sophiagrace2166 's review for:

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

3.0

dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

---

Book felt a bit plot-less and more of a vibe a la Dead Poets Society meets Manson Family. The story follows a group of students with deep and complicated relationships. In essence, it’s very literary and artistic , for a person to discover some critique on a larger societal issue

Bunny  is clearly a character one is not supposed to feel much sympathy for even when his friends plot his murder. And the story largely just follows how a murder can affect people (I.e. guilt, shame, deflection, anxiety, and calmness) and how a charismatic leader can fool a group into committing the unthinkable. Finally, the story follows the implosion of the relationships of the group in a way that starts to feel lackluster. I like the prose and it had a great fall vibe but I do not feel this book did much more than provide a “vibe” over really anything of substance. I found this disappointing as I was very excited to read the book and heard great things about the author.