Rating: 
Summary: Confused
Review: I liked The Secret History, too, and I didn't think The Little Friend dragged TOO much. Yes, the ending is awful. But I confess I have an even more basic question. I don't understand the title's connection to the book. Somebody please help!
Rating: 
Summary: A Meandering, Lethal Bore... and I didn't like it , either
Review: Other reveiws have expressed my thoughts eloquently so I'll just caution anyone who is considering purchasing this book... it really stinks. The more I read, the more frustrated I became... numerous characters and plot lines introduced early on that go nowhere... pages and pages of uninteresting description of peripheral incidents (dreams, snake hunting, bla bla bla) that do nothing to propel the plot forward and only challenge the reader's endurance... and most fatally, a main character who is completely unlikable: a snotty, know-it-all, uppity little brat. So, if the reader doesn't care about (loathes, in my case) the main character, then why suffer 480 pages of her musings and very slight adventures? I confess, I stopped reading it about 1/3 of the way through. By then I couldn't stand Harriet, the over-written emptiness of the plot, Donna Tartt- for this excruciatingly self-conscious effort to be literary, and myself- for not doing my homework and finding out this book was a dud before spending big bucks. Like many others, I waited 10 years for this after loving The Secret History, but my disgust with it has nothing to do with unfulfilled expectations or disappointment in Ms. Tartt. It is just a really lousy, boring, plotless, obnoxious piece of work, no matter who the author. That it was Donna Tartt only makes it tragic. One can only guess the pressure of creating another great novel distracted her from what she did so well the first time: engage the reader with a well-paced, tightly-written, compelling story. Hopefully a dose of humility from reading so many sour reviews will bring her back down to earth, so she can write again for us mortals. In the meantime, if you really must read The Little Friend, get thee to a library!
Rating: 
Summary: Compelling
Review: I was very excited to read this book since I was such a big fan of The Secret History. I was not disappointed -- I found myself itching to leave work so I could return to it. The characters were amazing and vivid, as was the town Tartt created. However, I did not find it as sly and smart as History. Still, much better than most of what I've read this year.
Rating:
Summary: Tiresome
Review: Having read some of the rave reviews this book got in the press, I was inspired to buy it and hunker down for a great read. Having never read Miss Tartt's Secret History, I had no basis for comparison. But the disparate elements described in the reviews I read made it sound just wonderful. Sadly, I am grieved to report that while Tartt can most certainly write, she cannot tell a story, nor can she compose what is clearly intended to be a great novel in the vein of Stevenson, Faulkner, Dickens and Melville. I'm afraid Tartt has a lot to learn before she can expect to become part of that literary constellation. The poor girl seems positively overwhelmed by the task at hand, completely unable to tie the wildly separate threads of her flimsy plot together. She has aimed too high, favoring social commentary over character development, and as a result the novel is sorely deficient. Unlike many of the reviewers here on Amazon, I did finish the book, though I admit it wasn't always easy, and wasn't even necessary as it adds up to very little.
Rating:
Summary: Glad I didn't pay for it
Review: Unlike some others here, I wasn't a huge fan of "The Secret History." I remember reading it and liking it a lot, but categorized it as a better-than-usual entertaining read and never thought much about it afterward. Then I saw the author on on the TayVay (as we Southerners call our televisions) and remembered "The Secret History" and when I was in my local library recently, I picked up "The Little Friend." Given all of the hype, I was surprised that it wasn't checked out. Little did I know that would be a warning. I was intrigued by the opening set up, and had high expectations as I sat down to read. With every page, I thought, "Okay, now something is going to happen really soon." But it never did. Even at 550+ pages this book feels paradoxically both overlong AND unfinished. I wondered...what happened with Libby's maid? what evidence did Harriet have that Danny killed Robin? what was the deal with Allison's dreams? and of course, who killed Robin? Honestly, I'm not whining about writers who have a meandering style, nor do I need a neatly wrapped ending, but as a writer you can't just start stories and not finish them...even though as a reader you can, and should with this book.
