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A review by sophielaura1
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
4.75 stars ✨
This was so so close to being a 5 stars. It would’ve been a 5 stars if the pacing hadn’t been so slow in the second half.
Whilst reading I was like “yeah, this is good, but I don’t love it” , but when I was finished I was just left with an indescribable feeling. This one is going to stick with me forever.
There are so many things that I will never forget about. Richard almost dying because he was too nervous to ask for help?! He still felt inferior right to the end, you can never beat those class differences. To piggyback off of this, Richard was definitely correct in describing himself as a bystander. I absolutely viewed him as a side character the entire time even though the whole story is told from his perspective. What I found to be totally mind boggling was that Richard describes himself as a very good liar……..it just warped my entire interpretation of the story.
The entire class (all 6 of them) were so obsessed with Julian because of their own family problems lmao 💀. Speaking of Julian, he is really a minor character physically throughout, but in retrospect, he was at the centre of it all. The unknowing, external mastermind.
The writing was so so exquisite. I annotated A LOT. The perfect way to describe this book (using a quote from the book), is ‘Morbid longing for the picturesque’.
In totality, they were just sad, lonely people who idealised their reality because it was too hard for them to accept the truth.
This was so so close to being a 5 stars. It would’ve been a 5 stars if the pacing hadn’t been so slow in the second half.
Whilst reading I was like “yeah, this is good, but I don’t love it” , but when I was finished I was just left with an indescribable feeling. This one is going to stick with me forever.
There are so many things that I will never forget about. Richard almost dying because he was too nervous to ask for help?! He still felt inferior right to the end, you can never beat those class differences. To piggyback off of this, Richard was definitely correct in describing himself as a bystander. I absolutely viewed him as a side character the entire time even though the whole story is told from his perspective. What I found to be totally mind boggling was that Richard describes himself as a very good liar……..it just warped my entire interpretation of the story.
The entire class (all 6 of them) were so obsessed with Julian because of their own family problems lmao 💀. Speaking of Julian, he is really a minor character physically throughout, but in retrospect, he was at the centre of it all. The unknowing, external mastermind.
The writing was so so exquisite. I annotated A LOT. The perfect way to describe this book (using a quote from the book), is ‘Morbid longing for the picturesque’.
In totality, they were just sad, lonely people who idealised their reality because it was too hard for them to accept the truth.