Scan barcode
shelbymarie516's review against another edition
2.0
2.25
It took me about halfway through to get into this and honestly didn’t think I would finish it. Once it picked up it was ok. This was probably just not my cup of tea.
It took me about halfway through to get into this and honestly didn’t think I would finish it. Once it picked up it was ok. This was probably just not my cup of tea.
leolu0's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
lizzie_5678's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.5
“I am nothing in my soul if not obsessive.”
I had really high expectations going into this book, as a lot of people have hyped it up to me. Many of these expectations were definitely met, as Tartt’s writing is impeccable; her ability to set a scene and describe characters in such a way that you feel you know them intimately is very impressive.
{spoilers kinda}
I personally just felt like there was something extra missing from this book. I don’t know what, but I wanted an extra twist in the epilogue, something to really shock me. This may be an unfair ask, as the book was excellent, but I think that in revealing that they all killed Bunny in the prologue took away an element of mystery which would perhaps have made me enjoy the book that much more. I know this was Tartt’s intention, that we know what happened from the start, but it just didn’t wholly work for me.
Despite this, I still thoroughly enjoyed the book and would definitely read another one of her books in a heartbeat.
“my own fatal tendency to try to make interesting people good.”
I had really high expectations going into this book, as a lot of people have hyped it up to me. Many of these expectations were definitely met, as Tartt’s writing is impeccable; her ability to set a scene and describe characters in such a way that you feel you know them intimately is very impressive.
{spoilers kinda}
I personally just felt like there was something extra missing from this book. I don’t know what, but I wanted an extra twist in the epilogue, something to really shock me. This may be an unfair ask, as the book was excellent, but I think that in revealing that they all killed Bunny in the prologue took away an element of mystery which would perhaps have made me enjoy the book that much more. I know this was Tartt’s intention, that we know what happened from the start, but it just didn’t wholly work for me.
Despite this, I still thoroughly enjoyed the book and would definitely read another one of her books in a heartbeat.
“my own fatal tendency to try to make interesting people good.”
emilyjaco25's review against another edition
4.0
“Are you happy here?”
“Not particularly, but you’re not very happy where you are, either.”
One of the most unique books I’ve ever read. There is endless detail about seemingly inconsequential things, but it is never boring or repetitive. I didn’t know where we were going for the last 200 pages, but I was still so invested. Can’t wait to read more of her stuff.
“Not particularly, but you’re not very happy where you are, either.”
One of the most unique books I’ve ever read. There is endless detail about seemingly inconsequential things, but it is never boring or repetitive. I didn’t know where we were going for the last 200 pages, but I was still so invested. Can’t wait to read more of her stuff.
paumm_02's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
ranee_samaniego's review against another edition
1.0
1.5 / 5 Stars
Rating = R
Trigger Warnings = substance abuse, alcohol abuse, incest, physical abuse, murder
My goodness. I think I may be a minority here, but I was greatly disappointed in this book. I had heard so much hype around The Secret History that I couldn’t wait to dive a dark academia novel. Instead, I found myself bored and struggled to have any wish to continue reading. And instead of cozy, dark academia vibes, I was in the middle of a group of selfish, privileged, drug-abusing, and perpetually drunk college students whose self-centeredness reached so far as to murder twice - once because they viewed themselves as better and smarter than everyone else, and once because they were miffed at being (to be fair, ruthlessly) teased by a friend.
Additionally, I have heard on Bookstagram that The Secret History contains well-developed, complex, morally-gray characters. I would instead describe them as black characters with one or two instances of acting in a humane manner. This hardly makes them gray - instead, they were immoral people who rarely seemed like complex humans.
Finally, I found the writing style not at all to my taste. I felt that it was pretentious and required a prior understanding of the Classic languages and myths to get a full understanding. Donna Tartt also would get distracted mid-action or conversation, inserting unnecessary asides.
