably changing the subject whenever Harriet tried to bring it up. In the face of all of these varied walls of denial, Harriet - with the help of her best friend Hely - sets out to unmask the killer (she's certain the fiend is a local, not some 'wandering tramp' as many believe) and bring justice to bear. The events that follow this decision are depicted very clearly by the author - enlightened and enlivened by one of the most true-to-life characterizations of the actions and thought processes of a child I've read in a long time. In the course of her investigation, Harriet runs into a string of despicable characters - gamblers, womanizers, pool sharks, drunks, rednecks and drug dealers - who all serve to highlight by contrast the innocence of her life (so far). The first long chapters serve well to illuminate the incredible individuals in Harriet's family - her great aunts are such unique personalities. Rather than simply describing her characters, Ms. Tartt allows them to unfold before the readers' eyes gradually, as a flower blossoms - it's a breathtaking process to experience as a reader, and it speaks volumes about the author's writing abilities. Despite other reviewers' problems with the length of the story, I thought it developed nicely - and the pace definitely picks up where events demand it. I read the book in much less time than I imagined would be the case when I started it. I have to agree - in part - with those who found the wrap-up troublesome. I felt the story just seemed to grind to a halt, rather than pulling any of the various threads together. I didn't expect - and I don't really enjoy - a novel that tries to tie up every loose end, but I was a bit disappointed that this one came to such a screeching halt. Still, it was an experience I found, overall, enjoyable.
Rating:
Summary: WHAT??
Review: I can't really say anything that hasn't already been said here except that the ending was horrible; very unsatisfying...there is no real resolution. I also didn't get who "the little friend" was either. The book came so highly recommended but I can't believe I just wasted several days reading it.
Rating:
Summary: A must miss
Review: The secret history was good enough to warrant purchasing this hardcover....so I thought. Wrong. I agree with earlier reviews this is a long, dull book that goes no where. Not a single likeable character which makes it hard to care about the nothingness that happens to them.
Rating:
Summary: A surprising change of direction
Review: I really enjoyed The Secret History. The Little Friend is very, very different in its characters and its plot. I was intrigued by her story, and the point of view she choose this time. I grew up in the South, and have a fondness for southern literature, and she surprised me with her depth, and lush story telling in The Little Friend. Why would someone so seemingly cultured write about back woods speed freaks? And, how on earth did she actually make me care about these characters? The book is a long read, and it took me about fifty pages to really become interested, but after that I looked forward to stealing away with my strange new book. Why does it take her so long to write these novels? I am already ready for another! (But, I do wish it had ended differently. sigh)
Rating: 
Summary: Lethargic
Review: No question, Donna Tartt can write. The problem is she has a tendency to overwrite. So this is a beautifully written, turgid book, with a great premise that goes ... nowhere in particular. The characters are not particularly likable or sympathetic, the pacing is slow to ponderous, and the book just goes on, and on, and on--seemingly forever. There's no clearly defined sense of time. Is it the present, or is it the past? References to Beatniks and old cars confuse the era, as do mention of things very definitely of the past and other things of the present. If you're looking for something with a viable resolution, this is decidedly not the book. It's a two-star novel, with an extra star thrown in for the author's talent as a writer--not for her ability to leave the reader with any sense of satisfaction. Had her previous novel not been such a great success, it's hard to imagine any house being willing to publish this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Donna Tartt is a National Treasure!
Review: I enjoyed this book to the fullest - I drank up every page. Even if, however, one isn't satisifed with the action in the book - i.e., the ending - Ms. Tartt is such a gifted, dedicated writer, especially in comparison to her peers, that "The LIttle Friend" really shouldn't recieve any criticism whatsoever. For example, this book is much more well written than Gao Xinjang's "Soul Mountain," which just won the Nobel Prize. Readers should be grateful, I think, that there is an author like Ms. Tartt, who cares enough about her work to spend ten years trying to do the best job she can. Those who purchased "The LIttle Friend" thinking it was going to be a mystery or crime story in the vein of a "Mike Hammer," Stephen King or Anne Rice novel should have realized early on that this book is of a different ilk than those novels - "The Little Friend" is a work of literature. And it is irresponsible, I feel, to criticize "The Little Friend" simply for not being something it was never intended to be; and something that, in fact, would have made it a lesser thing than what it is. As someone who loves to read and write, I found both "The Little Friend" and "The Secret History" to be more rewarding, by far, than any other recently published novel I've come across.
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