The Little Friend

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing read from a once-stellar novelist
Review: I've waited 10 years for a follow-up to The Secret History... I couldn't be more disappointed.
After spending hundreds of pages discussing the murder of a young boy, Donna Tartt rambles on and on about surrounding characters, then never gets back to who actually committed the murder. The problem with this is that one of the characters actually knows what happened- she was there- but she's somehow lost in the shuffle of other activities that take over Tartt's attention. Although Tartt endlessly details the most intimate thoughts and actions of her other characters, apparently the murder witness's mind was too dull to delve into- so she doesn't. Give us something, please, even a short paragraph at the very end, to shed some insight into what happened on that fateful day that was supposedly the centerpiece of the entire book.
Also disappointing to any avid reader is the number of grammatical mistakes and just plain bad writing- Tartt apparently had the worst copy editor of all time. Details are repeated over and over again- I'm all for a good, long read, but I don't want to read the same information five times. Tighten it up, why don't you?
There are some truly great moments in this book, but you have to wade through so much detritus to get to them that it's hardly worth it.
The Secret History is one of my absolute favorite books. I'd recommend it to anyone. This book, on the other hand, makes me suspect that it took so long to write because Tartt used up all her creative energy on the first go-round.
Look for my copy of The Little Friend in a used bookstore near you.

Rating:
Summary: Extraordinary
Review: One of the best books I have ever read. If you want a quick easy read, or another "Secret History" (also excellent but completely different) this is not the book for you. It is not a murder mystery and not every plot detail is neatly tied up at the end. But if the idea of Southern Gothic usually makes you roll your eyes, yet you can comprehend Faulkner at least on some level, then you should appreciate this rich, complex, and yes, lengthy book.

Rating:
Summary: I'm putting it down now
Review: As an avid reader and having recently read "The Secret History", I eagerly looked forward to this novel. Ugh...I'm 300+ pages into and really have no investment in the characters or how they evolve. This exactly why I decided to skim other readers' reviews. Thank you! Perhaps one day in the distant future I will pick up the book again...but at this point it seems a laborious task and a waste of time...

Rating:
Summary: OK, but...
Review: Having loved The Secret History so much, I couldn't wait to read Donna Tartt's next novel, and she certainly made us wait a long time! Unfortunately, this book does not compare to her first, I'm disappointed to report. Her first book came alive and I couldn't put it down; this never really grabbed me and I struggled through it. If you're looking for a great book, pick up a copy of The Secret History instead!