The Secret History
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- Create Date：2021-04-18 12:53:44
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Donna Tartt
- ISBN：0140167773
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Summary
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 their lives are changed profoundly and for ever。
Truly deserving of the accolade Modern Classic， Donna Tartt's cult bestseller The Secret History is a remarkable achievement - both compelling and elegant， dramatic and playful。
Truly deserving of the accolade Modern Classic， Donna Tartt's cult bestseller The Secret History is a remarkable achievement - both compelling and elegant， dramatic and playful。
Reviews
M Arie
，
It took me time to write my review because I was conflicted。 I feel it is a great book， with a very peculiar atmosphere that gets you absorbed and thrilled with the story。 However， I found I lack the right background to fully understand all the cues to Greek history or litterature in general to immerse myself in the book。
rosie m。
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 i liked the goldfinch and i’ve heard such good things about this book， but my goodness it was bleak！it plodded along and was much， much longer than it really should have been。 some of ms。 tartt’s prose was lovely， but other sections completely overshadowed the idea that it was a commentary on being elitist by her own writings of a similar level of pretentiousness :（ then came the unnecessary “romance” between richard and camilla， which turned me off even more to this book as much as i wanted to i liked the goldfinch and i’ve heard such good things about this book， but my goodness it was bleak！it plodded along and was much， much longer than it really should have been。 some of ms。 tartt’s prose was lovely， but other sections completely overshadowed the idea that it was a commentary on being elitist by her own writings of a similar level of pretentiousness :（ then came the unnecessary “romance” between richard and camilla， which turned me off even more to this book as much as i wanted to get sucked into it！ and the treatment of francis made me so sad， but frankly none of these people had any sort of redeeming quality to them。 and then came the weird addition of the twins’ strange relationship ？？？？ it completely caught me off guard and made me so， SO unspeakably uncomfortable。 i thought the concept of bacchanal gone wrong was really interesting， but i wasn’t super fond of anything else in this story！but then again maybe this just wasn’t my sort of book！ i like pleasant stories and this certainly was anything but that， so if that seems more like your cup of tea， then go for it！ 。。。more
Hannah
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 interesting plot line。 dark academia。 but god do you really need the homophobia or annoying ass toxic white men？
Andrea
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The book is long and slow， but I was pulled so entirely into the world I couldn't stop thinking about it。 And the writing is so friggin' gorgeous。 I usually get bored with descriptions of nature， but even that is incredibly emotional here。 Actions and reactions are surprising， often completely implausible， but I kept forgiving it， because the world was so strange and absorbing and I just had to know where these people would end up。 It's unlike anything else I've read。 I would recommend it to any The book is long and slow， but I was pulled so entirely into the world I couldn't stop thinking about it。 And the writing is so friggin' gorgeous。 I usually get bored with descriptions of nature， but even that is incredibly emotional here。 Actions and reactions are surprising， often completely implausible， but I kept forgiving it， because the world was so strange and absorbing and I just had to know where these people would end up。 It's unlike anything else I've read。 I would recommend it to anyone who's willing to slow down and sit with a book for a while。 I usually love fast， funny， contemporary， smart。 I love page-turners。 This is a very different experience， and definitely worth it。 。。。more
r
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entirely perplexing， i didn’t understand the motives of many of the characters。 perhaps with rereading the book i can understand the true meaning of the book or even gain a foundational understanding of the work， but this book took a lot of time and energy to finish。 i found it rather slow。
Noni Richards
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So beautifully written。 An excellent story。
S Mishkin
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Read this for the third time and it is still my favorite book of all time。
Ashleigh
，
This book is out of control。
Drew
，
uhhhhh？？？？ maybe a 2。5？ i don’t know if the hype is totally deserved。 the final act of the book was a mess and， in every way， felt predictable and。。。 hollow
Sheri Howard
，
I really liked The Little Friend and had heard many good things about this one， so I was quite disappointed to find that I didn’t like this much。
