A review by vagrantheather
The Secret History by Donna Tartt

dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Love love love love everything about this novel. The people are people in a way most authors just can't nail. Each character feels fleshed out and real, flickering between genuine warmth and cold, snide, abrasive attitudes; they have real feeling motivations, unacknowledged biases. Not only is the narrator unreliable, but each of the people he speaks to is similarly conveying a version of events filtered through that character's lens. The prose is beautiful in a subtle manner. The setting, the whole vibe of late 80s college life, is executed flawlessly. I will buy this book and read it a half dozen more times.
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