The Secret History - Donna Tartt

The Secret History

By Donna Tartt

  • Release Date: 1992-09-05
  • Genre: Mysteries & Thrillers
Score: 4
4
From 2,174 Ratings
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Description

A READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK • ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE'S 100 BEST MYSTERY AND THRILLER BOOKS OF ALL TIME • INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER • A contemporary literary classic and "an accomplished psychological thriller ... absolutely chilling" (Village Voice), from the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Goldfinch.

One of The Atlantic’s Great American Novels of the Past 100 Years

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.

“A remarkably powerful novel [and] a ferociously well-paced entertainment . . . Forceful, cerebral, and impeccably controlled.” —The New York Times

Reviews

  • Incredible

    5
    By sauidzeee
    This book may not be for everyone as the story takes awhile to manifest. However, it is masterfully crafted to where the reader is sucked right into the story, feeling the anxiety, depression, discomfort, and absolute horror each character felt. It feels as though you actually lived the life of the main character. The writing style of this book is unique and makes disgusting seem beautiful.

  • Wanted to love but the characters are truly unlikeable

    3
    By GoGreenbaybeattheniners
    Loved The Goldfinch and wanted to read her first book but unfortunately I found the characters extremely unlikeable and a lot happened throughout the book only to have a very unsatisfying ending. It starts out slow and some parts involving the Greek literature can be dense and disengaging. Overall found that the characters had very little arcs and only got worse throughout the story. Our one chance for anything redeemable,to happen fell short and we were left with the only good character abruptly exiting. 3/5 stars for me.

  • One of my all time favorites now

    5
    By Livcarolyn
    Is it a crazy read and can be hard to get into for a bit? Yes. But it’s so beyond worth it.

  • Snooze fest

    2
    By jfhfudhxxtdchyf
    So boring

  • Ugh.

    2
    By Magnus666
    Really not sure what the story was or the point of any of it. I only finished it because I had nothing else to read.

  • Fantastic; one of the best books I’ve read

    5
    By csilveyh
    *spoilers* I thought it was masterfully done and I loved the unpredictable ending. Many books that I read seem to follow a formula and this one was completely unique and very well done. I thought that the investigation after Bunny’s death and watching the group fall apart was part of its genius. It was a book from a different point of view; the perspective of one of the murderers. The characters were phenomenal-realistic and believably flawed. It held me in rapt attention and I would 100% recommend for anyone to read.

  • Awful Don’t waste your time

    1
    By Christy333
    I wish I would have never read this book.

  • Beautiful

    5
    By Mac197803
    Such a wonderful journey of the English language.

  • The best book ever.

    4
    By [ podcast loser 34 ]
    I live this book and recommend it to all. The writing is a little hard to read. It used older words, but I think most people can get past that. I believe I’m a quick reader, this book took me a little longer than a week to read. I gave this book to my friend and she is enjoying to so far. The book can be kind of depressing. I thought it was amazingly writing, and the plot is wonderful!! This is a must read!

  • My favorite modern author

    5
    By Samuraic4t
    Life is beautiful, infinitely flawed, and Donna Tartt knows how to take a sliver of the world and magnify it for us to feel with all of our senses and emotions. Her writing voice is so enchanting, how she uses foreshadowing to keep the pages turning, she could make a recipe book into a cliff hanger. Read her books when you won’t be interrupted too often or you will get crabby.😉

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