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Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Antisemitism, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Infidelity
Blurb:
Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at an elite New England college discover a way of thinking and living that is a world away from the humdrum existence of their contemporaries. But when they go beyond the boundaries of morality, their lives are changed profoundly and for ever.
The Secret History is a story of two parts; the chain of events that led to the death of a classmate—and what happened next.
Thoughts:
Let me start off my review my saying I simple picked up this book due to seeing people gush about it over and over on instagram, and the fact that it was first published the year I was born.
I’m not gonna lie, it took me a longggg time to read it, simply because the first half was almost so boring I almost didn’t finish it.
But, in the end, I am glad I did. It is incredible slow at the beginning I will admit, but in the end, I am glad I stuck threw and finished its.
Content Warnings: Murder, Alcoholism, Suicide, Incest, Racist Slurs, Toxic Relationships, Drugs, Addiction, Animal Death, Bullying, A Little Sexual Contact, Hate Crime, Toxic Friendships – to list a few, you can find more on StoryGraph.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Lesbophobia, Alcohol
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Grief, Murder, Alcohol
Moderate: Gun violence, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship
Imagine if "Lord of the Flies" met dark academia, a classical tragedy, and Greek antiquity at a New England college.
I ate this book UP. I don't necessarily get intimidated by larger novels but I never have the time to read them, so I put them off. When I was in treatment, I finally had time to read this book after it sat on my shelf for a month at home.
One, the cover was aesthetically pleasing to me, because I strived for a dark academia aesthetic more around sophomore/beginning of junior year and I still admire the aesthetic. Studying antiquity at a small liberal arts college in Vermont? Say less.
Two, I'm a SUCKER for psychological novels. I'm not really into mysteries. I never really have been, I hate to say it. "Nancy Drew" wasn't my thing as a kid, I read a few "A to Z Mysteries", but nothing too special, and didn't really ever latch on to what my peers liked about it. I just didn't have the sustained interest in it, and it was probably because of my ADHD.
But something about this book is so captivating and special. Words can't begin to describe it.
This was my first Donna Tartt novel, and I'm definitely going to read "The Goldfinch" or "The Little Friend" now after so many years of people recommending me to her. I fell in love with her writing style - it reinvented English for me and the diction this book has is impeccable. I never had this much admiration for the lexicon in any book until this novel.
The reviews about it were outstanding, and I like reading the reviews, as a reviewer. How many times did I say a word that began with an R?
Back to talking about reviews though. The reviews give me some idea on what to expect from the novel, especially if I know the author or publication that's writing the review.
If I were to ever write a book, I'd want the reviews that "The Secret History" got. Like, helloooo? Are you there, God? It's me, Izzy.
If my comment about "Lord of the Flies" intimidates you, don't let it. I hated that book too. I thought it was so absolute in its judgment of a person's innate capability for evil and savagery, as if that's our ultimate nature, which I disagree with. I had a lot of moral objections to that book and I consider myself the president of the "Lord of the Flies" Hate Club. My least favorite book I've had to read, to say the least.
No offense to those who liked it or took meaning out of it - go enjoy your 12-year-olds killing each other on an island.
But I'll explain my reasoning for my comparison later, without giving away too much about the book.
The book follows the perspective of Richard Papen, a transfer student from California to the elite Hampden College in Vermont. He describes the very exclusive class of classics Professor Julian Morrow, and the eventual fall from grace of the students. He's writing this from years in retrospect, looking back at events leading up to the murder of Bunny, one of the classmates in Morrow's class, and the blurry, unbearable days following the murder.
The common theme in my recommendations: Did it catch me from the first page? Answer: YES. This book absolutely caught my attention from the first page.
It was slightly haunting to read the prologue, and I immediately fell in love with the book with the prologue's last poetic parts: "...Though I only remember too well the long terrible night that lay ahead and the long terrible days and nights that followed, I have only to glance over my shoulder for all those years to drop away and I see it behind me again, the ravine, rising all green and black through the saplings, a picture that will never leave me. I suppose at one time in my life I might have had any number of stories, but now there is no other. This is the only story I will be ever able to tell" (4).
