A review by ivvtheral
The Secret History by Donna Tartt

dark mysterious tense slow-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

5.0

Beauty is harsh.

The Secret History is a campus novel that follows a group of students at Hampden College told through the eyes of newcomer Richard Papen. It is Richard's desire to ingratiate himself with the other students in his class (Henry, Charles and Camilla, Francis, and Edmund) that involves him in a series of deaths.

The narrative (and the world in which in takes place) is introduced slowly, and deliberately. Richard's role as a bystander, rather than the driving force of the plot, served as an excellent device to keep the mystery of Greek class--and it's students--alive.

The characters themselves are both fascinating and deplorable, which in my view, is entirely the point. Tartt writes the characters as Richard perceives them; intoxicating, engrossing, and utterly unfathomable. He stands at a distance from the rest of them,
even in the midst of Edmund's untimely death,
and it becomes apparent that he knows as little about them as the reader. They're incomprehensible, and that's what makes it such a breathtaking read.

What are the dead, anyway, but waves and energy? Light shining from a dead star?

I've read this twice in less than a month and I fully intend to delve further into Donna Tartt's bibliography--I'd certainly describe The Secret History as a modern classic.
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