Reviews with content warning for Suicidal thoughts - The Secret History

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The Secret History by Donna Tartt

370 reviews

ellagrady's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

I found it slow to start and questionable in the way certain topics were handled in the first part, almost DNFing because of it, not sure if it was a product of its time or making a point. I’m glad I stuck it out as about halfway through I was gripped, flying through it, fascinated by the moral fights the characters were balancing as the story progressed and the greatness of the spaces they navigated. It’s a tough read, so definitely one to be careful about, but something I couldn’t put down was I was invested. This isn’t a trope I typically gravitate towards, but I felt like I had to know what the hype was the book, maybe I fell into a similar hive mind the book follows. I will say I found the characters fascinating, though they were all deeply unlikable, but I think that’s what makes them so fascinating, they seemed very human and real even if they were often terrible. It felt a little long at times, some of the chapters went on unnecessarily, but Tarty’s writing kept me hooked and enthralled, feeling like I was right there alongside the characters, so she clearly knew what she was doing.

I think the story did everything it was meant to, giving a satirical look at the wealthy academics at the liberal arts New England colleges, understanding the dynamics of the group, and turning the situation on its head to show how ridiculous these types of students can be. I wish it had more views than just Richard’s to get a better idea of what was really going on, but I do see the point of limiting it to just his rose-tinted, unreliable, and romanticized telling.

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amberacks12's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense 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

2.0

This book started out very addicting. On its face, it sounded like it was going to be the most boring book ever, and a couple chapters in I thought it actually was going to prove that wrong. Rich and pretentious white kids doing rich and pretentious white kid stuff, which, unfortunately for me, eventually turned out to actually be as boring as it sounds.
I would be lying if I didn’t admit that this book initially sucked me in. Donna Tartt’s writing style is sumptuous and beautiful. I’m convinced she could make the phone book into a beautiful piece of writing. And the tension that permeates the story from page one until about 30% had me addicted. It reminded me of Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier, in that there was tension without necessarily anything happening to explain that tension. It’s a masterful way of writing.
But then all of a sudden there was no mystery anymore. I wish she had ended the story there, about 50% in, to be honest. I almost considered giving up, but I just had to know how such buttoned up college students could become such nasty monsters, and how things could just completely spiral out of control. Once the tension was gone, in its place there were just some spoiled brats with no moral code doing things because they wanted to, with no thought for consequences, and they are just nasty gross individuals and I just didn’t care, about any of them or the direction their lives were going in.
It says a lot that when I started out, I was listening at 1.25x speed and by the middle had it up to 2x. I was so bored, and grossed out.
I am a little concerned for people who rave about this book, not going to lie.
If all dark academia books follow this pattern, I don’t think the genre is for me.
Although now I know the significance of the word bunny to dark academia, so that’s something.

Writing style: 5
Enjoyment: 2.5
Emotional impact: 2
Educational value: 2
=2.8

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nenac0's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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zahliajayne's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

i have never been so hooked to a book from the beginning.

it was only within the first 70 pages where i discovered that this was possibly going to be my favourite book of all time- and this still holds true after completion.

the effortless descriptions are like turning back time and recognising the simplicity of youth. all the while, comparing to the most intricate of classic literature and greek ingenious.

the story eventuates different to how i expected, which kept me intrigued and infatuated. it is surprising, this, because there were hardly any truely good qualities about any of the characters. however, you still are coerced into loving them.

i will return to this story, and annotate it to the brink. i cannot wait return.

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gaby13's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

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shaleen64's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

Donna Tartt’s writing is unmatched, her character building is exceptional, and this is why her novels are as long as they are.

The characters are all vastly different and mostly wholly unlikeable, however I found Richard’s drive to fit in relatable but particularly sad when considering the final scenes, and Francis’s character heartbreaking due to his inability to ever be his true self.

The story is much more than a group of rich college students committing crimes, but the true story is written in between the lines and for this reason I think it would be better on a second read or even more so analysing the book.

The only reason I’ve not rated higher is because of how I rank this book with Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch, but would still recommend it to selected people.

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