Rating = R
Trigger Warnings = substance abuse, alcohol abuse, incest, physical abuse, murder
My goodness. I think I may be a minority here, but I was greatly disappointed in this book. I had heard so much hype around The Secret History that I couldn’t wait to dive a dark academia novel. Instead, I found myself bored and struggled to have any wish to continue reading. And instead of cozy, dark academia vibes, I was in the middle of a group of selfish, privileged, drug-abusing, and perpetually drunk college students whose self-centeredness reached so far as to murder twice - once because they viewed themselves as better and smarter than everyone else, and once because they were miffed at being (to be fair, ruthlessly) teased by a friend.
Additionally, I have heard on Bookstagram that The Secret History contains well-developed, complex, morally-gray characters. I would instead describe them as black characters with one or two instances of acting in a humane manner. This hardly makes them gray - instead, they were immoral people who rarely seemed like complex humans.
Finally, I found the writing style not at all to my taste. I felt that it was pretentious and required a prior understanding of the Classic languages and myths to get a full understanding. Donna Tartt also would get distracted mid-action or conversation, inserting unnecessary asides.
helenmagdalena's review against another edition
slow-paced
2.0
this was one of the toughest reading experiences i've ever had. it was so hard for me to get through and finish.
acg509553's review against another edition
3.75
as a twin i become more and more dismayed by the depiction of twins in media
annwithane's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
umrah's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This review is so very overdue, but every passing day was fuel to my mind's procrastination. But finally today, I sat down, took a deep breath and dared to write some notes, which in turn, enabled me to hyper-focus and here we are now!
The Secret History was everything: it was beautiful, terrifying, heartbreaking, majestic, disgusting. It had truly everything, and I was so immersed in it. The insanity of the book probably was a reason in where I couldn't even comprehend of a review.
Let's first get started with the characters. They were all quite messed up in their own ways - their images were like a kind of glamour, how there's this layer of mystery on them, of perfection and beauty. It was interesting to see that layer slowly crumble, the symmetrical, the absolute, fading away slowly but surely.
The book was written in the perspective of Richard Papen. However, it is heavily implied that he was an unreliable narrator, as he himself wrote in the first page, about how he tends to lie a lot, and also about his "fatal flaw", his morbid love for the picturesque. This consideration makes the book even more blurry and unbelievable. For all we know, this never happened, or is a completely different story, to what Richard wanted us to believe. He views most things as romanticizations - kind of trying to forget how human and messed up his contemporaries really are. How imperfect, how unstable their minds actually are. For example, he views Henry as a god or a deity in some way. Richard is too trusting and weak.
Henry Winter. Like the chilly flakes of snow in his namesake weather, cold. And frankly, he gives me this feeling of a sociopath. While I was reading the book, several thoughts came into my mind of how "Sherlock Holmes" he feels. So incredibly intelligent, knows Homer to a tee, yet is ignorant socially. He also didn't know it when the moon landing happened. It gives the same feeling as when Sherlock didn't want to believe about the orbit of the Earth around the Sun.
Francis Abernathy was an interesting character, and he's probably one of the least messed-up character of the group. He is also homosexual, hinting towards being in love with Charles, and trying to hook up with Richard. Also, he sounds quite hot, don't come for me, please.
Charles and Camilla are twins, and highly interesting individuals. Their relationship is very toxic, and Camilla is often abused by her twin. Incest is also present between the two. Their situation gives a nod towards the Greeks, an example of their obsession with the "traditional," the old.
Bunny Corcoran is a difficult character, very difficult indeed. I don't know what to think of him. Was he truly as insufferable as to deserve death? I don't know. Was he not a bad person, just anxious, terrified, and confused? Probably. It's just so hard to believe anything in this book. That's partly why I adore it. Although, the homophobia is quite uncalled for, wonder if it's internalized homophobia . . .
Donna's writing was absolutely exquisite. The descriptions were so vivid and beautiful!
