The Secret History: A Read with Jenna Pick: A Novel

Donna Tartt

Oct 2011 · Sold by Vintage

About this ebook

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

Ratings and reviews

This is one of the best novels I have ever read. Tartt masterfully creates a myriad of complex, intriguing characters who weave a web of mystery and the outre throughout. A great suspense novel that doesn't rely on cheap tropes or hackneyed cliche, this is a thoroughly satisfying read.

First of all, I'm glad I read this after reading "The Goldfinch." I absolutely loved the latter book, and I was a bit disappointed to see such stark similarities in the plot and themes presented in the two books (awful harbored secret, surrogate father figure, unrequited love interest, illness-in-a-foreign-country sequence, somewhat tragic but mostly drab epilogue). Donna Tartt is a brilliant wordsmith, but the endings of her books feel like she just gets tired and quits. Plus she dissed Lynyrd Skynyrd.

The Secret History is well-written but seems to drag at some points. The alcohol, more alcohol, excessive alcohol, and then more alcohol were a stretch and downright distracting. How did these young people get so much booze? How did they manage to not get kicked out of college? Why are male and female students allowed to freely roam from room to room in the dorms? What the hell happened at the baccanal? I was so distracted by these burning unrealistic details that I couldn't concentrate on more important events. I wanted to find one character to like, but they're all selfish, snobbish, entitled, elitist, horrible brats. I think Bunny might have felt considered himself lucky to die and escape a life with these jerks.

About the author

DONNA TARTT is the author of the novels The Secret History, The Little Friend, and The Goldfinch. Her work has been published in forty languages and her third novel, The Goldfinch, was awarded the Carnegie Medal and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.