A review by theblacklodgebookshelf
The Secret History by Donna Tartt

dark mysterious tense medium-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? No

3.5

 
I have such conflicting thoughts about this one. On the one hand this is a beautifully written, well executed book. The prose is striking and the characters are all so well fleshed out and best of all – flawed. Perfect, clean, characters aren’t interesting to read about (imo). 

I could picture everything in my mind (I’ve noticed I say this quite a bit in my reviews). This for me is a big plus as it says to me that the author has taken their time with creating the scene and making sure the descriptions are seamless. There’s no doubt in my mind that Donna Tartt is a superb author. 

However – I felt like the story somewhat drooped in the second half. There will be spoilers from here onwards. 

The aftermath of Bunny’s body being discovered and the events that followed really let this book down. It just felt – messy? (There is a part of me that genuinely wonders if this is a purposeful ploy from Tartt and she wants you to feel as scrambled as her characters?!) The climax was, well – anticlimactic. I just felt like there wasn’t any justification for Henry’s actions and the group could have easily solved their differences without such a drastic conclusion.


I also felt myself waiting for some big twist that never came? I expected Julian to make more of an appearance, or to be revealed as some kind of evil puppet master who had been secretly manipulating them as a kind of Greek tragedy experiment? It just felt a bit underwhelming.
 

I have to mention that I was also surprised at the amount of casual racism, homophobia and anti-Semitism that was present in the book. I’m aware that this book is now 31yrs old, but… really?? 

With all that said, this book will stay on my mind for a while. Whether that’s a good or bad thing, I guess time will tell. 

3.5 stars