Reviews with content warning for Forced institutionalization - The Secret History

It seems I am the person this book was meant for (or not — I can't decide). I understood all the Latin phrases, all the grammatical discussions, all the issues you come upon when trying to live out your academic life in a period that isn't the modern one (though I am more of the medieval than ancient variety).

The supposed criticism or commentary on the uptight, elitist, privileged world of academia or more specifically humanities is so obvious, it felt like it was constantly screaming at me. It was so overdone at some point that it felt like Tartt didn't even stand for it, just needed a theme for her book. And I despised it. Do you honestly expect me to care for characters who reek of privilege, whose lives seem to revolve around ignoring the problems in their own studies and never facing any consequences for their actions?

I'm all for criticising the system but maybe all this would've been better suited for a non-fiction book. A book with not one sympathetic character leaves little to enjoyment. If you want a Dark Academia book that handles the inequalities and elitism in academia a lot more nuanced, I'd recommend Leigh Bardugo's Ninth House.

The actual inequalities in academia are so much more subtle but so much more real too than they are portrayed in this book. It's not the money needed for nice clothes or booze but rather the lack of connections, the expensive conferences, the cost of publishing a dissertation, the limitations forced upon you by coming from a less university oriented school, the lack of money for funding or grants, the inaccessibility for any students who aren't mentally or physically healthy, the walls you run into trying to research as a woman in general but also trying to find funding and supporters for "female" subject matters, like sexuality or gender studies. Tartt makes it seem like the biggest challenge in academia are other students, when it's really the whole system that's at fault.

Tartt is definitely good at intimitating classical author's style — think Hardy or maybe even C. Brontë. Sadly, the magical world of New England we get sucked into is always contrasted by characters who were just living normal lives, having normal college experiences. I get that this was meant as a stylistic device to show just how different (and maybe even isolated?) the Classics students were but for me it just served to make their characters seem even less real.

I am that pretentious history student, I am constantly around other pretentious history students, I spent my trips to other countries deciphering Roman inscriptions and coins but by making humanities students into almost satires of the academic bubble, we encourage the continuation of that inherient elitism many humanities degrees still hold. Not just for ourselves but for outsiders as well. It serves absolutely noone to make our community so inaccessible by portraying ourselves as this idealized version of a humanities pupil (even one who commits murders on occasion). We're humans, we're students, we're all connected in this mess of academia and we're still allowed to like parties, to want normal relationships and friendships. Start realizing that Dark Academia is a genre of fiction — not something you should aspire to embody in your time at university. Live a little 🤍

Content Warnings

anton13's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

It’s not my usual kind of book but omg it’s good. It’s such an emotional roller coaster and the last 30 or so pages legit made me cry. Something about that end was really satisfying tho, it made me feel like it was complete. If you’re looking for an advanced read this is it. I will definitely be rereading it as soon as possible cause it’s so good and def one of my favs!
After all of this I’m just left with one question:

What did Henry whisper to Camilla?

Content Warnings

jelliestars's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious 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

5.0

Content Warnings

torismazarine's review

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.75

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lissybeth91's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

My first impulse when I started reading this book was to tell all the characters to drink some water and take a nap. That impulse strengthened all the way to the final page. Never have I been so irritated by a cast of characters, and also so compelled to see what they would do next.

The Secret History is a story about murder, but the who and what are revealed right from the start. What remains is a fascinating, twisted exploration of the why and how. The writing is brilliant, at times making me feel as if I myself had committed the crime.

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fjerda's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.75

I feel punch drunk after reading this book. The Secret History is rotten on the inside and I am in absolute awe of it. Tartt is truly, inexpressibly talented.

Content Warnings

b0ygenius's review against another edition

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dark emotional inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

spoilers ahead

the past four days i just spent reading this book cannot be described as anything else but a trance. this book's effect on me was nothing short of hypnotic. obsession doesn't seem like a strong enough word to describe the death grip this book held me in. i do not think i have ever been as wholly absorbed into a book in my life. normally i struggle a bit with focusing while reading but this book had my complete, undivided attention. i could not think of anything else in the moments i was not reading it. i had two separate dreams about this book. i have never read a book anywhere near this long so fast in my fucking life. i could continue to go on and on and on about how i fell facefirst into the world of hampden and never want to leave but, now, onto an actual review of the contents of this book:

donna tartt is an absolutely brilliant writer. this book is a masterpiece and it does not shock me in the slightest the obsession and cult following this book has amassed. her writing creates this undescribable atmosphere that makes the world of hampden college feel both like something straight out of an epic myth and incredibly real. i became so incredibly attached to these characters. i really do not think we as readers are supposed to root for them the way that i did for most of the book but man. these people are, for the most part, absolutely awful but tartt has crafted them in the most meticulously perfect way that makes you willing to look past all these faults. from the very beginning i was completely enthralled with henry in particular, although i had a feeling he would end up being the worst of them all (and alas i was right) i still was obsessed with him, not necessarily from a place of sympathy or relating to him or liking him but because he was just so goddamn fascinating. everything about him, from his strange mannerisms and aesthetic and his intelligence and the cold, strategic, and calculated way with which he planned all of the terrible things that happen made me just obsess over him. definitely one of my favorite literary characters ever; again, not really because i supported his actions but because he is one of the most well-written, charismatic, obsessively intriguing characters i have ever come across.

i really adored richard. normally the narrator/protagonist of any book ends up getting on my nerves quite a bit and is rarely among my favorite characters but i was incredibly fond of richard. he is intelligent and perceptive and sympathetic but above all, he is painfully human, which is somewhat of a breath of fresh air in a story full of quite eccentric and mysterious figures.

i also really loved francis. he's pretentious and snobbish and quite dramatic but so immensely likeable and had a truly good heart and i felt quite bad for him. i loved his relationship with richard especially in the aftermath of bunny's death; i think they really understood each other and what they were feeling the most and found comfort in each other while everyone else around them was slowly descending into madness. he deserved better.

i can't really think of anything substantive to say about camilla. i didn't love her, i didn't hate her; she had her moments, i guess. towards the end she really started to get on my nerves, though.

charles, for the first three-quarters of this book, was also quite neutral. nothing he said or did really left much of an impression on me for the majority of the book but his downfall kinda made me feel bad for him. the incest stuff tho.......... ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew

i really truly hate bunny but i can somewhat understand why he acted the way he did after finding out about the murder. still, i really did not feel bad for him in the slightest. he was just cruel and the homophobia he spewed at francis and the misogyny at camilla was truly revolting and that bit towards the beginning where bunny invites richard to dinner and makes all those terrible homophobic comments really killed any ability for me to find any sympathy for him. but i feel like that is one of the brilliant beauties of tartt's writing: she makes us feel so entwined with the group that we began to feel the same way as they do towards bunny.

julian was interesting but his character didn't feel anywhere near as fleshed out to me as any of the other main characters. his relationship with all of them, particularly henry, felt undeveloped

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