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A review by dannilmp
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-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? Yes
3.5
A dark academia book unlike anything I have read before. While The Secret History is quite a slow burner to begin with, I found myself reading the latter half in 100 page sections in one sitting. A story about Richard and his discovery of both a new way of thinking and a new way of approaching life thanks to the teaching of his Greek Classics teacher Julian and his small group of classmates.
I enjoyed the fact that through certain paragraph or chapter opening sentences you could tell at what point in time Richard was narrating the details of the book from. To me this whole book had the feeling of suspence, as the main plot point had been introduced in the prolouge that was always at the back of my mind while I was reading. I was absorbing any small detail if I thought it could help me unravel the mystery before the book itself revealed it. I much preferred the second half of the book, espeically watching how the characters developed post major incident for those of you who have read it I am referring to Bunny's murder and how it would affect them in later life.
However, there were some aspects of this book that I didn't enjoy. One was the way such simple aspects or concepts were so detailed that it felt uneccessary at times, activities such as smoking, drug use or even drinking dragged on far longer than they had any right to, or the repeated descriptions throughout the book were a little tiring. I also think without the plot points detailed in the prolouge, I would not have had the interest to keep reading through that first half as there would truly have been nothing to grab my attention. I also felt the ending was a little bit weak considering the build up in those final pages, I expected more of a bang ending and got a whimper.
I enjoyed the fact that through certain paragraph or chapter opening sentences you could tell at what point in time Richard was narrating the details of the book from. To me this whole book had the feeling of suspence, as the main plot point had been introduced in the prolouge that was always at the back of my mind while I was reading. I was absorbing any small detail if I thought it could help me unravel the mystery before the book itself revealed it. I much preferred the second half of the book, espeically watching how the characters developed post major incident
However, there were some aspects of this book that I didn't enjoy. One was the way such simple aspects or concepts were so detailed that it felt uneccessary at times, activities such as smoking, drug use or even drinking dragged on far longer than they had any right to, or the repeated descriptions throughout the book were a little tiring. I also think without the plot points detailed in the prolouge, I would not have had the interest to keep reading through that first half as there would truly have been nothing to grab my attention. I also felt the ending was a little bit weak considering the build up in those final pages, I expected more of a bang ending and got a whimper.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Alcoholism, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, and Gore
Minor: Incest, Homophobia, and Rape