Giving this book anything less than 5 stars would be a crime

This book was so atmospheric and in my opinion Donna Tartt owns the rights to writing unreliable narrators. I adored reading this book and I felt like I was in class with Julian and the rest of the students.
I feel like I’ll never be able to escape all of these characters. For the rest of time they’ll live in the back of my head. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget about this story

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lindsaylhunter's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

It's rare to find a book over 500 pages that holds your attention from start to finish. Don't get me wrong, there are absolutely moments in the book which feel needlessly drawn out, but I'd reread it in a heartbeat.

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oz2021's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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mirivii's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-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

4.25

I seldom engage in 300+ pages books, as I tend to be stuck with them even if I am not enjoying it – just for the sake of finishing the story. So deciding to start The Secret History was a leap of hope.

I don't know what Donna Tartt laced these pages with ... probably cocaine? I could not put this book down. Had me reading at night, which has not happened since I was a teenager 🥴

The plot was beautifully built and her way of writing it's so captivating. Her views on how to build suspense are refreshing, and the fact that this is a 1992 novel speaks for itself.

Much like the main character Richard, the first half of the book is set up on adoring this clique of literary and elitist students. You want to (want to) be them, with them, as erudite as them. As their flaws come to light they are viewed as whimsical and exciting, just to add to the mystic aura that they project.

What I really liked: the disenchantment of Richard in the second part of the book – the way the spell was broken and just like an addict that stopped being elated by their presence, he sees the mess all around and within them. The god-adjacent portrait of the chosen humans; the analogies to classical myths; how Bunny flew too close to the sun and his fall.

What I wish we saw more of: The twins' psychology – they were both lambs until one of them turned wolf almost inexplicably. What really happened during the bacchanal and what is up with Julian.

For what concerns the bacchanal, I could even live without knowing what went down. As Richard says in the book, when he reads biographies of serial killers, they tend to fixate on the most mundane things instead of the villainous acts and desires. It could be kind of the same here – I admit that the whole bacchanal ordeal was far more fascinating to me than the murder.

Something that I cannot get over is Julian Morrow, described as this wise whisperer that fascinates the smarts and eludes the mundanes. And yet we see that he is merely a human too. How could Henry be so violently attached to such a haughty person? He could have surely seen beyond Julian's most superficial attitude and his pride. Is Julian supposed to be seen as the Christians' almighty God? Above everything, interested in nothing, incapable (or unwilling) of aid.

Anyway, glad that I stumbled upon the BBC's Donna Tartt interview as hearing her speak was what made be grab the book from my to-be-read shelf.

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lou_stahl's review against another edition

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dark sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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laurataylor's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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miaaa_lenaaa's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Another high 3.75

SPOILERS (probably)
Well isnt richard just the most dumb fuck around, boy is literally just sticking his noise in everything and giving his opinion when he clearly doesnt not know half of what is happening and even when he does his conclusion is still fucking stupid, like ‘god camilla idk care if ur brothers abusive get out >:(‘ also his whole love for camilla was weird and i hated it, she was clearly literally never interested in you and u were like #marryme? , i agree with francis, idk how u graduated.
Im not even gonna try and question whatever julian and henry had going on, also fun fact about me is i actually didnt need a wrap up at the end of every single character we met lol

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