THE SECRET HISTORY by DONNA TARTT
THE SECRET HISTORY by DONNA TARTT
The cleverest thing about this book is that most of the action is told through dialogue. I think there are only two occasions when the protagonist is actually experiencing the action for himself. This only made the book more unique, however.
You could call this a murder mystery but not because the murder is a mystery. The reader knows exactly who has been murdered and how and by whom on the first page of the book. Instead, the mystery lies within the goings on and personalities of the members of an elite group of Greek Scholars.
I remember from The Goldfinch absolutely loving reading about the lavish lifestyles of Tartt’s characters and this book delivers once again on that front. The characters are super rich and privileged (apart from the protagonist) and I particularly enjoyed their names; Laura Stora, Cloke Rayburn, twins named Charles and Camilla, Judy Poovey to name a few!
With the popularity of Greek myth retelling in recent years and my subsequent love for them, I found the Greek references in this novel extremely thrilling. I thought it was very clever on the writer’s part and allowed her to make some interesting links and foreshadowing.
In short, I think this is a very important piece of literature. All of the characters were extremely well-written and I missed their presence when they weren’t around.
I know I’m late to the party, but has anyone else read this and have a strong opinion one way or the other?
The cleverest thing about this book is that most of the action is told through dialogue. I think there are only two occasions when the protagonist is actually experiencing the action for himself. This only made the book more unique, however.
You could call this a murder mystery but not because the murder is a mystery. The reader knows exactly who has been murdered and how and by whom on the first page of the book. Instead, the mystery lies within the goings on and personalities of the members of an elite group of Greek Scholars.
I remember from The Goldfinch absolutely loving reading about the lavish lifestyles of Tartt’s characters and this book delivers once again on that front. The characters are super rich and privileged (apart from the protagonist) and I particularly enjoyed their names; Laura Stora, Cloke Rayburn, twins named Charles and Camilla, Judy Poovey to name a few!
With the popularity of Greek myth retelling in recent years and my subsequent love for them, I found the Greek references in this novel extremely thrilling. I thought it was very clever on the writer’s part and allowed her to make some interesting links and foreshadowing.
In short, I think this is a very important piece of literature. All of the characters were extremely well-written and I missed their presence when they weren’t around.
I know I’m late to the party, but has anyone else read this and have a strong opinion one way or the other?
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