Jana Eichhorn
，
I'm giving this book 3 stars， but the one thing it isn't is a three star book。 What it is， is both a one star book and a five star book。 I almost stopped reading entirely because of this book， but it was also the one that brought me back。 It broke me and I hated it and it riveted me and I loved it。 I've had whole relationships with actual real people that were less complex than my relationship with this book。I think Donna Tartt might be the most talented author of our time。 I'm giving this book 3 stars， but the one thing it isn't is a three star book。 What it is， is both a one star book and a five star book。 I almost stopped reading entirely because of this book， but it was also the one that brought me back。 It broke me and I hated it and it riveted me and I loved it。 I've had whole relationships with actual real people that were less complex than my relationship with this book。I think Donna Tartt might be the most talented author of our time。 。。。more
Connor Heeney
，
This book has impacted my life more than I expected， I’ve started learning Ancient Greek， I have a newly-found appreciation for Ancient Greek literature， languages， and history as a whole！ Julian was by far my favourite; the insight into life before us and thought processes made me see him as a modern-day Plato。 But even he had his flaws。 I also was slightly envious of Henry even with all his issues。
Li Da
，
This is a tricky one。 How shall I rate？Based on liking to read this book？ 5 stars。 Based on my judgement if this is a good book？ 3 stars。If it is worth the hype - nah， the hypier the hype， the more likely you end up disappointed。 1 star。 I will say this: Many things and patterns in this book do not make a lot of sense if you think about them in depth。 If you are looking for thoroughly crafted character development， for plausible actions at all times and you came here for the „dark academia“ them This is a tricky one。 How shall I rate？Based on liking to read this book？ 5 stars。 Based on my judgement if this is a good book？ 3 stars。If it is worth the hype - nah， the hypier the hype， the more likely you end up disappointed。 1 star。 I will say this: Many things and patterns in this book do not make a lot of sense if you think about them in depth。 If you are looking for thoroughly crafted character development， for plausible actions at all times and you came here for the „dark academia“ theme of the glorious teacher infuriating his students with the poisonous wisdom of the ages， you may end up disappointed。 Moreover， please please do not mistake this recreating-a-greek-tragedy-novel for a mystery or， even more erroneous， for a who-dunnit。 Because in the end， this isn’t a book about college in the early 90ies， and it is not about the influence an enigmatic teacher can have， it is neither a detective nor a true coming-of-age story。 To me， it’s a book* on what happens to a group of not-so-much-real-friends （it remains an open question if you see them as friends in the first place， or as lost kids who happened to sit in the same Greek class） if they do something fatal， namely murder a group member。 At first， you may gain a sense of „community tied together by fate“。 But slowly， subtly， you begin to wonder， you become suspicious， you question the handling， guilt sneaks up on you in the mist of the night， the bonds might be more fragile than you thought， you start asking about the relationships， the loyalty such an event produces （or not？） and tend to reflect if the murder was as inevitable in the first place？As the murder takes place mid of the book， the part of growing doubts and suspicion makes up half of the book I should say。 This is a slow-paced story to begin with， so beware if you are expecting suspense from the action itself。 Not so much。 The book definitely has lengths。 *Second， it most definitely is a book of young writer who „wants it all“， as some of the other reviewers points out。 There are loads of references I most likely did not notice。 Some of the reviews pointed out how you don’t really come to like any of the main protagonists， and maybe that results from the above。 Still， I enjoyed this read。 The setting - studying before the age of cellphones， computers， in dusty libraries， everybody mixing their drugs themselves in the basement， endless money streams， nice attire， a hopeless youth （Gen X maybe？） creates „a mood“。 And as for likeable characters， well， you still have Judy Poovey。 Huge fan here。 And in the first half， you may be drawn towards the prodigy Henry or to the atypical „token female lead“ Camilla who is kinda boyish and self-centered。 But in the end， yes， you probably sympathize with none of them。 That didn’t bother me as much。 What I find is that Tartt can’t really manage to bring the plot „home“， or „somewhere“， at least。 ### Spoiler Alert ### To me， the rivalry between Henry and Charles over Camilla seemed a desperate move。 Wouldn’t it have been possible that Charles antagonizes against Henrys leadership without this？