The Little Friend

624 pages

Published Nov. 8, 2002 by Vintage Books.

ISBN:
978-1-4000-3169-6
Copied ISBN!

View on OpenLibrary

3 stars (19 reviews)

A young girl with a brother murdered years ago decides to find and punish his killer.

8 editions

Review of 'The little friend' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

This is not a murder mystery or crime story. Like Tartt's other books this is about wearing the skin of a young protagonist who is experiencing something deeply disturbing and how this protagonist deals with it. I have to admit, that compared to the Secret History and The Gold Finch, this is her least grabbing book. But it offers something else I very much liked which kept me going: It consists mostly of female characters. And not the gender typical stereotypes, but a great variety of strong women, angry women, funny women, nasty women, poor women, rich women, women struggling with mental health, flirty women, disillusioned women of various classes and ethnicity. How rare and what a pleasure! There are men as well in the book, but they are not automatically the strong ones, they are refreshingly multi layered as well, in their fears, suffering, anger, and hopes. In a …

Review of 'The little friend' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

This book, to me, is quite simply the perfect novel. The story itself is great, the plot taking sudden and bizarre turns. The characters are believable, quirky. You can't help, if not outright liking some of these people, (and some are despicable) at least understanding what makes them tick... you get a vivid mental image of them, seeing directly into their hearts and minds. The writing itself is phenomenal, the imagery stunning and beautiful and immediate.

This is not a "who done it" mystery, so forget that. You will not find out who killed the brother. Nothing is wrapped up for you or resolved. The book ends and you're like Teddy Duchamps from the movie Stand By Me going "and then what?". But that's how life is sometimes, you just take it as it comes and enjoy the ride. What this IS is a coming of age story wherein the …

avatar for Beldam

rated it

3 stars
avatar for joejoh

rated it

5 stars
avatar for dave

rated it

3 stars
avatar for awboonstra

rated it

3 stars
avatar for 73pctGeek

rated it

2 stars
avatar for MarianneBrix

rated it

3 stars
avatar for YoursTrulee

rated it

4 stars
avatar for LiminalFlares

rated it

5 stars
avatar for barver

rated it

4 stars
avatar for Ascapola

rated it

4 stars
avatar for Vincent

rated it

3 stars
avatar for rleyton

rated it

4 stars