Little Friend (Tartt) - Book Reviews

Book Reviews
The Little Friend The seems destined to become a special kind of classic.... It grips you like a fairy tale, but denies you the consoling assurance that it's all just make-believe.
New York Times Book Review


At times humorous, at times heartbreaking, The Little Friend is most surprising when it is edge of the seat scary.
USA Today


Harriet [is] one of the most engaging and rounded characters you are likely to find.... Tartt’s writing: gorgeous, fluent, visual.
London Times


Languidly atmospheric... psychologically acute.... A rich novel that takes you somewhere worth going.
The New Yorker


Tartt's second novel confirms her talent as a superb storyteller.... The death of nine-year-old Robin Cleve Dufresnes...destroyed his family,...and 12 years later—it is the early '70s—Harriet...vows to solve the mystery of her brother's death and unmask the killer.... [Tartt has] achieved perfect control over her material, melding suspense, character study and social background.... The double standard of justice in a racially segregated community is subtly reinforced.... Wisely, this novel eschews a feel-good resolution. What it does provide is an immensely satisfying reading experience.
Publishers Weekly


Set in small-town Mississippi, her new work centers on the family of Harriet Cleve, shattered forever after the murder by hanging of Harriet's nine-year-old brother, Robin, when Harriet was still a baby.... Harriet grows up an ornery and precocious child who at age 12 determines that she will finally uncover her brother's murderer.... Harriet in particular is an extraordinary creation; she's a believable child who is also persuasively wise beyond her years. —Barbara Hoffert
Library Journal


[A]very long, very overheated, yet absorbing novel.... [Y]ounger sister Harriet...[is]persuaded that she knows who killed her brother (the murder was never solved).... Despite an overload of staggered false climaxes, it's all quite irrationally entertaining. Direct allusions and glancing references alike make clear that The Little Friend is Tartt's homage to the romantic adventure novels of Twain and Stevenson-and, for much of its length, a rather bald-faced imitation of To Kill a Mockingbird. Still, the characters are gritty and appealing, and the story holds you throughout. Tartt appears to have struck gold once again.
Kirkus Reviews