Book Bytes: "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt

Genre:

Fiction : Murder Mystery

Story blurb:

The Secret History by Donna Tartt is a gripping(?) murder story narrated through the eyes of Richard Papen, one of six close-knit classics students. Years after the events, Richard reflects on the chain of events that led to the murder of their friend, Edmund "Bunny" Corcoran. As the story unfolds, we’re drawn into the secrets and tensions within their isolated group, revealing how Bunny’s death forever altered their lives.

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐💫 (3.5 / 5)

A quick spoiler-free review:

Trigger warnings: Abuse, violence, anti-religious, racism, sexism, homophobia.

I added this book in my TBR ever since I read about it in an "List of Banned books" article. I picked this up to shutdown the nagging voice in my head to read a banned book and pat myself on the shoulder. Ended up doing the same, not because I read a good book but rather for pushing myself through to finish it. The whole book is divided into 2 parts in itself. Book 1 recounts Richard's memories on the setting of the situations, characters, and tiny but significant moments leading up to the murder. Can't lie, it was gripping for sure. Thanks to the effort in the details poured in by the author. But over the course of the book, we know who committed the murder and how. The "mystery" of the book dissolves. Only one loose end to tie is where do they all end up after the kill. The mystery lingering around the personality impacts of each of the character is what hooks you to read further. Enter, book 2. Slow paced, irrelevant scenes, dragged unnecessarily with investigation into Bunny's murder leading up to nowhere. The conclusion of the story was totally unsatisfactory to me. I mean, you killed a (or more than one) person, how can you write an ending that is open to a reader's interpretation and provides no closure to the actions of the characters? Maybe, that per se is the "secret history" that author wants to leave the readers with, which is cruel in my opinion.

The writing style is what kept me going, honestly. Descriptive imagery, heavy visuals brought to the words with such elegance and ease. Even the dark scenes were written with such horrific details that it submerges you into a clear visuals of what the author wants you to experience in a weird sadistic way. There are a lot of Greek dialogues & references in the book that throws you off if you don't have a background of Greek literature.

Overall, I believe the story ends in book 1 and book 2 is just a filler. Maybe the last 10 pages of book 2 should have been after the book 1. But the writing style deserves a read recommendation for sure.

Some of my highlighted quotes in the book:

In short: I felt my existence was tainted, in some subtle but essential way.

...the hallmark of the modern mind is that it loves to wander from its subject)

"We don't like to admit it," said Julian, "but the idea of losing control is one of that fascinates controlled people such as ourselves more than anything."

To be absolutely free! One is quite capable, of course, of working out these destructive passions in more vulgar and less efficient ways. But how glorious to release them in a single burst! To sing, to scream, to dance barefoot in the woods in the dead of night, with no more awareness of mortality than an animal! These are powerful mysteries.