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A review by boodschappenlijst
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I can't say that I didn't enjoy this book. I had fun getting to the climax that was the murder and then the fallout. However, I seldom think a book needs to be well over 400 pages long, and I think this book is exemplar of that.
The overly drawn out exposition in the first half is justified in light of setting the stage, but when you expect the second half to pick up it drags on even more than before. My score mainly reflects my dissatisfaction with the pacing: This could have easily missed 200 pages and still have the same story.
And about the story itself. I'm a bit disappointed that the Greek lessons served no further purpose than a motivation forthe first murder and to give the characters a means of communicating covertly. It doesn't tie back into the story the way you expect it to, from the weight the whole Greek seminar was given right from the beginning.
Some characters have dubious motivations and it was fun to see these personas - as constructed by the main character - unravel. Main character himself is nothing short of an NPC and it's a surprise why the author made this choice. He is such a passive character in all this; basically a doormat with the function to move the plot along the way the author needs. The drug abuse in the book, whilst partially realistic, was absurd and at some point revolting to read about. Seeing the other characters disintegrate from drug abuse is part of the intrigue; it's less so when the MC is so uninvolved with everything that sleeping for days straight is a normal endeavour.
There's elements in this book that are worth it, but all of it would be more digestible if one could scrape all the unnecessary exposition in this.
The overly drawn out exposition in the first half is justified in light of setting the stage, but when you expect the second half to pick up it drags on even more than before. My score mainly reflects my dissatisfaction with the pacing: This could have easily missed 200 pages and still have the same story.
And about the story itself. I'm a bit disappointed that the Greek lessons served no further purpose than a motivation for
Some characters have dubious motivations and it was fun to see these personas - as constructed by the main character - unravel. Main character himself is nothing short of an NPC and it's a surprise why the author made this choice. He is such a passive character in all this; basically a doormat with the function to move the plot along the way the author needs. The drug abuse in the book, whilst partially realistic, was absurd and at some point revolting to read about. Seeing the other characters disintegrate from drug abuse is part of the intrigue; it's less so when the MC is so uninvolved with everything that sleeping for days straight is a normal endeavour.
There's elements in this book that are worth it, but all of it would be more digestible if one could scrape all the unnecessary exposition in this.