The Secret History by Donna Tartt

The Secret History

Author: Donna Tartt

Genre: Fiction, Dark Academia

Format: Digital via Libby (library)

Publish Date: 1992

Read: October 2023

Favorite Quote: Because it is dangerous to ignore the existence of the irrational. The more cultivated a person is, the more intelligent, the more repressed, then the more he needs some method of channeling the primitive impulses he’s worked so hard to subdue.

Story Synopsis: A blue-collar college student, Richard, transfers from his California hometown to an elite liberal arts college in Vermont to escape his family. There, he’s swept into the world of elite East Coasters with money and privilege as he studies the Classics. While there, he and his friends seek to embody the ancient Greeks, complete with an accidental murder that they cover up. This is merely the catalyst for a dark and complicated web of lies, deceit, and violence that progresses over a year at school.

Why does this book beguile? The Secret History was extremely well written; I felt these characters' elitism, privilege, wealth, and prejudices. However, I hated every character and didn’t feel a drop of empathy for them. I feel like The Secret History is one of those books that was awesome when published in the grunge era of the early nineties. The book fell flat for me and was 200 pages too long. I felt compelled to finish The Secret History because I’ve seen it so often recently. Again, the prose is excellent - that cannot be denied - but the story and characters leave a lot to be desired.

Rating: 3/5

Link*: The Secret History by Donna Tartt

If you’re interested in this, read*: The Atlas Six Series by Olivie Blake