Rating:
Summary: Not worth the wait or the time
Review: It's not that Donna Tartt can't write; it's that she can't STOP writing. What the editors did, I cannot guess -- there are no typos but this book would benefit by some paring down. The story of a downward spiraling family, it offers no resolution, just a long, long read but not a satisfying one. While I admired and enjoyed reading her debut novel, this one disappoints. Three-quarters of the way through this sad story, I realized I didn't like any of the characters nor did I care very much about them. Ms. Tartt's writing is curt -- and full of asides, like so -- and I felt as though I were reading a first draft that, yes, was 10 years in the making.
Rating:
Summary: The Long Slow Laborious Read
Review: I normally read 2 books a week, and it took me three wks to get through this one. And it was not because I was savoring every page. This could have been a good read at about 175 pages. Loved Harriet (an old soul) and some of her eccentric aunts. Isn't this what editors are supposed to do?
Rating:
Summary: It is NOT The Secret History
Review: The Secret History is a book I read, reread, and read again (several times) in one sitting. There are very few books that seem to force you to turn the page and read on. It is easily one of my favorites. I have waited for Tartt's next book for years. Frankly, I was bitterly disappointed in The Little Friend. To say that it did not flow nearly as well as TSH would be a vast understatement. Although Tartt's descriptions of the life and times of Harriet were accurate, it was unbelievably boring. There were so many different charecters, each representing a sterotypical aspect of the time period. I can't think of one thing I liked about it except, it was written by an author who previously wrote an AWESOME book. Don't buy it, it's not worth it....I think I'll go read The Secret History again.
Rating:
Summary: A lot of verbiage that doesn't add up to much
Review: Donna Tartt seems to have a very high opinion of herself based on the glory of her last book which lasted ten years. In interviews, she talks of other novelists such as Hemingway and Faulkner, as if they are her peers. Dream on. The Little Friend surely doesn't justify that sort of comparison. Far from it. TLF offers the occasionally clever gyrations of an intelligent wordsmith, huff-puffing to come up with a masterpiece. Alas, a masterpiece TLF is not - though it is a masterpiece of grinding effort - and an effortless exercise in condescension. Tartt's hodgepodge of ingredients - childhood imagination, murder, poverty-driven drug addiction, eccentric Southern Gothic old women, whodunnit - is a nice idea that simply doesn't convince, and ultimately bores. It's all very busy, but never finds its heart. Tartt has tried to cover all the bases, outsmart everyone, and maybe even herself. Who does she think she is fooling?
Rating: 
Summary: Treasure Island Meets True Grit
Review: If you liked Mattie in True Grit and Jim Hawkins of Treasure Island, you'll like Harriet Cleve Dufresnes, twelve years old, of Alexandria, Mississippi. Steeped in Stevenson and the journals of Captain Scott's doomed Antarctic expedition, she takes on a family of tweaking, redneck habitual criminals, who prove remarkably hard to kill. Harriet, on the strength of a comment from her family's black housekeeper who dislikes all poor whites on principle, decides that Danny Ratliffe, twenty-four and recently released from prison, is her older brother's murderer and vows to be revenged. With the help of her best friend, Hely, she stalks the young ex-con, in between visits with her upper caste grandmother and great aunts, and epic bouts of moping. What makes this book so enjoyable is the magical way Miz Tartt enters the states of mind of Harriet, Hely, and Danny Ratliffe. They are true to life because their weaknesses are the products of their strengths. Danny, as scary and evil as he is, shares some of the charisma of Long John Silver and Harriet's intelligence and grit make her a true heroine, one to remember always. The climactic scene at the water tower is reminiscent of the "Israel Hand" colorplate in the "Treasure Island" edition illustrated by N. C. Wyeth (which the author tacitly acknowledges) and like that book, I would give a lot for the pleasure of reading this one again for the first time. Never have I wished more strongly for a sequel.
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