Reviews with content warning for Biphobia - The Secret History

Murder yields terrible consequences; despite its offers of respite.

Why is this book so well-loved by some and detested by others? Is it because of the characters, who scream exclusivity; tied to one another with the disdain for plebeian life? Is it because of the narrator whose views on people change with each turn of a page; who tries to hide his true nature not only from those that surround him, but also to us, the readers; who never has a single original thought; whose secondhand take on life pushed him to throw himself into self-destruction? Is it because they killed a friend, who is more parasite than he is human? Murder yields terrible consequences. Except for some.
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With a narrator whose unreliabilty I enjoyed, accompanied by a set of complex and unlikeable characters who all suffered silently and secretly and whose demise I surely cheered for (for some), The Secret History successfully reeled me in. Knowing that Bunny is going to die from the very beginning was what made me interested in the story at the start but it was Donna Tartt's atmospheric and stylistic writing that sucked me in.

The winter term was a favorite of mine. Richard freezing in the attic brought me back to an incredible Tolstoy short, Master and Man. This of course, came in full-circle when a couple of pages later, Henry pointed out to Julian that the tragedy, with the wilderness covered in snow as a backdrop is reminiscent of Tolstoy, which I wholeheartedly agree with.

Surely, this book isn't for everyone. If you don't like your characters' flaws pungent and on display, don't go anywhere near it.

Although it is a book often spoken about in the niche of the dark academia aesthetic; The Secret History, I think, in essence, aims to break the elements of that type of reverence or even to just serve as a caution for obsessive and self-catering ideals.

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not_machiavelli's review against another edition

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

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

5.0

My first (and favourite) Donna Tartt novel -- it still astounds me that the woman who wrote this also wrote The Goldfinch. The two attract such different crowds, in my experience. This novel has inspired me in so many ways, and it continues to provide relief from the real world whenever I read it. Julian is, to me, the best worst character there is.

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