Reviews - The Secret History

62.3k reviews for:

The Secret History

Donna Tartt

4.18 AVERAGE

petite_bibliotheque's review against another edition

3.75

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

J’avais certainement trop d’attentes vis-à-vis de ce livre à cause de tous les éloges qu’on en fait (je crois que je n’ai pas lu un seul avis négatif sur ce roman) et de mon coup de cœur pour The Goldfinch que j’ai lu l’année passée. Je pensais que ça allait être très intrigant du début à la fin et finalement j’ai trouvé que c’était plutôt lent. Pourtant The Goldfinch est loin d’être une lecture dynamique mais pour je ne sais quelle raison j’ai pas du tout réussi à m’attacher aux personnages cette fois-ci. Ça reste une bonne lecture parce que c’est super bien écrit et la psychologie des perso est assez poussée mais je pense que je vais assez vite l’oublier :/

miizuno's review against another edition

5.0

"Ricordo la via del ritorno, e i primi solitari fiocchi di neve che arrivavano errando tra i pini;
ricordo l'allegria mentre ci si stipava in macchina e si riprendeva la strada come una famiglia
in vacanza, con Henry che guidava tutto teso tra le buche e gli altri appoggiati ai sedili
anteriori, a chiacchierare come bambini; ricordo anche troppo bene la lunga e terribile notte
che mi attendeva, e le lunghe e terribili giornate e notti che seguirono:
ho solo da darmi un'occhiata alle spalle perché tutti questi anni svaniscano, e io lo riveda di
nuovo dietro di me, il burrone che mi sorge incontro, verde e nero tra i virgulti, un'immagine
che non mi abbandonerà mai.
Suppongo che a un certo punto, nella mia vita, avrei potuto narrare un gran numero di storie,
ma ora non ve ne sono altre.
Questa è l'unica storia che riuscirò mai a raccontare"

Non so come commentare un libro del genere, a parte che merita tutte le recensioni positive che ha ricevuto. Va dritto nei miei preferiti, assolutamente da leggere.

rumay's review against another edition

4.0

mysterious slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

I finally see why there is so much hype around this book! The story is so good and the characters are really intriguing.

bethans_books's review against another edition

4.0

dark mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

cashewmilk's review against another edition

DID NOT FINISH: 0%

Why are the sentences and chapters so long?? Makes me not want to read at all. Also makes me feel very unintelligent lol

meerareadsalot's review against another edition

4.0

Some thoughts:
- The narrator of The Secret History, Richard Papen, reminded me of Nick Carraway, the narrator of The Great Gatsby. Are they both unreliable??
- I don’t classify The Secret History as of the Dark Academia genre, BUT I do see some of its elements whenever I was transported to the Lyceum. I don’t know why we’re romanticising the office. On that note, I did not like Julian at all… It makes me wonder, was the story intended to satirise classicism?
- (SPOILER - just this point) So, do we all think the whole incestuous relationship was pointless and did not enrich the story????????? Just me?
- I never took a Greek studies class but did study Homer’s Odyssey in a World Fiction course which WAS taught by my Greek professor. It was enlightening to have known certain terms like hamartia, or tragic flaw, and wonder which character it applied to. Bunny, Henry, Richard…most characters?
- 4/5. I found Donna Tartt’s writing both delightful AND ignorant. There were a few minor lines, even subplots, that stuck with me to believe so. Overall, though, I really enjoyed it. Didn’t love it, but I must admit that it was a good read.