The Secret History

This book is wonderfully written, in many instances I was shocked by the level of detail and carefully crafted sentences. The story unravels in such a way that I had no choice but to echo the sentiments of the main character throughout, despite in hindsight realising just how depraved and fake each one of the characters were. Although the plot is important too, I believe this book really stands out as a close study of different character types, what their motives might be, and how they interact.

this book is going to haunt me for the rest of my life. most of it was boring and nothing really happened but i couldn't stop reading it. the characters are unlikable but somehow donna tartt made me sad for them in the end even if i wanted to hate them so bad. i seriously think that donna tartt put crack in this book, because i can't believe i managed to read 629 pages of almost nothing in less than a month.

wanted to be disappointed in this novel but in the end i wasn't, and i can honestly recommend it if you're one for suspending disbelief in “slice of life” fiction. the large chapters and fluid story made this book incredibly difficult to put down (luckily i had a 5 hour flight to get out of the way).

my only gripe is that the characters and their relationships need to be better developed to understand motivations more. there were things brought up at the end that weren't even hinted at previously that needed some pretext.

otherwise, a good read for a story that no one can predict.

Look, I've gotta start off with the fact that I first read this book almost a full year ago. I was about to finish college and hadn't read a book that was more than 150 pages for fun in almost 4 years. Don't ask me why I picked up this behemoth but I did. I read it in about a week. It is STILL in my head 49 weeks later.
I'm pretty sure the reason for that is simple: the atmosphere. I underlined and bracketed and scanned pages of whole chunks of this book just to re-read because the atmosphere is truly one of the most beautifully written things I've ever read.
It's funny to me when reviewers say that this is amateurish or an obvious first novel. Genuinely hilarious.

From the very beginning, the characters in this book jump out as vibrant and authentic. They move the story along rapidly enough to enthrall but patient enough to absorb the reader into their world of boarding school in New Hampshire and the troubles they find themsleves facing. There are no heroes in this story. There are only humans faced with choices and consequences.

I was completely absorbed in this story but I didn't want to be... something kept drawing me in even though the characters (and all their actions) were pretty darn awful. I read a review that called it a why-duunit instead of a who-dunnit, and I think that unique angle on the story is what made this book so impressive. That and the writing style which was beautiful. Overall a good read but I was in a better mood once I finished it.

Dang. This is an impressively-written, suspenseful read, and a great companion for Covid fever-dreams. The author paces with perfection and covers such fascinating, dark psychological corners that we all have the potential to inhabit (but probably wish we couldn't). I thought it was maybe a touch too long, but otherwise I really enjoyed it. I think it'd make a great movie.

This was fine. I feel like it takes itself way too seriously. I mainly kept going to see what would happen.

I was also confused when this was taking place. At first it seemed like the 50s or 60s, then something was said that made me think it was the 70s, then something was said that made it seem like the 80s. Bah.

I definetly need to re-read this book!
This is one of those books that have so many layers and secrets, that I feel that I didn't understand everything from the first read. Totally fascinated by the idea of the book, and its caracters.
All of the friends have some kind of secrtets but we only know what narrator knows. However, the writer tries to give us clues to discover those secrets but we are too focused on the main story.
Great plot and story!

I am so disappointed in this book. I had read ‘if we were villains' and was under the impression this would be a similar vibe. Some dark academia, some murder, excellent character studies. But no, it was long-winded, tedious trash. 

There were so many unnecessary passages in this book it could have been 200 pages shorter. All the characters were vaguely one-dimensional. They appeared to be very complex but we experience most of this book from an outsider's perspective and never fully know any of the characters. Which is less intriguing or mysterious as it is just plain boring. 

There are also many bits in this that are just triggering and add no value other than shock. The incest for instance, or the passage where Richard suddenly has the urge to rape Camilla? What the actual fuck. At least the homophobia had some sort of purpose. If we were villains was a millions times better. 

