A review by hazyskyys
The Secret History by Donna Tartt

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

i feel as though there isn’t a lot to say about this book, but i also feel that i have to put my thoughts somewhere after i’ve finished it.

one of the things i loved the most about this book is the commentary it made about human nature; how people have the tendency to romanticize others and only acknowledge their best traits, even if that’s not who they are. the narration through richard was one of the best ways to display this. he so deeply wanted to fit in, become someone else, become exactly like the members of julian’s class that he forced himself (probably unknowingly) to think of the best parts of them. it makes it almost impossible for the reader to not fall for these characters, as they are painted in an ideal manner that makes us overlook the terrible things they are really doing. 

i think it’s interesting how everyone seems surprised every time someone does something immoral, especially when richard was shocked that henry was throwing him under the bus during the entire investigation and keeping secrets from him. richard perceived a version of henry that was far from his deceitful and cunning manner, and it caused him to think henry was a better person than he was. 

i also liked how the group rationalized the bad decisions they were making, and excusing their murders as if they were almost no big deal. we did occasionally see richard get upset and realize the gravity of what they had done, but nobody else seemed upset about it on the surface. they seem more upset about the stress of the aftermath than the fact that they killed their peer (and a rando), and i think this said a lot about class distinction and morals in general.

all of this being said, i do think overall, the book was a bit of a drag. i find it a bit foolish to put the major plot point of the murder smack in the middle of the story, because after that it pretty much fell off and turned into a mish mosh of basically irrelevant side stories (wow henry needs pain meds oh no.. oh my god they are drinking again)

i think because of this, many of the characters ended up losing development they could have had. henry and bunny were the most complex and well developed characters in the whole book, and the rest served as stereotypes in my opinion. francis was just gay, camilla was a love interest (for like everyone), and charles was a drunk. i feel that this could be because of the way richard perceived them, returning to my original point, but their dialogue didn’t do much for me either, so i feel inclined to say it’s not that.

also there were a lot of unnecessary plot points?? like the n word scene and the twin incest plotline… and when richard had that thought… very confusing..


i’m a sucker for dark academia, so i did enjoy this book and the world it set up, but i think it was a bit of a flop. i would recommend though if you’re willing to read 500+ pages.
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