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Loading... The Secret History (original 1992; edition 1993)by Donna Tartt
Work detailsThe Secret History by Donna Tartt (1992)
 mumfie | Jun 14, 2013 |  This was a really good novel. The story revolves around a close group of friends in college who have all the cockiness and brashness of ... college kids! They end up committing a horrible crime and their lives just unravel. It reminded me a little of Lord of the Flies, but with college kids who drink too much. Well written and fast paced. I definitely enjoyed it, but I'm not sure why it made it to the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die. (  ) jmoncton | Jun 3, 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 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 |
 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) (summary from another edition) |
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Wikipedia in English (1)
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Our central character is poor but bright and joins an elite group of five rich students studying classics under a tutor they hero-worship.
Knowledge of a shared accidental murder leads to the deliberate murder of one of the group and the consequences thereof.
I'm not sure I get emotionally involved with any of the characters.
They feel no remorse at the first killing, only concern as to how that discovery may mess up their lives. Much like Catcher in the Rye, I feel the characters are totally alien. Maybe there are such people, but I don't relate to them and don't want to relate to them.
This stops me from enjoying what is a well written and interesting book. (