The Secret History: 30th anniversary edition
- Downloads：3041
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-08-14 08:51:45
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Donna Tartt
- ISBN：0241621909
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
THE BESTSELLER THAT DEFINED AN AGE
'Everything， somehow， fit together; some sly and benevolent Providence was revealing itself by degrees and I felt myself trembling on the brink of a fabulous discovery， as though any morning it was all going to come together---my future， my past， the whole of my life---and I was going to sit up in bed like a thunderbolt and say oh！ oh！ oh！'
Under the influence of a charismatic classics professor， a group of clever， eccentric misfits at a New England college discover a way of thought and life a world away from their banal contemporaries。 But their search for the transcendent leads them down a dangerous path， beyond human constructs of morality。
'Haunting， compelling and brilliant' The Times
'Irresistible and seductive' Guardian
'Enthralling。。。 Forceful， cerebral and impeccably controlled' New York Times
'Everything， somehow， fit together; some sly and benevolent Providence was revealing itself by degrees and I felt myself trembling on the brink of a fabulous discovery， as though any morning it was all going to come together---my future， my past， the whole of my life---and I was going to sit up in bed like a thunderbolt and say oh！ oh！ oh！'
Under the influence of a charismatic classics professor， a group of clever， eccentric misfits at a New England college discover a way of thought and life a world away from their banal contemporaries。 But their search for the transcendent leads them down a dangerous path， beyond human constructs of morality。
'Haunting， compelling and brilliant' The Times
'Irresistible and seductive' Guardian
'Enthralling。。。 Forceful， cerebral and impeccably controlled' New York Times
Reviews
Derek Roy
，
It is good。 Damn good。 And now I feel cold and empty， like I've been wrung through infinite sorrows and painful joys， brought up to a place of better understanding of who I am and who the people are around me。 Evil lurks， and beauty is terrible， but I'm glad to be able to view it from the outside looking in。 It is good。 Damn good。 And now I feel cold and empty， like I've been wrung through infinite sorrows and painful joys， brought up to a place of better understanding of who I am and who the people are around me。 Evil lurks， and beauty is terrible， but I'm glad to be able to view it from the outside looking in。 。。。more
Sara
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 4，5*Nemam specifičnu želju reći išta。 Ne mislim ništa trenutačno。 Više samo osjećam žaljenje， tugu， šok， ali i osjećaj pravednosti。 Kao da je kraj uvijek mogao biti samo ovakav， ali nisam to shvaćala prije。 Let us sit in that feeling jer neću reći ništa konkretno dok me ne prođe。 （ps。 god is laughing right now jer mi se pustilo randomly no boy， no crime）Jesus， ok i guess da je ono bio nekakav početak， ali još uvijek neznam di da idem s ovim reviewom。 Kao prvo i enjoyed it。 Naglasak na enjoy što 4，5*Nemam specifičnu želju reći išta。 Ne mislim ništa trenutačno。 Više samo osjećam žaljenje， tugu， šok， ali i osjećaj pravednosti。 Kao da je kraj uvijek mogao biti samo ovakav， ali nisam to shvaćala prije。 Let us sit in that feeling jer neću reći ništa konkretno dok me ne prođe。 （ps。 god is laughing right now jer mi se pustilo randomly no boy， no crime）Jesus， ok i guess da je ono bio nekakav početak， ali još uvijek neznam di da idem s ovim reviewom。 Kao prvo i enjoyed it。 Naglasak na enjoy što nije nužno ni like or love。 Bila mi je zabavna， ali intriganta， poanta je bila u vajbu， ali i u opisivanju koliko je lagano da se stvari sjebu。 Ajmo prvo o likovima。 Firstly， Richard koji je jedan od rijetkih male protagonista koje sam čitala。 Iskreno he was fine， jedino što tbh čovjek je malo spor， a Donna Tartt je malo brza。 Zbog toga je njegov unutarnji monolog kinda incoherent jer opisuje njegove akcije koje su， quite frankly， majmunske i onda njegove misli u kojima je transcendent biće。 Jednostavno je čudno， a i nevermind the fact da je onak meh osoba taj karakter koji ima。 Iskreno mislim da su svi likovi takvi u ovoj knjizi。 Ne bi mogla reći išta o njihovoj osobnosti osim iz njihovih akcija a to bi ih relativno dvodimenzijonalno reprezentiralo。 Charles kao alkoholičar， Bunny kao pizda （im so sorry but was he not， cold take: he deserved to die）， Henry kao walmart Sherlock i Francis kao gay。 Ali to be honest nisu svi bili toliko površni。 Zbog toga što i jesu površni su se više činili kao prave osobe i kao da su zapravo postojali tamo u kontekstu specifično događaja koji se prepričavaju。 