Review by nideen - The Secret History

nideen 's review for:

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

4.0

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

good, but at moments, less so.

i actually quite enjoy tartt’s writerly voice—others i know have critiqued what they consider long winded tangents that exist for the sole purpose of employing excessive flowery language, but i myself have always liked the meandering introspections of a narrator, especially one as inward-facing as richard is.

there were moments that had me questioning if there was a line drawn between an intentional, satirical portrayal of pompous classics majors and her genuine thoughts on the subject. the whole “we’re different and special and better than everyone for studying a topic that old white european men have been circle jerking about for centuries now” bit has gotten a bit old, and a bit too real as a recovering classics minor. there is much to the field that exists outside this, so seeing classics centered stories lean heavily into this idea time and time again has left me more than a little fatigued. however, this was more prevalent in the first portion of the book which gave me hope as i was reading that it was indeed the former, and the closing act was my final confirmation.

the ending was shocking, but at the same time not. a very greek ending, befitting of such a group.

Content Warnings