|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Frequently Bought Together
Product Details
|
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Widely anticipated over the decade since her debut in The Secret History, Tartt's second novel confirms her talent as a superb storyteller, sophisticated observer of human nature and keen appraiser of ethics and morality. If the theme of The Secret History was intellectual arrogance, here it is dangerous innocence. The death of nine-year-old Robin Cleve Dufresnes, found hanging from a tree in his own backyard in Alexandria, Miss., has never been solved. The crime destroyed his family: it turned his mother into a lethargic recluse; his father left town; and the surviving siblings, Allison and Harriet, are now, 12 years later-it is the early '70s-largely being raised by their black maid and a matriarchy of female relatives headed by their domineering grandmother and her three sisters. Although every character is sharply etched, 12-year-old Harriet-smart, stubborn, willful-is as vivid as a torchlight. Like many preadolescents, she's fascinated by secrets. She vows to solve the mystery of her brother's death and unmask the killer, whom she decides, without a shred of evidence, is Danny Ratliff, a member of a degenerate, redneck family of hardened criminals. (The Ratliff brothers are good to their grandmother, however; their solicitude at times lends the novel the antic atmosphere of a Booth cartoon.) Harriet's pursuit of Danny, at first comic, gathers fateful impetus as she and her best friend, Hely, stalk the Ratliffs, and eventually, as the plot attains the suspense level of a thriller, leads her into mortal danger. Harriet learns about betrayal, guilt and loss, and crosses the threshold into an irrevocable knowledge of true evil. If Tartt wandered into melodrama in The Secret History, this time she's achieved perfect control over her material, melding suspense, character study and social background. Her knowledge of Southern ethos-the importance of family, of heritage, of race and class-is central to the plot, as is her take on Southerners' ability to construct a repertoire, veering toward mythology, of tales of the past. The double standard of justice in a racially segregated community is subtly reinforced, and while Tartt's portrait of the maid, Ida Rhew, evokes a stereotype, Tartt adds the dimension of bitter pride to Ida's character. In her first novel, Tartt unveiled a formidable intelligence. The Little Friend flowers with emotional insight, a gift for comedy and a sure sense of pacing. Wisely, this novel eschews a feel-good resolution. What it does provide is an immensely satisfying reading experience.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Library Journal
Can Tartt duplicate the success of her debut, The Secret History, which appeared ten years ago? At least the chilly ambience is the same: a young girl whose older brother was found murdered when she was just a baby decides to right her life by finding the killer.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Art Mirrors Life,
By Nina "Nina" (Atlanta, GA USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Little Friend (Hardcover)
Every other reviewer was disappointed by the ending of "The Little Friend." Could this be because so many people are reared on a diet of "and they lived happily ever after?" The novel isn't about Robin, or Danny, or solving a mystery. The novel is about those uncomfortable months between being a child and something more. It's about a time in Harriet's life. The book ends when that time ends. It's that simple.We all want closure and had this been a typical mystery it would be disappointing that everything wasn't spelled out in the end. A skillfull writer, Ms. Tartt, refrains from lecturing us and, instead, shows us the abrupt conclusion of Harriet's childhood. It's not a pretty book in that it follows formulaic rules; therein lies its power for me and other friends. When I closed the cover on my first reading I was quiet for a long time, remembering my own moment of awareness, understanding that I was more than just a child and now empowered with enough stubborness and passion to influence the lives of grownups. The time is bittersweet and painful. Things will never be as they were. As a writer I know characters talk to their writers and maybe Harriet stopped talking so Tartt stopped writing. Just take it as it comes. The shock we feel at the end of the book is the same shock Harriet feels with her own realizations. Spelling it out would never have allowed us to be there. As for ladders that conveniently break and all the other "saved by the bell" moments in any book, it is what it is. This is not an action novel it's a character-driven one and to appreciate it I think the reader has to reach back to their own years eleven and twelve. Variety is the spice of life. There are books I abhore that others love and the opposite is true. Maybe you should read it again, knowing about the ending and savor the words, the pictures, and taste the ice cream eaten on a scorching Mississippi day.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Like Secret History, the ending was a bust,
By
This review is from: The Little Friend (Paperback)
After 600+ pages of intricate character development which, one felt, must surely lead to an extravagant conclusion, the novel suddenly grinds to a halt. Maybe that was the point. The crime that was unsolved for so many years was, in the end, unsolveable. But I felt there were so many interesting possibilities for what could have happened between Harriet and Danny Ratliff or, perhaps, others of the characters that never did. That's probably how a real-life story would turn out, but in fiction, the reader expects some sort of conclusion.I remember feeling the same way about Tartt's first novel, The Secret History. The attention to detail and the sheer volume of information about each character and the interactions of the characters with each other had me spellbound. Yet, in the end, the characters merely fade away into a drunken and lethargic haze. In fact, both these books remind me of a typical French art film which simply ends when the budget is depleted or the director has had enough either long before or long after the story has come to a reasonable conclusion. Maybe Tartt should try her hand at non-fiction. Her skills and interests seem more suited to that to me.
2.0 out of 5 stars
many incomplete books,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Little Friend (Paperback)
This is not a single novel, but a bunch of first drafts thrown together, and none of the plot lines or characters reach any conclusion.Tartt was undoubtedly afraid of "sophmore slump" after The Secret History, and she had every right to be afraid, as she nailed the dud 2nd try perfectly.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Want to see more reviews on this item?
|
Most recent customer reviews |
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
