A review by singalana
The Secret History by Donna Tartt

challenging dark reflective 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? It's complicated

3.75

This book was different from what I expected. I hope I would have taken my time with it and read it more slowly and thoughtfully, but alas, it was from the library, and I was pressed to return it.

From the blurb, I expected this book to be different: I expected the professor to play a more significant part and the group of students to be almost like a secret society of sorts (hence the name). I expected more action, crimes, and violence, but that was not the case. I’d characterise The Secret History as a slow-burn psychological thriller. It’s Donna Tartt’s debut novel, but you’d never guess it from the writing.

Our main character, Richard, comes from a humble background and tries to get away from his family. He gets into college in Vermont, where he gets a place in a small group studying under a classics professor. Slowly, he gets to know the other students better and better and becomes entangled in something that changes his life forever. 

The characters have distinct personalities, and the author describes them in a way that makes them easy to picture. The writing flows quite nicely, and I found it pleasant to read. The events flow at a slow, almost dreamlike pace, and I, as a reader, find myself in the main character’s head, almost like a passenger, watching the events unfold.

Plotwise, I don’t have much to critique. I suppose my main gripe about this book is that it’s rather long. But perhaps if I had read it at a more leisurely pace, then the dreamlike quality of the events would have clashed so much with my “need for speed”. 
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