A review by channamason
The Secret History by Donna Tartt

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

4.5

oh boy this book was a TRIP! I really loved the first half of the book, but the pacing didn’t keep up with itself in the second half.
I wonder how the book would be different if you didn’t know they kill Bunny from the start. i was waiting for the pin to drop and the reasoning why they killed him and that was really impactful. however i felt like the book shied from the actual acts of things. i read online people say that is because richard is an unreliable narrator but i didn’t feel that in the moment. i wanted to see the scene unfold after they pushed bunny. the biggest mystery was that they kill the farmer and i still felt like there was pieces missing that i wished were discussed more. i did really like it, but i was waiting for something more towards the end- specially though julian and henry’s relationship would be discussed more. there was lots of moments of foreshadowing that kind of went nowhere- Richard will say something like it wasn’t until later i knew what that was about and those moments weren’t resolved. 

this book will be one that sticks with me for a long time. 
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