(wavering between 4 and 4.5 stars)
Whatever you would imagine from a bildungsroman, this would be the exact antithesis of it. Donna Tartt takes every trope for the introverted main character, and takes perverse pleasure in subverting all of them, with unimaginable results.
Right from the first pages, you know you're in for a wild ride. Five eclectic students studying under an even more eclectic Ancient Greek teacher welcome an introverted student in their midst. The sixth student soon discovers, to his consternation, that the earlier students' hobbies, in an attempt to re-enact an ancient Greek ritual, have taken a turn for the macabre. What follows is a whole lot of gallows humor, mixed with more than a tinge of the surreal.
This masterpiece is extremely hard to review, because the mix of emotions it evokes is mind-bending. The only thing to criticize about the work is that it adopts a very glacial pace in parts - Donna's preference to sprinkling plot in the midst of character exposition, it turns out, is not always for the best.
In spite of all its shortcomings, I would wholeheartedly recommend this book. This is not a book to be rushed through, as this is the furthest thing from a mystery novel, or a ‘whodunnit'. Rather, it is meant to be savored, both for the pleasure you get while reading it (the characters are one of the best I've seen in modern fiction), and for the melancholic aftertaste it leaves you with.

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It's so fucking boring. Maybe if I had a strong classics education, I'd see something that's invisible to me now, but all I see are a band of dull, beige personalities who manage to do almost nothing while droning incessantly about the nothing they're doing. Maybe it's a novel for intellectuals and I don't have the bona fides to get it.

No, y'all are crazy.

If Donna Tartt hadn't included that prologue, I never would've made it past, I don't know, perhaps page 30. The only thing that kept me going was the curiosity of why these asshole kids killed their asshole friend. Once I figured out why, I only finished it because I was curious what the last 60% of the book included. Surely something even better than a friend group turning on one of their own, right? Nope. Not in my opinion at least. Call me stupid, but I don't understand the motivation behind the major event near the end. Just... why? I also absolutely cannot believe a college student from California would be as smart as... uh what's the main character's name again? The one who has no purpose in the story? The one who could be completely eliminated without affecting the plot? Hold on, I'll look it up... oh yeah, Richard. That Richard would be as smart as he is and allow himself to almost freeze to death. Californian's understand cold weather and death by exposure just like people in other parts of the country.

The whole thing was just dreadfully dull.

Do you love dark academia but have been searching for the right book? This is the one. The Secret History has got to be the best dark academia that I have read so far. It‘s right up there with If We Were Villains for me.

I'm once again going to attempt to be quite vague on my thoughts on this book because I don't want to spoil anything for anyone.

I went into this book, anxious that it wouldn't live up to the great expectations that follow it and I left with anger that I hadn't read it until now. I want to reread this book for the first time every single day.

This book was dark and haunting and it left me wanting more, despite it already being 600 pages. Most stories with multiple characters can become quite repetitive or similar but each character from The Secret History brought something so unique to the story.

I attempted multiple times to figure out what was going to happen next and I found myself unable to. I never wanted to put this book down because I became absorbed with these characters and the events surrounding them. The best word to describe this book? Unhinged. It was pure chaos and I loved every minute of it.

The betrayal, the violence and corruption... This is absolutely deserving of the title ‘Modern Classic'.

This was the perfect book to review the day before my birthday. I will be revisiting this in the future and checking out more works by this author.

Definitely ambivalent about this one–at times an interesting look at inner psyches, but with characters so difficult to relate to, a setting that is so important but not completely fleshed out, and writing so terse, it wasn't an easy book to enjoy. Looking forward to insights from the book group I'm reading this with...

this book goes from 0 to 100 real quick.
I can't express my love for Henry with words even if I decided to try.
The ending was something that will stick with me for life.
I just, yeah.
This book is everything I could have hoped for and more and is a solid favourite of mine now and I couldn't be more happy after reading it.
I love one Greek class.
pro-tip : don't finish this at 11pm like I did.
This is on my yearly re-read list now too which is wonderful.
I just love them all so much. ( well most of them .)