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norabeideineroma's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Kidnapping, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Misogyny, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Grief, Blood, Animal death, Biphobia, Car accident, Drug use, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Murder, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Classism, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Cursing, Mental illness, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Homophobia, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship
ilsabelle's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Drug abuse, Classism, Violence, Suicide attempt, Drug use, Murder, Mental illness, Addiction, and Gun violence
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Xenophobia, Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Incest, Toxic relationship, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, and Homophobia
koiolee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Vomit, Violence, Stalking, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Classism, Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Death, Body horror, Incest, Hate crime, Gun violence, Drug abuse, Antisemitism, Alcoholism, Rape, Racism, Suicide, Self harm, Mental illness, Islamophobia, Grief, Gore, Gaslighting, Drug use, Murder, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Religious bigotry, Racial slurs, Misogyny, Medical content, Addiction, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol
seforana's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Grief, Suicide attempt, Violence, Murder, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Addiction, Death, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Self harm, Body horror, Gore, Incest, and Suicidal thoughts
lakeofstars's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Sexism, Alcoholism, Antisemitism, Drug abuse, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Alcohol, Homophobia, Incest, Racism, and Drug use
Moderate: Racial slurs and Antisemitism
Minor: Suicide, Vomit, and Sexual assault
lucyford's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Violence, Gun violence, Gaslighting, Murder, Suicide, Body horror, Addiction, Alcohol, Mental illness, Grief, Death, Alcoholism, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Vomit, Gore, Sexism, Drug abuse, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Incest, Physical abuse, Cursing, Drug use, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, and Medical content
Minor: Animal death, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Car accident, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Forced institutionalization, Infidelity, Rape, Stalking, Death of parent, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
gothmiku's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Alcohol, Toxic friendship, Alcoholism, Murder, Classism, Incest, Misogyny, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Physical abuse, Drug abuse, Suicide, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Car accident, Grief, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Antisemitism, Vomit, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Stalking, Outing, and Self harm
nike_winter's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Alcoholism, Incest, and Drug use
Minor: Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexual assault, and Self harm
jojo_fiction_'s review against another edition
- 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
5/5 Stars
When Richard arrives at Hampden, a college in New England, to continue his education, he is instantly intrigued by a small group of other students. Isolated from the others, these students studied Greek under the eclectic Professor Julian. As Richard joins the group, disregarding the other students at his school and the “normal” way of life, he is brought into the world of aestheticized academia in a way he had never experienced before. Which led him down a path that resulted in more death and tragedy than he could have ever expected.
I went into this book with pretty high expectations. It seems that every time fall comes around the genre of Dark Academia comes with it, and at the forefront of the books that are recommended is The Secret History.
And I was not disappointed! From its beautiful writing style, to its suspense and mystery, to its pretentious characters, every part of this book had me wanting more. I am always a sucker for unreliable narrators and Richard truly delivers that. Half the time he's on drugs or he's ill, or just not privy to information, or he is intentionally making himself seem to be simply an observer. But how uninvolved he really is, is up for debate.
This book pokes fun at those aspects of academia that are prevalent, especially in the liberal arts and classical studies. This sense of personal superiority over one’s peers with nothing backing up that claim. These unlikable characters somehow worm their way into our hearts to the point that we start to have pity on them, only for something to happen that slaps us with the reality of their awfulness. The suspense builds slowly, and the ending is the actualization of all the characters' worst fears. In the end, they are nothing but a group of mediocre students pretending that they were on the same level as the ancient Greeks, and then, like a Greek tragedy, they become the things they hated or feared the most.
There is a comical amount of contradiction within this book between the characters' views of themselves vs how they really are. They talk about comparing themselves to the Greeks, to the philosophers and poets. They talk of rituals and wealth. But they drink champagne out of a teapot and eat maraschino cherries out of the jar. Richard himself says that he has always been drawn to the sublime, beauty, the aesthetic…yet he does coke in a burger king parking lot, and gets drunk at college parties, like many other young adults would in university. Appearing to be smart and wealthy is the goal of these students, but one refuses to do the SAT because it doesn't fit his aesthetic, and none of them are actually concerned when it comes to their grades, they only tried so hard in order to win the praise of their professor, whom in their eyes, is the peak of authority and aesthetic appreciation. All of this showing the difference between their make believe ideas vs the real world.
This book has many amazing themes, like obsession, isolation, social class, beauty, and it is a good critique of the elitist attitude that can occur in academia. While I don't think it perfectly encapsulated all the issues that can be found (only a brief glimpse into the issue of sexism, and no mention of racism in academia), its place as one of the most influential books within the dark academia genre is well deserved, and has paved the way for many more books with more in depth themes and critiques to be made.
A sign of a good book for me is how often I think about it. If you want to read a book that sticks with you, for days or weeks after you finish, this is the book for you. I have not stopped thinking about it or talking to my friends about it since I finished it. Although I will say if you don't like books with long chapters, this might not be the best. I was surprised that this book only contained 8 chapters and is approx 559 pages.
Other books that I have been told are similar in themes and style are If We Were Villains by M.L Rio and Babel by R.F. Kuang, so those are being added to my to-be-read pile immediately. And I'm planning on scouring my local bookstores for any more books by Donna Tartt. With The Secret History being an easy 5 stars for me I'm sure the rest of her books will blow me away as well.
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Murder, Violence, Suicide, Alcoholism, and Homophobia
Moderate: Sexual assault, Misogyny, Incest, Toxic friendship, Suicide attempt, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Grief
bellbirdie's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Racial slurs, Xenophobia, and Racism
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Classism, Murder, and Incest