"Beauty is terror. Whatever we call beautiful, we quiver before it." - I feel like this book was the perfect description of this quite. So utterly beautiful, yet terrible.
""Are you happy here?" I said at last. He considered this for a moment, "Not particularly," he said, "but you're not very happy where you are, either."" - This quote always stuck with me. The Secret History always will give you something otherworldly when you thought everything was resolved. It is bittersweet in a way.
"There's nothing wrong with the love of beauty. But Beauty - unless she is wed to something more meaningful - is always superficial."
What makes this book fascinating for me are definitely how blurry, how atmospheric, and how uncertain everything seems to be. How we won't be able to know the full story. We wouldn't ever know if Bunny deserved it. We wouldn't ever know about anyone's mindset, aside from Richard's. The Secret History indeed.
The Secret History was everything: it was beautiful, terrifying, heartbreaking, majestic, disgusting. It had truly everything, and I was so immersed in it. The insanity of the book probably was a reason in where I couldn't even comprehend of a review.
Let's first get started with the characters. They were all quite messed up in their own ways - their images were like a kind of glamour, how there's this layer of mystery on them, of perfection and beauty. It was interesting to see that layer slowly crumble, the symmetrical, the absolute, fading away slowly but surely.
The book was written in the perspective of Richard Papen. However, it is heavily implied that he was an unreliable narrator, as he himself wrote in the first page, about how he tends to lie a lot, and also about his "fatal flaw", his morbid love for the picturesque. This consideration makes the book even more blurry and unbelievable. For all we know, this never happened, or is a completely different story, to what Richard wanted us to believe. He views most things as romanticizations - kind of trying to forget how human and messed up his contemporaries really are. How imperfect, how unstable their minds actually are. For example, he views Henry as a god or a deity in some way. Richard is too trusting and weak.
Henry Winter. Like the chilly flakes of snow in his namesake weather, cold. And frankly, he gives me this feeling of a sociopath. While I was reading the book, several thoughts came into my mind of how "Sherlock Holmes" he feels. So incredibly intelligent, knows Homer to a tee, yet is ignorant socially. He also didn't know it when the moon landing happened. It gives the same feeling as when Sherlock didn't want to believe about the orbit of the Earth around the Sun.
Francis Abernathy was an interesting character, and he's probably one of the least messed-up character of the group. He is also homosexual, hinting towards being in love with Charles, and trying to hook up with Richard. Also, he sounds quite hot, don't come for me, please.
Charles and Camilla are twins, and highly interesting individuals. Their relationship is very toxic, and Camilla is often abused by her twin. Incest is also present between the two. Their situation gives a nod towards the Greeks, an example of their obsession with the "traditional," the old.
Bunny Corcoran is a difficult character, very difficult indeed. I don't know what to think of him. Was he truly as insufferable as to deserve death? I don't know. Was he not a bad person, just anxious, terrified, and confused? Probably. It's just so hard to believe anything in this book. That's partly why I adore it. Although, the homophobia is quite uncalled for, wonder if it's internalized homophobia . . .
Donna's writing was absolutely exquisite. The descriptions were so vivid and beautiful!
"Beauty is terror. Whatever we call beautiful, we quiver before it." - I feel like this book was the perfect description of this quite. So utterly beautiful, yet terrible.
""Are you happy here?" I said at last. He considered this for a moment, "Not particularly," he said, "but you're not very happy where you are, either."" - This quote always stuck with me. The Secret History always will give you something otherworldly when you thought everything was resolved. It is bittersweet in a way.
"There's nothing wrong with the love of beauty. But Beauty - unless she is wed to something more meaningful - is always superficial."
What makes this book fascinating for me are definitely how blurry, how atmospheric, and how uncertain everything seems to be. How we won't be able to know the full story. We wouldn't ever know if Bunny deserved it. We wouldn't ever know about anyone's mindset, aside from Richard's. The Secret History indeed.