Henry shooting himself seemed inconclusive to me。 Motive？ In the end， he has accomplished what he wanted to begin with: He „feels the life“ since that first murder， he got his girl， the police are not coming up behind him。 So why shoot himself？ For Charles’ sake？ Seems off in many ways？ Sooo why did I put up with this looong read？ Well， I developed my own theory and therefore found the story more satisfactory。 I don’t think the ritual （bacchanal） necessarily happened as that。 Through the whole book， we only have Henrys account for the night。I think Henry planned the whole thing in advance - this was not about losing control - and he planned it for 2 reasons。 1。 he wanted to murder someone （to „feel something“， to reenact Greek wisdom and Julian's teachings on the beauty of death） and he needed both accomplices and a setting which disguised the part。 2。 he wanted to make out with Camilla （„chasing a deer“）。 Has been wanting to for years， but how to get by Charles？ Solution: Set up some weird ritual， have everybody in spirit， drink & drug a lot - e voila。 I think Henry let Richard „find out“ and indeed， as Richard guesses later， I think he served Henry as the affectionate witness （after all， Henry saved Richard’s life in the cold winter， so he would most likely feel inclined to not trade the bacchanals in）。 I also think Henry intentionally let the murder of Bunny happen in a group setting。 It was his way of escaping whatever he has or has not， and the only thing that doesn’t go according to plan is his Guru Julian leaving in the end。There were some interesting parallels which went underexplored。 The whole kinda-but-not-really class-conflict。 Both Richard and Bunny not coming from money and trying hard to pretend to， to fit in with the pampered kids。 Both trying to escape their upbringing， their family？ Could have been interesting， sadly， it isn't developed further。 。。。more
Madeleine Egner
，
Truly deserves the title of modern classic！ Really interesting plot。。。only downsides are that it’s unnecessarily long to be honest half of the information included wasn’t needed or necessary to the plot。 Also none of the characters are likeable and pretty much all of them are morally gray。 Despite this it’s still amazing
Giulia Cavalli
，
Richard Papen è appena arrivato all'Hampden college dopo diversi cambi di corso di laurea e facoltà e qui decide di dedicarsi allo studio delle lettere classiche， insieme a una classe super esclusiva， con il professor Julian。 I suoi compagni di classe si rivelano ragazzi particolari， che abbiano qualcosa a che fare con l'omicidio di uno di loro， Bunny， di cui veniamo messi a parte nella prima pagina del libro？。Il libro è strutturato su due piani temporali， la prima parte ci racconta come si arri Richard Papen è appena arrivato all'Hampden college dopo diversi cambi di corso di laurea e facoltà e qui decide di dedicarsi allo studio delle lettere classiche， insieme a una classe super esclusiva， con il professor Julian。 I suoi compagni di classe si rivelano ragazzi particolari， che abbiano qualcosa a che fare con l'omicidio di uno di loro， Bunny， di cui veniamo messi a parte nella prima pagina del libro？。Il libro è strutturato su due piani temporali， la prima parte ci racconta come si arriva all'omicidio di Bunny， mentre la seconda è il proseguimento degli avvenimenti dall'onicidio in poi。。Lo stile di scrittura è estrememente descrittivo e introspettivo， gli avvenimenti salienti del romanzo sono solamente tre， ma nonostante questo non annoia mai， anzi coinvolge a tal punto che non si riesce a smettere di leggere， si sente la necessità continua di andwre avanti per sapere come le cose finiranno。。I personaggi sono enigmatici， non uno solo di loro è un personaggio completamente positivo， e nonostante questo Donna Tartt ci porta a empatizzare con loro e a parteggiare per loro。 Non vorremmo gli accadesse mai nulla di male anche se sappiamo che questo è impossibile。。Un libro che è l'emblema di un genere letterario è sempre difficile da definire e recensire， un classico contemporaneo， un libro sul limite del mistery， una storia intrigante alla quale spero darete una possibilità。 。。。more
Cindy
，
DNF at 31 %Please read Rebecca's review。 She's quite on point about everything。This book felt like it wanted so much and there was a lot of potential – but then the author made all the wrong decisions。None of the characters seem in any way interesting or "real"， not even the main character who never evolves from the boredom that he is。 The plot was laughably easy and cliché， but instead of turning this into something interesting while not unique， we get page after page after page of words that a DNF at 31 %Please read Rebecca's review。 She's quite on point about everything。This book felt like it wanted so much and there was a lot of potential – but then the author made all the wrong decisions。None of the characters seem in any way interesting or "real"， not even the main character who never evolves from the boredom that he is。 The plot was laughably easy and cliché， but instead of turning this into something interesting while not unique， we get page after page after page of words that are meant to be poetic or something but seem rather rambly and pretentious。So， Donna Tartt， thanks for telling me how spoilt and unnerving rich kids are， I wouldn't have known it otherwise。 As for anything else？ Please do not read this giant of a book， read something nice like Austen or even trashy like E。L。 James – you'll have a better time with those， trust me。 。。。more
