Title: The Secret HistoryAuthor: Donna Tartt
Published: April 13, 2015
Series or Standalone: Standalone
Hardback or Paperback: Paperback
Acquired: Bought new from Books a Million
Pages: 559
Rating: 5 stars
Summary:
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 they slip gradually from obsession to corruption and betrayal, and at last - inexorably - into evil.
Review:
I found out about this book from Choncey Boddington who has a YouTube channel when she just raved about how much she loved this book. Since we have similar taste in books her opinion was one that I trusted and I knew that I needed to check this book out. I would just like to say that the synopsis on the back is amazing, how could you not want to read this book?
The story starts out confessing the crime that the group of students committed and then jumps back in time to give the events that lead up to the fateful night. By the time that the actual crime happens the reader is fully engrossed in the character's state of mind and can feel the waves of emotion coming off the page. The author did an amazing job with her characterization, even some of the more minor characters just have such addicting personalities that the reader can't help but feel for all of them. While at first the amount of drinking and drugs seems a bit excessive and over exaggerated when I got to thinking about it I could bring to mind a few friends from college who were big partiers. By the end of the book I felt like the characters had always been apart of my life and I could feel my own emotions intertwining with theirs.
In addition to the amazing characterization is a glimpse into the multiple codes of moral conduct that are called into question and the different ways that people deal with grief. The book touches on a variety of topics including murder, incest, addiction, and abuse which are handled differently by each character. Some of them slip into a deeper depression and turn to other evils to help alleviate their pain while other characters are disturbingly awakened by the evil that they commit. While this is disturbing and slightly unnerving it is still believable. That is what makes this book so haunting is that the characters are so well done that they could be people in your everyday life. It calls into question just how well you actually know someone and what lengths they might go to in order to protect themselves and their own interests.
I highly recommend this book and I want to pick up more by this author.
Happy Reading!
No comments:
Post a Comment