A review by frog4earth
The Secret History by Donna Tartt

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

4.0

100% worth my time, and will be more than worth a re-read (likely also necessary tbh) sometime in the future. I liked the moral greyness of the characters, and the development of them questioning their own character, motivations, etc. throughout the book. The atmosphere and setting was amazing but I’m also just very granola so Hampden sounds heavenly to me 😅 I love Tartt’s writing style and I feel that she writes with a lot of symbolism and overlaying motifs — all of which I tried my best to tab throughout my reading of this novel! The plot was interesting, but I very much wished they delved deeper into the Bacchanal in the forest. I know the point is for it to be this mysterious, divine Dionysian experience that they remember little-to-nothing about (and keep Richard VERY in the dark about), but that was probably one of the most interesting points in the plot line for me. Why did they all agree to do it? What did they do to get to that point? What did it feel like? Etc. 
I definitely see how the fluidity of sexuality within the characters relates back to Greek sexuality (or really, lack thereof; they bedded with whoever they wanted 🤷🏻‍♀️), I just wish it was explored a littleeee more!!! Also, Camilla and Charles’ sexual relationship unfortunately felt a bit forced/irrelevant to me. I feel as though their incestual relationship in the book was just written for unnervingness and shock value. 
I do appreciate, however, the nod to the way some women function in a male-dominated world. The way Camilla dresses herself and composes herself to be more “boyish” seems to be an intentional choice to make herself not stand out in a group of pretentious ass men (Lmao). 
I also wish the ending didn’t feel so rushed — I thoroughly enjoyed the slow tension build up in the middle of the plot and it felt a little underwhelming the way it ended so quickly!Overall, I enjoyed this book thoroughly, stayed up the night finishing it! I will absolutely have to give it a re-read at some point to see what I may have missed, so I look forward to that in the future :)
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