A review by milooo
The Secret History by Donna Tartt

dark mysterious tense slow-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? No

4.0

you know what, maybe the booktok girlies were onto something with this book… it’s beautifully written and probably one of the most artistic and cinematic novels i’ve ever read. every atmospheric description felt like a still from an old surrealist film, so much so that i could almost hear the crackle of an old film reel in the background as i was reading. the characters are supremely interesting and as awful and flawed as they all are, that’s kind of the point to them. i really shared Richard’s sentiment of having this “fatal tendency to try to make interesting people good”, but all of their flaws make them so nakedly human, which makes the reader empathise with them despite their better judgement (although i mainly empathise with these people’s livers, my god these bitches need HELP). this book truly sucks you into its world, and that is aided by the long chapters, which i surprisingly didn’t mind that much. you really have to sit down and read a whole chapter in one sitting to have the best reading experience. i would’ve rated this 5 stars if it weren’t for a few key things. firstly, the narrative randomly veers into an /almost/ really good exploration of racism and how easily people can take advantage of visibility and attention to push their own racist agenda. that all could’ve added a relevant and important layer to the story, but it’s just… dropped? secondly, i really disliked how little agency camilla had as a character. as the only lead female character i kind of saw this coming, but it was quite disappointing when she is ‘sexy lampshade’-ed in most scenes. my final qualm is to do with the pacing, which (and this is purely personal taste) dragged a bit near the end. However, i had a great time reading this, and would definitely recommend it (even though If We Were Villains will always be my baby)
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