Anna
，
all i can say is。 wow， wow， wow。 what a beautifully， haunting book。 it was everything i wanted， AND MORE。 i was worried that in the second half of the book it would have a bad ending or just be boring， and i mean， sure it was slow sometimes and there were some things i disliked （i would give 4。5 stars overall） but i can overlook that because this book is just UGH。 so fucking good。 so fucking good。 this is the first time in my life i’ve ever read a book with such dynamic characters。 it wasn’t all all i can say is。 wow， wow， wow。 what a beautifully， haunting book。 it was everything i wanted， AND MORE。 i was worried that in the second half of the book it would have a bad ending or just be boring， and i mean， sure it was slow sometimes and there were some things i disliked （i would give 4。5 stars overall） but i can overlook that because this book is just UGH。 so fucking good。 so fucking good。 this is the first time in my life i’ve ever read a book with such dynamic characters。 it wasn’t all black and white， good or bad， it got me annotating “i love them” to “i hate them” multiple times， haha。 this is really the first time i read a book where the plot and characters are equally as interesting。 there is so much to love about this book。 i wasn’t expecting it to be as big of a book as it is， but it was so worth it， because throughout i really grew to love the characters， flaws and all。 this is a book i thought about consistently when i was wasn’t reading and i know i’ll think continue to think about now that i’ve finished it！ definitely one of my favourites and i’ll cherish it for a long time :） 。。。more
Nuns
，
In this contemporary masterpiece， Tartt masterfully portrays the dangers of classism， isolation， manipulation， and guilt with her poetic writing style and complex characters。 While reading this book， never came a juncture where I could successfully know what was going to come next; even when I ostensibly thought otherwise， Tartt found a way to surprise me。 This novel made my mind wander。 It made me think and analyze and try to understand that characters’ actions beyond a superficial level， in a In this contemporary masterpiece， Tartt masterfully portrays the dangers of classism， isolation， manipulation， and guilt with her poetic writing style and complex characters。 While reading this book， never came a juncture where I could successfully know what was going to come next; even when I ostensibly thought otherwise， Tartt found a way to surprise me。 This novel made my mind wander。 It made me think and analyze and try to understand that characters’ actions beyond a superficial level， in a way that no other novel has。 Julian says “Beauty is terror，” and never have I agreed with a statement more。 。。。more
Erin
，
I don’t know why， but I cannot rate this book。 Like， I can’t land on anything。 I read it to see what the hype was about and you know。。。。 I get it。 I doubt I’ll ever read it again。。。 but I do get it。
Stefanie
，
OK- it is now confirmed that I don't have the patience for Donna Tartt。 After reading the Goldfinch and finding that it was too long， too detailed， too many tangents， too slow。。。 I'm having the same experience with The Secret History。 It is tooo long， too slllloooowww， too many tangents， details， bunny trails。 I've been listening to audible and find myself zoning out for large chunks of time or wanting to yell， "who cares？！" She's obviously a gifted writer， but not my style of story-teller。 I fe OK- it is now confirmed that I don't have the patience for Donna Tartt。 After reading the Goldfinch and finding that it was too long， too detailed， too many tangents， too slow。。。 I'm having the same experience with The Secret History。 It is tooo long， too slllloooowww， too many tangents， details， bunny trails。 I've been listening to audible and find myself zoning out for large chunks of time or wanting to yell， "who cares？！" She's obviously a gifted writer， but not my style of story-teller。 I feel like she should publish abridged versions of her books for the impatient folks like me！ Also。。。 I found the characters completely unlikable， had no connection with any of them， and it didn't help that Donna Tartt herself is the narrator and I found her character voices totally irritating。 With over 8 hours left， I gave up。 I don't even care how it ends。。。 （Mind you， there are 8 hours left after I already listened to FOURTEEN HOURS！！！！） 。。。more
Matison Baker
，
I really enjoyed this book。 I loved the writing and how intense the writing was。 I feel like it wasn’t like every other thrill novel I’ve read。 I loved the layout and the characters，I loved the length of the book and I actually like how the novel ended as well。 I definitely recommend。
