Review: The Secret History

The Secret History by Donna Tartt
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

For starters: this book is considered one of the main precursors of the Dark academia genre, so it gets points for that.

That said, the first half captivated me more than the second half, which played out more predictably than I'd have liked. I was expecting more Bacchae and less of... the way this Redditor puts it:

"I went to the twins' and smoked a cigarette while Francis and Henry drank whisky. Then Camilla batted her eyes at me and i blushed, then Charles smoked a cigarette. When i woke up in the morning I was filled with an indescribable terror. Then i grabbed a beer and did some coke with Judy. The leaves with on the trees outside looked pretty. Later at Henry's we talked about who said what to who at which time while we all drank scotch and flirted with each other. After wards i smoked a cigarette. After that, I smoked another cigarette." repeat 100× and you will have written "The Secret History" verbatim.

Okay seriously though, the characters are all unlikeable but intentionally so as to make the plot somehow compelling enough to remain a page-turner... unless you can't stand pretentious self-obsessed people which is also equally valid. But I'll admit there is a certain forbidden kind of appeal in the clique, especially if you buy into the narrator's perspective (hint: he's not an impartial observer here).

I just wish there were more of the fantastical element suggested in the first half. For a story inspired by Greek mythology, the actual fallout feels a lot more mundane and grounded in modern-day academia in comparison and made me wish I were reading real mythology instead. There is probably a thematic reason for this to be honest, but that doesn't make it feel any less disappointing given the sparks I saw during some of the first half's big revelations.