The reason I absolutely devoured this book is because of the inverted murder mystery model and the ominous tone the book sets right in the prologue. It's sustained throughout the book through the characterization of the six students and their professor.
The epilogue after the main story sent me for a loop after the ups and downs of the main story, and after I finished the book, I felt empty. To say I was in awe is a grievous understatement. I would read it again and again and never get bored of it. I went to the length of looking up if there was a movie adaptation of it so I could devour it again.
I've known people who read parts of books in the middle or the end. I'm guilty as charged sometimes. I try not to do it all the time, but that's what always ruins mysteries for me on top of reasons I stated earlier.
However, I didn't with this book because I was so invested in the story. It takes a LOT of self-restraint but when you dive into a story and absorb yourself in it, you forget that it's ever going to end. That's how this book made me feel. It was at a good pace and was both lyrical and suspenseful. Erudite is often the word reviewers used and I have to agree - there was a level of sophistication to this book that doesn't make it unreadable. It adds this flare that no book I've ever read has.
At times, I couldn't put this book down. I just loved reading it, sipping on a warm cup of coffee with a little bit of sweet cream. Dimmer lighting might be a better match to the vibe of this book - this is definitely a book to read by candlelight. The vibes, needless to say, are immaculate.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Incest, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol
Moderate: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Blood, Vomit
Minor: Animal death
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Murder, Alcohol
Moderate: Incest, Mental illness, Xenophobia, Toxic friendship, Classism
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Antisemitism, Medical trauma
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Not in a very long time has a book captivated me the way that this has. I was and still am constantly thinking about it and I literally physically couldn`t put it down.
I can`t even really explain this and I think I will need some more time before I can properly find the words to describe my feelings towards this. I just know already though that this is going to stay with me for the rest of my life and that there will not be a day where I don`t think about this.
I almost feel like pulling a Dorian Gray, buying several copies of this book and binding them in different colours to fit my various moods.
I just wished that Richard just came out of the fucking closet already and got together with Francis. The two of them would`ve made so much more sense together than him and Camilla (whatever that was anyways). And no matter how many times he tries to convince me he`s straight, I will not believe him. His actions just speak against him. No straight man talks about his male friends the way he does. And even the way that he talks about Camilla just screams closeted queer man at me. Anyways, Francis deserved better!
Graphic: Alcoholism, Cursing, Mental illness, Suicide, Murder, Toxic friendship
Moderate: Animal death, Drug use, Homophobia, Incest, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Antisemitism, Suicide attempt
Minor: Eating disorder, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Car accident
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Alcohol
Moderate: Incest, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Forced institutionalization
It also discusses death and fate, isolation and knowledge, control and obsession, class and wealth. The way that Donna Tartt is able to weave so many themes into one book is phenomenal to see. There is never a point in which this book feels scattered or like it's doing too much. It keeps you enthralled from beginning to end.
This book is a masterclass in writing and intrigue. The fact that the "main event" doesn't happen until halfway through the book, but you are interested for all of the pages beforehand and all of the pages afterward, is quite a unique feat.
I finally feel complete in my dark academic dreams having finally read this book all the way through. I started it once before when I was 13. I got about halfway through and I actually annotated it back then! They are the ugliest annotations I've ever seen and it was pretty funny to be able to see them. I think I thought I was pretty clever lol 😂 I don't know where I got half of the things that I wrote down back then from! The most random, kind of pretentious annotations 💀
All in all, I loved reading and annotating this book, and it absolutely lives up to the hype. There are a few things that felt a little odd or unnecessary to me that are keeping me from giving it a full five stars, therefore I'm giving the secret history a still VERY good 4.75 ⭐
(Please look up the trigger warnings before reading this book)
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Racism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Classism
Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail