A review by michaelcoleallen
The Secret History by Donna Tartt

dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

The Secret History by Donna Tartt has an incredibly developed main cast but its real strength is in how those personality traits and quirks manifest in such minor ways in the relaxed environment of a privileged east-coast liberal arts school, yet have the potential to slowly dominate a character when stress (i.e. murder) is applied.

The pacing was quite good. As the novel enters the last two hundred pages the main character, Richard, thinks less and reacts more in the face of consequences from the uh… thing that he must discuss in ancient greek when the gang is in public which builds a quicker finale of events.

I enjoyed my time with the novel and may even reread. I can recommend it on the basis of good prose, great character study, and a pretty gripping narrative even considering the opening spoiler. Just don’t expect it to be eye-opening, transcendent, etc. It’s a murder story told as a thoughtful page-turner and has allusions to things like Proust and The Iliad to boot.
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