Chlo
，
Dark academia aesthetics， deeply flawed and interesting characters， and a plot that was strange and fascinating。 A bit on the pretentious side at times， but the language Tartt uses is beautiful and enjoyable to read
Miranda
，
This book is expertly written。 It reminded me a lot of the show， "How to Get Away with Murder。" The plot and characters were both so complex and well developed， and finishing the novel I came away thinking， "it couldn't have ended any other way。" This book is expertly written。 It reminded me a lot of the show， "How to Get Away with Murder。" The plot and characters were both so complex and well developed， and finishing the novel I came away thinking， "it couldn't have ended any other way。" 。。。more
Sharon Clark
，
Beautiful and heartbreaking， sort of like the theme that runs through the story: Beauty is harsh。I'll keep this review vague， so as not to reveal any spoilers。I love the writing style， the rich descriptions， the widely-varied characters。 Although certain scenes seemed unnecessary and didn't really move the story forward， they were wonderful and beautifully written。 There was one character that I expected to play a much larger role in the story， but I must have misunderstood the synopsis。 The cha Beautiful and heartbreaking， sort of like the theme that runs through the story: Beauty is harsh。I'll keep this review vague， so as not to reveal any spoilers。I love the writing style， the rich descriptions， the widely-varied characters。 Although certain scenes seemed unnecessary and didn't really move the story forward， they were wonderful and beautifully written。 There was one character that I expected to play a much larger role in the story， but I must have misunderstood the synopsis。 The characters were fascinating， well-drawn， and deeply flawed in different ways。 But I don't know that I ever emotionally connected to any of them， not even the narrator。 Maybe that's just me。 Regardless， I definitely recommend this book and enjoyed it thoroughly！ 。。。more
Natalie
，
I really enjoyed this， though the sheer length of the book made it a challenge。 The book left lots of loose ends that got me thinking in a good way - about Julian's true role， how our circle of friends influence our lives， and how our parents and finances can help or hinder。 I really enjoyed this， though the sheer length of the book made it a challenge。 The book left lots of loose ends that got me thinking in a good way - about Julian's true role， how our circle of friends influence our lives， and how our parents and finances can help or hinder。 。。。more
Saga Skeppström
，
DETTA är en läsvärd bok， känns som att jag själv gjort mig skyldig till mord。
Ashleigh
，
Just brilliant。
Lisa notes
，
While Tartt’s writing is good and the story is told well， I never grew to like a single character。 I was ambivalent at best about each of the college students and at worst I disliked most of them altogether。 I like to have someone I can pull for in a novel but there was no one here。
Sallema
，
check out my book review on youtube！-this book gaslighted me。 i have so much to say。 check out my book review on youtube！-this book gaslighted me。 i have so much to say。 。。。more
Aliarana Salsabilla
，
I was very curious about the contents of this book because it was heavily popular on Tumblr。 I've searched for this book since I was in high school but this book isn't commercially available in my country。 I was really surprised when my boyfriend imported this book as my bday gift。Since I didn't read the synopsis （I tend to do that for it to be a surprise）， I was rather shocked that it was about greek literature， drunk posh college students， and murder。 I myself am a literature student so the me I was very curious about the contents of this book because it was heavily popular on Tumblr。 I've searched for this book since I was in high school but this book isn't commercially available in my country。 I was really surprised when my boyfriend imported this book as my bday gift。Since I didn't read the synopsis （I tend to do that for it to be a surprise）， I was rather shocked that it was about greek literature， drunk posh college students， and murder。 I myself am a literature student so the mentions of greek and latin literature here and there was intriguing to say the least。The dictions are a bit heavy for me （english is my second language even if i'm fluent）， but the story was great。 I love how the author portrays each character， they're all so distinct and unique so I didn't have a hard time memorizing them。 At first， I didn't understand how can anyone hate Bunny， but as the story goes on， it was vividly obvious。 I can understand why this book is often recommended。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Secret History
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Secret History&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Secret History&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0