A review by cell0girl
The Secret History by Donna Tartt

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • 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

3.75

The Secret History includes some of the most sublime and sinister descriptions I have ever read. We get to witness how each character deceives us due to their two sided personalities that is gradually revealed in the text; as soon as you begin to become fond of someone, it’s as if their whole personality was a facade to their true identity. My main complaint for this book is that it’s too long for the story it follows and could have easily been condensed into half its size; the first 300 pages was purely just context, some of which isn’t used or referred to later on in the text.
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