the secret history: death in the time of a classical education
- paigenherbooks
- May 3, 2022
- 5 min read
4/5
The secret history by Donna Tartt was whirlwind of emotions in my opinion. Did I like it? I did, honestly. Did I love it? Ummmm...not quite. But alas, I did enjoy reading this book, it just wasn't exactly what I expected it to be-which I will preface by saying that is TOTALLY okay!! The secret history really drew me into the story and I am glad I've read her story! I feel like it was a solid read but I didn't L O V E it, ya know?
Synopsis: Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at an elite New England college discover a way of thinking and living that is a world away from the humdrum existence of their contemporaries. But when they go beyond the boundaries of normal morality they slip gradually from obsession to corruption and betrayal, and at last—inexorably—into evil.
Okay, so first let me start off with the negatives (lol). Then we can end this lovely review with the things I did like! I will say there are SPOILERS AHEAD SO PLEASE STOP READING RIGHT NOW unless you want to know some key points of the book...for real I'm about to dish all-like ending everything!!!!
STOP READING SPOILERS AHEAD !! STOP READING SPOILERS AHEAD !!
Back to business. First thing that struck me as wonky was that I felt let down. By reading the blurb of the book I was honestly sold! It was giving me VERY Dead Poet's Society (amazing movie btw) but add a dash of murder and dark academia with a frosting of occultist vibes.
I really didn't get too much of that.
From the back of the book I figured there would be a teacher that everyone was infatuated with and that he would lead them to do some wacky crazy things. I was fully prepared for this narrative but was honestly let down. Instead we are given Julian, who don't get me wrong is a little odd, but no where near the leader of a cult by any means. Also Julian wasn't a HUGE part of the book in my opinion. Yes he was the students teacher and was mentioned quite a lot, but I genuinely didn't think he was a large point of interest for the plot. I understand in some ways he was (like introducing the students to the content matter and not caring that they killed the first guy...) But I didn't feel like he did enough to truly be the reason the characters acted the way that they did.
Then we have the plot of the book as a whole.
I enjoyed the book, I really did. The writing style was very good and I am a sucker for a flash backish way of writing. I enjoyed Richards retelling of the story for the most part. These two issues go hand in hand. I honestly thought the book would be done after they killed Bunny...but then it kept going. I figured it was going to be the big "who done it" and someone would be found out. Instead we are given, a really realistic, account of how those involved life's turned into absolute misery. I know this is a thematic element here. Karma hangs out with misery and they will come get you if you piss them off.
BUT that being said...I felt very confused on where the story was going. Again, I attribute this to not having enough UMPH for me. I felt let down that the climax was there and then gone. This also ties into the fact that Richard, our narrator knows absolutely NOTHING.
Goodness!!
I also understand that is most likely on purpose. A main character that has no idea what is going on, makes for readers that keep reading to figure out what IS going on. I love this in the terms of literary genius. Keeping the reader right there with the main character is a great idea, but I didn't feel like it was done 100% flawless. Richard had no idea what was happening ever and when he did, we really didn't know if it was true. This in my opinion took away from some of the details and content of the story. I felt like I missed out on so many scenes and dialogues/character development because Richard is so left out of the loop. I did find this a little annoying.
Like I want DETAILS! I want to know the nitty gritty things. I wanted more about the ritual everyone performed, I wanted to know more about Bunny's death. More about Henry and Camilla's love affair that was going on. I simply wanted more. Big picture, the book left me lacking in a lot of areas.
Now onto the positive!!
I did enjoy the cast of characters. They were all so odd and unique that I was genuinely entertained. Aside from Richard being so freaking clueless, I related to his character in a lot of ways. The want to be accepted and also to letting people absorb you into their world. I really enjoyed that aspect of the book. That Richard went fully into this cliche of people. They became his everything and his life would never be the same. The rest of the characters were also pretty solid. Bunny was annoying but endearing in a way that makes sense as you think back. I think one of the main messages of this book is what we will do for social acceptance. Bunny would lie and borrow money but act like it's his own. He would use ignorance and arrogance to be included. Henry would obsess over every little detail. Francis would hide his true self but be down for anything, hoping for some kind of real relationship. Charles drank himself almost dead, but also was the first one to use alcohol as a way of creating a space for his friends to be entertained, and never let on to how much things were bothering him. Camilla took everything that was given to her, never comparing, so that she wouldn't be seen as weak or dead weight. Every character had this dark past of these dark spots in their personality that I found enthralling and I drank it in! Like yes, show me the weird horrible things about these characters. Let me dissect how they got here and what pushed them to do what they did (like murdering people...) I did find this very interesting. Watching as the dark secrets of each character come to light as the story continued to unfold. I will most likely in the future write an essay on this book. The character archetypes and progression were done pretty good in my opinion. The darkness and innocence that circles around each character is something that is VERY interesting to me!
The story really did have some deep thematic elements that made it haunting and beautiful. The ending made me stop and re read what I had just read, stopping and wondering how we had gotten here. It made me sit back and reflect on my own life. How have I ended up to where I am...and am I happy? I won't answer that publicly (lol) but this book was haunting. Even if it did fall short of depth for me personally, the book did make a mark on me.
The secret history was one that I am glad that I read and may revisit at some later point in life. I will carry some of the lessons with me as I navigate my own life, and try desperately to not be as clueless as poor Richard.
As always amigos, happy happy reading!!
xoxo,
paige :)
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