I istina je， Bunny i Henry su najzanimljiviji likovi。 Njihova dinamika je zanimljiva i cijeli tijek događaja do dijela kad se posvađaju i dođe do ubojstva je stvarno realističan prikaz razloga zašto bi i ja ubila nekog （hipotetski 👁👁）。 Francis mi je inače vjerojatno najdraži lik jer je jednostavno i drag i logičan i insane i što drugo je potrebno u dobrom liku s kojim se mogu postovjetiti。 Charles i Camilla su samo veliki blob to be honest i to me smeta。 Oboje su samo bili tamo i još uvijek mi je samo šokantno da su imali incestuoznu vezu na koju niko nikad nije reagirao kao ？？？？ Henry mi je zanimljiv jer mi je bio drag prije， ali kad se krenuo ponašati sus pri kraju sam prestala s tim。 Još uvijek mi je žao što je umro。 Ipak， pretpostavljam da je bilo za očekivati。 Iskreno mrzim knjige gdje stvari koje su se mogle izbijeći nekako dovedu do lošeg kraja i sve je gore nego na početku。 Nije da ih baš mrzim nego me smeta taj osjećaj žaljenja i činjenice da likovi do kojih mi je stalo nisu više ni dobri međusobno。 I zbog toga znam da će mi knjiga stickati u glavi htjela ja to ili ne。Drugo što želim komentirati je moje generalno mišljenje o knjizi to jest što mi se svidjelo。 Svidjela mi se progresija likova i način na koji su svi poludjeli。 Sviđao mi se vajb koji je bio kao da sam tamo。 Sviđao mi se i kraj jer savršeno prikazuje kolik osu svi oni in deep oko nečega što nikad nije trebao biti big deal。 Sviđa mi se i činjenica da je sve to postalo big deal jer su postali opsjednuti sa njihovim "morbid longing for the picturesque" i istovremeno bili pre arogantni。 Moja kritika je da mi je žao što nemam više za reći na temu well tema jer Donna nije uzela priliku da pretjerano komentira na činjenicu da bogati eto samo tako mogu ubijat ekipu， ali onda opet nebi bila ista knjiga da joj je to poanta。 Zato čekamo 23。8。 da izađe Babel。 Also ima činjenica da je knjiga bila zločin i kazna-esque što se tiče pacinga。 Bilo je strašno koliko bi ja stranica pročitala vs。 što bi se sve desilo。 Ali koliko god se "malo" stvari desilo， knjiga je ostala zanimljiva。 I ti razgovori između likova su bili realistični， ali isto kao sječanje kojeg bi ovo trebalo biti prepričavanje， nekako su izbljedili i likovi i događaji knjige。 Kao da se ja sama prisječam tih događaja。 Kao da sam ja bila tamo i ubila Bunnyja s njima。 I zato mislim da će ova knjiga ostati uz mene。Ps。I really do have two sides: reading about class from the perspective of a classist， and from the perspective of a poor marxist。 。。。more
Ariane
，
Bravo。 Donna Tartt， what a genius。 The writing was absolutely gorgeous and captivating。 The characters were deeply unlikeable， just as I'm sure she intended。 It is satire， the characters are superficial and pretentious and straight up crazy。 And that's the thing about them！ It was incredibly funny， and the end。。Oh my days， was I shocked。 This book is not for everyone， but if you get it， you get it。 Bravo。 Donna Tartt， what a genius。 The writing was absolutely gorgeous and captivating。 The characters were deeply unlikeable， just as I'm sure she intended。 It is satire， the characters are superficial and pretentious and straight up crazy。 And that's the thing about them！ It was incredibly funny， and the end。。Oh my days， was I shocked。 This book is not for everyone， but if you get it， you get it。 。。。more
Caroline
，
Detta är absolut den mest störda bok jag läst。 Stör på ett sätt som fascinerar mig， jag gillar visserligen böcker där det finns ”dötid” som ger utrymme för karaktärerna att djupna och skapa sig en större förståelse för läsaren， men det var så mycket misär att jag blev chockad av mitt egna begär att slutföra boken。 Karaktärerna， som man på något sätt lär sig ”älska” är sjuka i huvudet。 De är smarta och är intressanta i varandras sällskap vilket imponerar på mig och gör att jag själv skulle vilja Detta är absolut den mest störda bok jag läst。 Stör på ett sätt som fascinerar mig， jag gillar visserligen böcker där det finns ”dötid” som ger utrymme för karaktärerna att djupna och skapa sig en större förståelse för läsaren， men det var så mycket misär att jag blev chockad av mitt egna begär att slutföra boken。 Karaktärerna， som man på något sätt lär sig ”älska” är sjuka i huvudet。 De är smarta och är intressanta i varandras sällskap vilket imponerar på mig och gör att jag själv skulle vilja vara en del av gruppen - något som är， ja， stört。 Jag gillade mkt när Richard gjorde sig synlig som den som återberättar historien， dethela uppenbarade sig ännu mer sjukt när det blev klart för en att ”någon har varit med om det hela”。 Det gav ytterligare en dimension till det hela。 