A review by helenace13
The Secret History by Donna Tartt

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

4.5

This book is labeled as dark academia, which it is for some part, especially the first part of it. The first part is flawlessly executed: the story makes some sort of sense, the characters act like you expect them to and the plot is mysterious and enthralling and, most importantly, the dark academia vibes are strong. In the second part, things don't really make sense sometimes, which makes some sort of sense in this story and the characters are scattered all over the place. It was definitely an interesting read, though the ending felt rushed somehow, we didn't really get an in-depth and emotional ending, which I feel like should have been there. The main character shows the events through his eyes, yet I felt very little sympathy for him, which is weird. Nevertheless, this was a very good and original thriller book. Be warned though, if you don't know much about (classic) literature some things might confuse you...