A review by jenniiireads
The Secret History by Donna Tartt

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I’m not sure what I think about this book. Given it’s slow pace and large amount of writing, I found myself continuously going from being really invested and bored enough to be put in a slump. It took three months just to finish it. The writing is clearly at the highest level, and maybe I’m not the most avid fan of this style of writing, but I just didn’t get the ‘it’. I understand why people might love it, or dislike it, but it’s definitely a one time read that will also weirdly stick with me too? The characters are dislikable, thoughtfully so, and I liked how they built and changed overtime, but this, in its nature, made it rather had to invest in and pushed me out of the story at times when sudden mentions of a desire to rape or twin incest came up. But then again, this isn’t a story about good people. There’s not really a way to sum up this story outside of sluggishly captivating. 
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