A review by boston_fern420
The Secret History by Donna Tartt

adventurous challenging dark tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Oh god, what a book! The Secret History is a dark academia staple, full of classical mythology and blood.  Donna Tart's writing is dark and gripping; especially in her descriptions of the lush Vermont landscape that envelopes the campus. My favorite part was the section about their weekends at Francis' country home. The way the serenity they feel out in the woods contrasts with the darkness that looms overhead is absolutely delicious. 

As much as I enjoyed it, I do have to say it has a quite a long list of flaws. For starters, there is not a likeable to be found. The main character Richard is, to be frank, an idiot.
The chapter where he decides to risk freezing to death instead of taking the rest of the Greek Club's offer of lodging is incredibly irritating and I wanted to throw my book at the wall the entire time I was reading it. I also do not understand how it took him so long to realize he had joined a cult.
The rest of the Greek club is entirely comprised of pretentious, rich fucks. My least favorite was the king of homophobic-but-also-gay himself, Bunny.
although I of course loved the part where he's pushed off a cliff
There is also no character development; in fact I would argue that every single character regresses at least a little bit. 

The pacing is incredibly slow up until
Richard finds out about the murder of the farmer and Bunny is subsequently killed
. After the Big Climatic Event the pacing slows to a halt once again and the plot begins to feel a little lost. Then, out of nowhere, towards the end the plot jumps to a breakneck sprint culminating in a finale that feels very rushed and unsatisfying. It almost fells like Donna Tart knew how she wanted to begin and end this story, but was unsure of what to do in the middle. Oh, and don't even get me started on the afterword (it's dumb as fuck). 

All that said, this is still one of my favorite books. It skates by entirely on vibes and I definitely understand why someone would not like it. However, I still find myself unable to stay mad at it for too long. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings