Reviews with content warning for Gore - The Secret History (Abridged Version)

you want me to make friends in college? the thing that killed bunny corcoran?

reread because i just couldn't understand the point of this when i first read it three years ago. felt like reading a brand new book

Content Warnings

stvalentine's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

i have been implored for years by my friends to read this book, and i knew why only a few pages. donna tartt's writing style is magnetic - the way that she tells the narrative draws you in, just as richard is drawn into the cult-like friend group (classics students are exactly like that). there are times when the text is indistinguishable between narrative and poetry, and is all the more beautiful for it. i see now why this book is such a legend, has a comfortable, gilded seat on so many essential reading lists, and is endlessly described as having a cult following. creepy, enthralling, intimate, poisonous, life-changing. go read it.

Content Warnings

sierra_smith_418's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

random19379's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Content Warnings

thelilgriffin's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book is haunting and well-written. It has a slow build up which is well satisfied. There is so much unexpected yet also known but there is never a dull or boring moment. This book is very well written but may leave you slightly disturbed and puzzled. I think its an excellent read, but not for the feint of heart.

Content Warnings

abibliophobic_nerd's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

Content Warnings

dannilmp's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

A dark academia book unlike anything I have read before. While The Secret History is quite a slow burner to begin with, I found myself reading the latter half in 100 page sections in one sitting. A story about Richard and his discovery of both a new way of thinking and a new way of approaching life thanks to the teaching of his Greek Classics teacher Julian and his small group of classmates.

I enjoyed the fact that through certain paragraph or chapter opening sentences you could tell at what point in time Richard was narrating the details of the book from. To me this whole book had the feeling of suspence, as the main plot point had been introduced in the prolouge that was always at the back of my mind while I was reading. I was absorbing any small detail if I thought it could help me unravel the mystery before the book itself revealed it. I much preferred the second half of the book, espeically watching how the characters developed post major incident

for those of you who have read it I am referring to Bunny's murder

and how it would affect them in later life.

However, there were some aspects of this book that I didn't enjoy. One was the way such simple aspects or concepts were so detailed that it felt uneccessary at times, activities such as smoking, drug use or even drinking dragged on far longer than they had any right to, or the repeated descriptions throughout the book were a little tiring. I also think without the plot points detailed in the prolouge, I would not have had the interest to keep reading through that first half as there would truly have been nothing to grab my attention. I also felt the ending was a little bit weak considering the build up in those final pages, I expected more of a bang ending and got a whimper.

Content Warnings

dabaucherry's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Altered my brain chemistry. I was hooked. The amount of things I felt in the last chapter are unexplainable. I absolutely love how the secret history does not romanticize the concept of dark academia but actually shows the truth. the characters, oh the characters, absolutely marvellous. at times, the book got me questioning the narrator himself. "was everything he narrating the truth? for all we know he could be telling us bits and pieces" but despite all of that, I would honestly recomment this book to anyone who's looking into venturing in the dark academia genre.

all the greek mythology references were like a cherry on top for me.

Content Warnings

More...