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A review by lydiavsbooks
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I think this jus scraped a 4 star for me. Its a long book and I have a lot of thoughts and feelings so its difficult to sum up in one rating.
I gotta start by saying that it took me a while to get into. Although I know its kinda the point, I found it difficult and frustrating to read because of just how pretentious and arrogant every single character is. If I could list 'rich people' as a content warning I could, that shit was triggering.
But then the plot kicks in and takes a dark turn. It becomes exciting, tense, intriguing, and it just feels a lot more fun to read the deeper you get into all the messed up shit. There were however several moments throughout the book where it returned to the very slow drawn out day to day events. I get that this may have been done to establish the characters more in order to make later events more impactful, but I didn't really get much from these sections and for me it just made the book feel longer than necessary.
I also wish we'd got a little more from our main character, Richard. He just felt a little lacking in personality, and seemed to only exist as a narrator, without an active role in even his own life. There were times it was a little frustrating at how blatantly unaware the main character was, and how the other characters would have to spell things out for him to even question anything. I would've liked to see more from inside his head.
I found myself being very overly critical and nitpicky when reading this, so I think that and the insane amount of hype this book gets may have contributed to my experience. I think sometimes its easier to explain criticisms than it is to explain what I enjoyed. But, I still really did enjoy this, its absolutely a fun dark twisty plot that feels very rich, with some very atmospheric writing. Definitely one that I think will stay with me, and I'm glad I read it.
I gotta start by saying that it took me a while to get into. Although I know its kinda the point, I found it difficult and frustrating to read because of just how pretentious and arrogant every single character is. If I could list 'rich people' as a content warning I could, that shit was triggering.
But then the plot kicks in and takes a dark turn. It becomes exciting, tense, intriguing, and it just feels a lot more fun to read the deeper you get into all the messed up shit. There were however several moments throughout the book where it returned to the very slow drawn out day to day events. I get that this may have been done to establish the characters more in order to make later events more impactful, but I didn't really get much from these sections and for me it just made the book feel longer than necessary.
I also wish we'd got a little more from our main character, Richard. He just felt a little lacking in personality, and seemed to only exist as a narrator, without an active role in even his own life. There were times it was a little frustrating at how blatantly unaware the main character was, and how the other characters would have to spell things out for him to even question anything. I would've liked to see more from inside his head.
I found myself being very overly critical and nitpicky when reading this, so I think that and the insane amount of hype this book gets may have contributed to my experience. I think sometimes its easier to explain criticisms than it is to explain what I enjoyed. But, I still really did enjoy this, its absolutely a fun dark twisty plot that feels very rich, with some very atmospheric writing. Definitely one that I think will stay with me, and I'm glad I read it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Gun violence, Toxic friendship, Classism, Misogyny, Murder, and Homophobia
Moderate: Suicide, Sexual violence, Addiction, and Self harm