Jaa， jag vet knappt vad jag ska säga så här kommer punktlista istället。 Spoilers kommer nu， ja - under del två störde tvillingarna mig djupt。 Det var fruktansvärt， äckligt och ofattbart。 Vilket gör Henrys motiv starkare- Jag gillade Henry under hela boken， tror att det har med detta smarta som han omger sig med。 Trots fruktansvärda beslut osv - som kanske egentligen ska vara bevis på mer korkhet？ Men är inte alla mördare smarta， smartare än vad en kan tänka sig och kanske därmed ger upphov till dessa ”större än ensjälv” momenten？ -Gillade även Francis starkt， under hela boken。 Tyckte lite synd om honom också。 Framförallt under epilogen。 -Hade velat veta mer om vad som sades om R under den mest oroliga tiden， vad sa Henry och Charles om honom egentligen？ Och hur fick de egentligen bort FBIs misstankar？ Hmm。 Hade velat veta mer om hela den processen。 Nej men hela alltet var så absurt och sjukt och osannolik men samtidigt ytterst trovärdigt och fängslande。 Absolut en av de bästa böcker jag läst， rekommenderar den starkt。 Läste den dock på svenska nu， vilket jag i efterhand tror var tur då den är skriven ganska stilistiskt målande och vad jag kan tänka mig är ganska svår engelska。 Men ser fram emot att lästa den på engelska， då jag tror att det verkligen är en upplevelse。 。。。more
Brittany McCann
，
I should have gone with a physical copy。 This was another time when the author narrating their book does it a disservice。 Her voice didn't fit the characters for me。 It may have affected the reading experience。 I don't typically enjoy an audiobook with multiple narrations if they cannot do a good job distinguishing between characters。 I am telling you 22 hours of audio with this。。。 The idea of this book was fascinating， and maybe I Would have enjoyed it more in a physical format。 Some work could I should have gone with a physical copy。 This was another time when the author narrating their book does it a disservice。 Her voice didn't fit the characters for me。 It may have affected the reading experience。 I don't typically enjoy an audiobook with multiple narrations if they cannot do a good job distinguishing between characters。 I am telling you 22 hours of audio with this。。。 The idea of this book was fascinating， and maybe I Would have enjoyed it more in a physical format。 Some work could have improved the delivery， but it wasn't terrible。Overall I am stuck in the middle at a solid 3 star。 。。。more
Octavian Kelly
，
Yep。。。 This is the one。
Tori V
，
one of my new all time favorite books
Freya
，
I feel dead inside。
Doleo
，
Nie umiem stwierdzić， czy mi się podobało。Zdecydowanie za długa jak na mój gust， ale nie wiem， czy mimo wszystko mi się podoba。。。
✧˖* maddy （taylor’s version） *˖✧
，
henry winter you have nothing to apologize for
Rabarberreads
，
beautifully written but a bit overhyped tbh
Mary
，
made me fall back in love with reading
Natalie
，
Reading If We We’re Villains definitely ruined this a little bit for me but I really enjoyed it and how much less pretentious it was compared to IWWV
Kristin
，
i'm going to have to come back to this one because it should definitely be a 5 star read for me， i loved it so much BUT i'm currently docking a star because it took me over a month to read and what the heck is up with that？？？ i'm going to have to come back to this one because it should definitely be a 5 star read for me， i loved it so much BUT i'm currently docking a star because it took me over a month to read and what the heck is up with that？？？ 。。。more
Aleena
，
I just had to read the OG dark academia book and it was everything I hoped for plus more。 I was not expecting such a brilliant writing style， but just the aesthetic which this book is tied to。 The Secret History interestingly provides commentary on many things that the dark academia aesthetic it spawned is criticised for， such as elitism。The book follows Richard Papen， a working class student who joins a small Greek class， taught under the influence of a charismatic professor。Donna Tartt's prose I just had to read the OG dark academia book and it was everything I hoped for plus more。 I was not expecting such a brilliant writing style， but just the aesthetic which this book is tied to。 The Secret History interestingly provides commentary on many things that the dark academia aesthetic it spawned is criticised for， such as elitism。The book follows Richard Papen， a working class student who joins a small Greek class， taught under the influence of a charismatic professor。Donna Tartt's prose is beyond incredible， laying out parallels with classical literature。 Though many seem to think our protagonist is bland， I feel that is supposed to be the whole point。 He is just a vehicle for the reader to consume the plot。 At one point he describes himself as a bystander - and that is what he is - someone from outside trying to fit himself in with the rest of the group。 Its the reason why throughout the novel so much vital information is purposefully withheld from him （and by extension the reader）。 Richard is an unreliable narrator - embellishing details according to his state of mind。Whilst the characters actions can very much be understood， they become increasingly morally irreprehensible。 Tartt masters building tension in-between characters， where saying one thing out of place can set off an entire chain of events。One of my fave books this year， definitely will be checking out her other works。 。。。more
