Rating: 
Summary: I give up
Review: I've only waited six years for this book to come out - since I got around to reading The Secret History kind of late in life, after it had already been around (and I resisted it for years) - but still, that book blew me away when I finally dove into it. The Secret History's a true masterpiece of storytelling and mood. So. How can I accurately convey my feelings about The Little Friend? Sadness. Disappointment. A sense of being let down. Also a feeling of concern for the author. Was she bullied into cranking out this false new book? Shockingly little of The Little Friend rings true. It's all grinding and machination and hard work that doesn't gel. I don't believe that Tartt's heart was in it. I almost couldn't finish it, and when I did, it left me empty. With a feeling of having been duped. Where did Tartt's magic go? Or was it all a beautiful fluke to begin with, too good to be true?
Rating: 
Summary: Needs edit work, Read "Mad Light"
Review: I was ok with this however there is considerable need for clean up and a bit of refinment in many places. The central theme is good, well its super, it just seems like it was rushed and all the "P's and "Q's" were not taken care of along with certain areas of not so clear thought. I still say yes to Donna, but a better read is Mad Light.
Rating:
Summary: I Could Have Waited 50 Years
Review: What a waste of talent. How can someone with the ability to write The Secret History spend ten years writing this monstrosity as a follow up. The book is numbingly boring. The first twenty pages or so are tolerable but the remaining 500+ are sleep inducing. I read one hundred and seventy pages before giving up - and I was looking forward to reading the book !
A major dissapointment.
Rating:
Summary: what happened?
Review: Is it the price of fame that a talented young writer gets forced to publish something in the hopes of topping his/her initial success? Is it our commercial capitalist culture that thinks the public will just eat it up? How did the smart authoress of The Secret History come up with this flaccid, downright campy second effort? Was Miss Tartt under that much pressure to produce? Some writers only have one book in them. That could be the case here. Whatever the circumstances, The Little Friend is not little - and it's nobody's friend. If you want Southern Gothic, stick to Capote, a true original. Tartt's treading water here, trying hard to come up with her next cash cow. She strikes out on all counts. Maybe she should pen a memoir and explain what happened. Might be more interesting.
Rating:
Summary: I want my...money back!
Review: I've never written a review online before, but I just had to try and stop any other massive Secret History fans wasting [$$] of their hard earned money on the most boring book I've ever read in my life (well, one of them.)The characters are incredibly cliched, the story is non-existent and the ending - well, it just sort of tails off lamely (although even this comes as a relief after about 800 pages of overwritten waffle.) I had to see if any other Amazon readers hated it as badly as I did, and was pleased to see that the majority did... Again, I loved the Secret History big time - but this book bears about the same resemblence to that as Little Nicky bears to Citizen Kane. I cannot warn you strongly enough. Do NOT waste your money.
Rating: 
Summary: Harper Lee meets Carl Hiassen
Review: I can see why this book might not appeal to some devotees of The Secret History, personally though, I found it very entertaining throughout, although I have to admit it does have a tendency towards narrative drift in places. There is also a clear dichotomy between male and female character development, with the some superbly skilfull female characterisation, but little of the same amongst the men. Overall the book lacks the absolute clarity and vividness of TSH, and I would hazard a guess is not as close to Ms Tartt's heart. It is however, consistently entertaining and enlightening, generally well written, very humurous in places, and like life, ultimately unresolved. Another reviewer commented that Carl Hiassen does better books of this type, total nonsense IMO, Mr Hiassen writes entertaining but quickly forgettable novels, Donna Tartt's linger in the mind for weeks or months afterward.
Rating:
Summary: YAWN!!
Review: After 200 pages (out of total of 555), I'm not sure that I will finish this book. After the first 50 or so pages, I kept waiting for something to happen, and it never does. It's just page after page of description, narrative and characterized speech that almost feels like I keep reading the same thing over and over again. I began to wonder if I didn't like it because it doesn't revolve around classics students like The Secret History did. But now I realize that I don't like it because it's just plain boring and not even very well written. Borrow it from the library before you buy it thinking that this one will be as good as The Secret History.
Rating:
Summary: Miss Scarlett, I don't know nothin' 'bout plottin' novels!
Review: Swept up in the rapture of her own dense, boozy, swampy verbiage, Miss Donna done gone and misplaced her plot! If someone can find it for her, the great American novel might have a fightin' chance. As is, it's goin' down with the rest of the old, Deep South. Guess she was just aworried 'bout bein' taken seriously as a poetic type writer. But I fears she done gone hog wild with them words. Miss T stuck in some action parts, but they sure ain't long enough or real enough to save the rest from asinkin'. Mammy needs to kick some sense back into Missy T's head I think. Git her back on track.
Rating:
Summary: Lugubrious has new meaning
Review: At first I was thrilled by the rich language and atmosphere of this hefty novel by the mysterious vanishing Tartt. But I soon found myself dozing off and unable to keep up my own enthusiasm for The Little Friend. I lost track of the characters. As for the plot - what happened to it? In the last analysis, neither the characters (you've seen them all before) nor the prose (way too much of a phony thing) add up. But you can throw away those sleeping pills! A great investment for insomniacs.
Rating:
Summary: A novel to savor
Review: Like so many others, I was incredibly eager to read TLF. At first, it is easy to dismiss TLF as poorly written. However, it is very necessary to not measure TLF against The Secret History, in terms of storytelling style. TSH was a dynamic, action-based story. TLF, on the other hand, is a leisurely, sprawling story. TLF is a character driven novel, and to truly enjoy it, you must take the time to learn about these characters. TLF demands you spend time reading this, without rushing. TSH and TLF could not be more different in terms of style. However, this difference underscores the sheer magnificience of Tartt's ability as a writer. Gone is the clipped, rush of New England speech and action. Instead, we discover the story and characters in TLF through a much more leisurely pace, such as you would imagine to hear from a Southern storyteller. Through the use of omniscient narration, the reader is able to know each character and learn their personal motivations. Especially with the Ratliffs, this is a very effective and sometimes scary way to get to know these characters. The mind of an advanced meth junkie is not pleasant. In TLF, we meet precocious Harriet who is determined to spend her summer finding, and bringing to 'justice', the person responsible for murdering her brother 12 years previously. Through the course of her 'investigation', the reader comes to know Harriet's family and the Ratliffs. Harriet's family is unusual in her town -- her father lives with a mistress in another state, but her parents are still married -- and is a very matriarchal family. The Ratliffs are an embodiment of White Trash that is truly stunning and frightening. Their family pasttimes include drugs, religion, lots of crime. The Ratliffs have a visiting revival preacher staying with them, and this preacher uses snakes as part of his service/performances. There are two specific, vivid scenes with the snakes that will truly make your skin crawl and horrify you. Of course, they both involve Harriet. Harriet is adventurous and generally quite intelligent for her age. However, it's when Harriet really starts scheming that events push past intelligence towards thrilling. Those looking for a mirror of TSH should look elsewhere. Tartt created a magnificient, unique novel in TLF and she deserves every bit of praise she earns for this novel. It is captivating and will linger with the reader long after the novel is finished.
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