The Secret History - Donna Tartt

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I remember reading this book many years ago and loving it so much that I bought my mum a copy for her birthday. I like buying her books. Once she had a copy in her hand, I knew I wanted to reread it so we could experience it together, hence the re-read.

Synopsis

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 everyday morality, they slip gradually from obsession to corruption and betrayal and, at last—inexorably—into evil.

Impressions

The stars will show you that I love this book, and if you have never read it, I urge you to pick up a copy. Many people have said it is hard to get into, and I can see why they say this. If I had one piece of advice for you, power through the first 100 pages, and then you will be hooked. There are lots of references to other literature, especially Greek classic literature. If you do not get the references, then don’t worry, as they are not essential to the plot.

The book deals with three main themes, the first of which is the difference between the classes. For example, the rich whose parents paid them to be there and Richard, a scholarship child. Remembering that this book was set in the 1980s, there seemed to be a far greater class divide at university.

The flip of this is the rich kids believe that if the jury were made up of poorer people, then they would not get a fair trial because there was a genuine dislike between classes.

We also look at families that have lost their wealth and how they protect this by getting into debt and hustling their friends. However, the cruellest person to Richard is Bunny, whose father is not as wealthy as he thinks. This shows that those who lose their class are the hardest on those in the lower classes.

This brings its problems. Richard feels he doesn’t fit anywhere. When he hangs with the rich kids, the poor don’t want to know him. He doesn’t fit into either group. However, when he is with the poor, he seems to have a better time. He feels he is stuck with these rich friends because of what they did together, even though, in the end, he may not want to be.

Another theme in the book centres around their teacher, Julian. Julian believes that his students should only learn from him, which means they will only get his point of view and not others.

The students all love Julian because he has made himself their only contact. He is possibly gay and has relationships with students; he befriends them in an unprofessional manner. He seems to take students in who have a poor home life regardless of financial status so that they fall in love with him, someone who pays them attention. He is the most dangerous of all of them.

Julian is like one of those people that’ll pick all his favourite chocolates out of the box and leave the rest.

Intertwined with both these themes are those of sexuality and the experimentation that went on in the 80s. There are many references, most of them unfavourably to gay relationships. Bunny, one of the main characters, is undoubtedly homophobic, which may have turned the others against him more, as all the others appear to have a more liberal mind on sex.

It represents the time, with one of the main characters marrying a female because that was the thing to do in the 1980s, even though clearly gay.

Other thoughts struck me when I read this book; for example, I wondered if it may be slightly autobiographical. Tartt started this book whilst she was at college, and the college in the book has strong similarities to the one she attended. She is an elusive figure, so it is unclear what her sexuality is and whether she was exploring some of the feelings she had in college through her characters.

I also question whether one of the characters in the book, Henry, was autistic. He showed signs of this in some things he said and did. Again, in the 80s, autism was not a widely spoken-about condition.

These themes do not differ from the fact that this is an excellent read; it will keep you on the edge of your seat as you travel with this group of six through college life.

Two-Sentence Summary

This is a modern Dickens that will keep you engrossed for hours. It will also leave you in a reading slump afterwards, as nothing compares.

The dirty snow was pockmarked from the warm rain, and melting in patches to expose the slimy, yellowed grass beneath it; icicles cracked and plunged like daggers from the sharp peaks of the roofs.