mati
，
Nie ma spoilerów， aczkolwiek wspominam wydarzenia będące w opisie na tyle książki Przyrównywanie tej książki do Zbrodni i Kary to obelga dla Dostojewskiego。 Książka w całości o wszystkim i niczym。 Reklamowanej „intelektualną opowieścią o moralności， karze i odkupieniu” jest tu niewiele。 Dużo jest natomiast dialogów。 Głównie przez nie dowiadujemy się o akcji。 Główny bohater jest niczym czytelnik: przyjaźni się z bohaterami ale nic nie wie， nie przeczuwa， jest naiwny i łatwy do manipulacji- większ Nie ma spoilerów， aczkolwiek wspominam wydarzenia będące w opisie na tyle książki Przyrównywanie tej książki do Zbrodni i Kary to obelga dla Dostojewskiego。 Książka w całości o wszystkim i niczym。 Reklamowanej „intelektualną opowieścią o moralności， karze i odkupieniu” jest tu niewiele。 Dużo jest natomiast dialogów。 Głównie przez nie dowiadujemy się o akcji。 Główny bohater jest niczym czytelnik: przyjaźni się z bohaterami ale nic nie wie， nie przeczuwa， jest naiwny i łatwy do manipulacji- większość jego akcji jest wywoływana przez polecenia innych。 Tartt postanowiła by narratorem był właśnie on。 Reszta bohaterów jest również niespójna， ich zachowania są skrajnie odmiennie （Jedynie Morrow wydaje się jakkolwiek sensowną postacią） - nie， ich nietypowe zachowanie nie może to być spowodowane morderstwem BO NIKT TYM MORDERSTWEM SIĘ TAK NAPRAWDĘ NIE PRZEJMUJE。 Warto tez wypunktować， iż autorka posiada syndrom Lovecrafta。 Wiele ważnych opisów opuszcza， bo są zbyt dziwne by o nich pisać albo bohater ich nie pamięta。Boom roastedNa plus: Francis i wątek o tym jak próbuje „żyć” 。。。more
el’s bookshelf☕️
，
I don’t even know where to begin。 It took me a while to finish but it was worth it a full 100%！！ I really loved the dark academy vibes and I absolutely loved the writing style that was being used。 It was all so well explained and described。 The story it self was also so so so good！！！ At some points I couldn’t even stop reading because I was just so in shock of what I’ve just read 10 seconds ago。 I think that if you like the dark academy， mystery & crime vibe you should definitely read this！！ At I don’t even know where to begin。 It took me a while to finish but it was worth it a full 100%！！ I really loved the dark academy vibes and I absolutely loved the writing style that was being used。 It was all so well explained and described。 The story it self was also so so so good！！！ At some points I couldn’t even stop reading because I was just so in shock of what I’ve just read 10 seconds ago。 I think that if you like the dark academy， mystery & crime vibe you should definitely read this！！ At the beginning it was kind of hard to get into， but I promise you！！！ You have to keep reading cause it’s so worth it 。。。more
Chel
，
the ending was a bit rushed and i wanted all the characters to be more developed。。。。felt like there was so much lost potential
Emma Worthge
，
i was so happy i found a book & character i could connect with: a man in his early 20s from California who loves bein a little pretentious at a small liberal arts school in Vermont。now， at the end of the book， i’m so happy to know that’s where our similarities end。
Marie-Catherine Pellerin
，
One of the best books I’ve read in a long time。
Shannon Blemings
，
The Secret History was not my cup of tea。 I think objectively it was a well-written story with well-written characters and an interesting premise。 I just didn’t find it particularly engaging。There are several passages with exquisite imagery and writing， and Tartt is excellent at creating the voice of the narrator。 However， I put it down in the middle and almost didn’t pick it back up。 Even though the plot inherently creates suspense （which was eventually enough to make me keep reading） I had lit The Secret History was not my cup of tea。 I think objectively it was a well-written story with well-written characters and an interesting premise。 I just didn’t find it particularly engaging。There are several passages with exquisite imagery and writing， and Tartt is excellent at creating the voice of the narrator。 However， I put it down in the middle and almost didn’t pick it back up。 Even though the plot inherently creates suspense （which was eventually enough to make me keep reading） I had little interest in picking it up again。 I found every single character almost insufferable。 I know this was by design and the characters are meant to be unlikeable。 I think Tartt may have succeeded a bit too much in writing them this way， as I simply didn’t care what happened to any of them。 。。。more
