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Loading... The Secret History (1992)by Donna Tartt
 usefuljack | May 17, 2013 |  I love this book. There is something comforting about its weirdness, and its wordiness, and its near-formulaic conclusion. What keeps it afloat is the language. I'm kind of in love with Donna Tartt. I'm rereading this, and deliberately taking my time so that I don't finish too quickly. (  ) usefuljack | May 17, 2013 | 'I suppose at one time in my life I might have had any number of stories, but now there is no other. This is the only story I will ever be able to tell.' I was pretty blown away at how much I enjoyed this. It took me almost an entire month to read (which is practically unheard of for me) but this is one that you definitely can't zoom right through in my opinion. Incredibly detailed and enthralling, I'm really glad that I paced myself and took my time because this is one to be savored. Truly compelling, you already know from the very first line what's to come: 'The snow in the mountains was melting and Bunny had been dead for several weeks before we came to understand the gravity of our situation.' All of the characters were vibrant and completely unforgettable. Despite knowing exactly what's to come, the beauty of this story is the slow unraveling process that the author takes you through, detailing each and every step the friends took to get to that final moment. I can definitely see why this one is considered a modern classic. ( )1  bonniemarjorie | May 7, 2013 | Initially I wasn't fond of the pace...but I came to terms with the subtley of the story. Although described as a murder mystery, I would say that it is more of a dissection of obsessions, both physical and in the ideal. Set in Vermont at a liberal arts college, five students study the classics with their doting yet narcissistic professor. Their study leads to a frightening night and all of them deal with the reprocussions for several months by lying, deceiving and further developing their bizarre relationship and codependence on one another. A codependence that becomes increasingly necessary as they try to resume what they perceive to be a normal life. What is real and what is manipulation becomes harder to sort as you go on..This is a book that needs some thought and a reread in the future and will not wrap up the story in a neat package at the end. (  ) MichelleCH | Apr 5, 2013 | I don't have time to write a real review of this right now. I will say this is not a book to read when you have no time to read which is what happened to me. I was extremely sad and all I wanted was some uninterrupted free time so I could hunker down with this one. ( ) E.J | Apr 3, 2013 |
 As a ferociously well-paced entertainment, ... "The Secret History" succeeds magnificently. Forceful, cerebral and impeccably controlled, "The Secret History" achieves just what Ms. Tartt seems to have set out to do: it marches with cool, classical inevitability toward its terrible conclusion.
Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0140167773, Paperback)Truly deserving of the accolade "Modern Classic", Donna Tartt's novel "The Secret History" is a remarkable achievement - both compelling and elegant, dramatic and playful. 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. "It takes my breath away". (Ruth Rendell). "Enthralling ...image the plot of Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment crossed with the story of Euripides' "Bacchae" set against the backdrop of Bret Easton Ellis' "The Rules of Attraction"...forceful, cerebral and impeccably controlled...ferociously well-paced...remarkably powerful". ("The New York Times"). Donna Tartt was born in Greenwood, Mississippi, and educated at the University of Mississippi and Bennington College. She is a novelist, essayist, and critic and author of "The Little Friend". "The Secret History" has been translated into twenty-four languages.(retrieved from Amazon Thu, 14 Feb 2013 13:45:41 -0500) Richard Papen had never been to New England before his nineteenth year. Then he arrived at Hampeden College and quickly became seduced by the sweet, dark rhythms of campus life -- in particular by an elite group of five students, Greek scholars, worldly, self-assured, and at first glance, highly unapproachable.… (more) |
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I'm rereading this, and deliberately taking my time so that I don't finish too quickly. (