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A review by meggeorge
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
5.0
So, this is my first review ever on this site, but I have a lot of feelings about this book, which I only managed to order into a coherent argument now, over a month after I finished it.
Here we go!
There's something about this book...
The way it incorporates magic realism...
The way it makes you wonder whether the tragic events of the story are the result of human immorality or a whim of the gods...
It swallows you up from the first sentence- which is incredibly bold, might I add, revealing the 'main plot point' from the get-go. I put that in quotation marks because, to me, the murder is not the main plot point. It certainly helped to keep me interested, but mostly I wanted to know more about the characters and I wanted to remain inside that beautiful little bubble of vintage elitism and aestheticism, just because it doesn't really exist in the real world, or at least I haven't come across it.
On that note, a lot of people have said that they dislike how pretentious and snobby this book's narration is. I totally agree that it is both of those things, but taking into account that the characters are a group of cocky rich kids studying the classics.... It's kind of to be expected, no?
Also, in my opinion it just adds to the atmosphere of scholarly depravity.
And in the end, there's this delicious note of tragic irony. These kids actually killed one of their own in order to keep their friend group intact, and in the process, absolutely destroyed it.
It's the perfect read if you're in the mood for something dark in the most apathetic way. It builds up a holier-than-thou attitude and gives you an in. Say what you want about supercilious narration and romanticism, but for me, this book is the definition of immersion.
5/5 stars
Here we go!
There's something about this book...
The way it incorporates magic realism...
The way it makes you wonder whether the tragic events of the story are the result of human immorality or a whim of the gods...
It swallows you up from the first sentence- which is incredibly bold, might I add, revealing the 'main plot point' from the get-go. I put that in quotation marks because, to me, the murder is not the main plot point. It certainly helped to keep me interested, but mostly I wanted to know more about the characters and I wanted to remain inside that beautiful little bubble of vintage elitism and aestheticism, just because it doesn't really exist in the real world, or at least I haven't come across it.
On that note, a lot of people have said that they dislike how pretentious and snobby this book's narration is. I totally agree that it is both of those things, but taking into account that the characters are a group of cocky rich kids studying the classics.... It's kind of to be expected, no?
Also, in my opinion it just adds to the atmosphere of scholarly depravity.
And in the end, there's this delicious note of tragic irony. These kids actually killed one of their own in order to keep their friend group intact, and in the process, absolutely destroyed it.
It's the perfect read if you're in the mood for something dark in the most apathetic way. It builds up a holier-than-thou attitude and gives you an in. Say what you want about supercilious narration and romanticism, but for me, this book is the definition of immersion.
5/5 stars