Harri
，
bury me with my copy of this book
nazl
，
ben bu kitaba çok alışmıştım ve şu an bittiğini kabullenmekte zorlanıyorum。 beklediğimden çok daha fazlasıydı bu yüzden çok zevk aldım okurken。 yakında saka kuşu’na da başlarım herhalde
Amy Klose
，
I actually read through tsh quicker than i thought， mostly because i really loved the writing style and the interesting characters。 I also liked the mysterious atmosphere。 Really good just sometimes wish the greek stuff was translated lol
EMMA
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 i genuinely don’t know how to rate this book on a generic /5 scale as there were so many factors contributing so。 obviously all the characters are fatally flawed and richard’s narration is unreliable as his perceptions often influence your own whilst reading; you find yourself disliking the same characters as him because he is shocked by their immoral actions， proceeding to suffer immensely from bunny’s death and turn to alcoholism; he even describes himself as a ‘good person’。 this then later f i genuinely don’t know how to rate this book on a generic /5 scale as there were so many factors contributing so。 obviously all the characters are fatally flawed and richard’s narration is unreliable as his perceptions often influence your own whilst reading; you find yourself disliking the same characters as him because he is shocked by their immoral actions， proceeding to suffer immensely from bunny’s death and turn to alcoholism; he even describes himself as a ‘good person’。 this then later follows with him wanting to assault/rape camilla as a way to deal with his anger at her not mirroring his love for her， proceeding with this idea that nobody can be trusted and everyone is living behind a mask （charles and richard consolidate each other throughout the book and become close friends; they way he is described makes him likeable to the reader until he lashes out and is exposed to be sleeping with his twin sister。 julian is also shown as a moral teacher and personal advisor to his students， described as a ‘paternal’ figure to them- but once he is made aware of the circumstances around bunny’s death he flees to save face and his moral high ground falls flat， excusing henry of his actions by returning the letter。 also when everyone finds out about charles and camilla they have literally no reaction to their relationship and the way they describe it makes me feel genuinely sick xxxx）。 the writing was hard for me to get into for the first 100 pages and the section where richard was living with Leo and it was just like 50 straight pages of him describing his slow freezing to death and isolation from everyone was painful， not because i sympathised with him at all but because i felt the writing was quite monotonous and repetitive and at that point i was very much like why do i care？？ obviously i chose to read the book so it was my own fault but at multiple instances i generally was like why am i still reading this。 i think the book definitely got better for me but i struggled with the pace at points as the characters were so unlikeable i almost didn’t feel any pull the keep turning the pages。 the middle-end definitely redeemed itself however i still feel like the whole book was prefaced around bunny’s death and i was just waiting for it to happen and the way they built up the characters made it easier for me to predict how it would all go down。 i can fully see why it is ascribed as a modern classic and keep flipping between what rating i should give it because it wasn’t enjoyable in terms of themes and characters， however i can appreciate the writing and i am glad i read it as it’s nothing like ive ever read before （ the way the characters think and their interactions with each other are so complex）。 。。。more
Katie Gaylor
，
Entirely worth the hype。 Well characterised， immersive， abhorrent， and interesting。 Highly recommend！
Zehra
，
the ending acc blow my mind ngl - but this book has got to be the deadest book ive read in a long time
jess
，
wow
_the_gogo_
，
Quirky humanities students kill homophobic and sexist douchebag。（and make it anticlimactic）
kash
，