The Secret History

The Secret History Book Review 

My biggest complaint of the last few books I’ve read is that there hasn’t been enough character development. There’s been plenty of plot, ample action, and steamy sex scenes, but nowhere near enough character progression and interactions.

Thankfully, The Secret History has character development in. One might argue that character interaction is the only thing The Secret History has and they wouldn’t be entirely wrong. 

The Secret History by Donna Tartt is a book I’ve been wanting to read for a very long time. It has a host of things I really adore: dark academia, a close-knit friend group, an appreciation for Greek and Roman literature, and complex characters whose morally gray choices make them intriguing, yet grotesque. 

The whole plot of The Secret History can be boiled down to this: California outcast, Richard Papen, decides that attending a rural Vermont college called Hampden is the solution to all his life’s problems and an escape from his abusive father and careless mother.

There, he becomes intrigued by a secluded group of students that study Greek under the illustrious tutelage of Professor Julian Morrow. 

Obsessed, he eventually gains entrance into this sequestered group and becomes embroiled in the drama, tension, and attraction that saturates the group members at all times.

A number of the group attempts to revive a bacchanal, returning to their violent and primal urges. During a successful bout of this Greek tradition, a local farmer is brutally murdered–by them. Citing that they were out of their minds, they bury the man and go about their lives with the public completely unaware. 

However, one member of this special group, Edmund “Bunny” Corcoran, catches on and becomes increasingly agitated and volatile. Not only because he was left out of the horrific activities, but also because a man was killed and no one was facing consequences.

Fearing that he’ll tattle on them and expose their crime, Henry, one member of the group, convinces the others to kill Bunny. 

They succeed, rather easily actually, and what follows is the disintegration of their lives as a result. It is a brutal and raw dismantling of their mental health, their relationships, their futures, and their happiness, all derived from this one act that seemed too easy at the time. 

Seeing as Bunny is killed only a third of the way into the book, I thought much more was in store for the characters plot-wise. But instead of focusing on crazy shenanigans and shallow action, Tartt devotes her time to the characters and the slow loss of their humanity and grasp on the present through a deluge of addiction, bad choices, and gnawing guilt. 

The process is so slow and grueling that you don’t even notice how terrible things are for the character’s until it’s too late. 

The second thing I’ll note outside of the plot is Tartt’s writing. I think she’s a great writer.

She has some really poignant lines that made my breath grow thin. They were so beautiful and apt for the particular moment in the story which made me really appreciate her writing style.

However, her writing was a lot more contemporary and easy to follow than I was expecting for someone who garnered so much attention for her novel The Goldfinch. 

The characters themselves were the stars of this novel. My biggest criticism of Fourth Wing, the last book I read, was that all of the characters were either perfect angels or the most vehement of villains. The Secret History is the opposite.

All of the characters make abhorrent choices, but despite this I don’t think they’re evil (even though you very much could categorize them this way).

The reason I don’t automatically see them as terrible people is because Tartt does such a good job of highlighting their humanity. She describes their frustrations, desires, interests, and the good moments of genuine trust, friendship, and affection between the group and not just the duress, ire, and violence.

This dichotomy is difficult to achieve and yet Tartt does it so well. 

My only slight criticism of this book is Richard, the main character. Richard is very much a bystander to the events around him and seeing the novel through his eyes is both enriching and frustrating. Richard, far more than the others, seems closed off, reticent, and ignorant.

As the last member to join Julian’s select sect, he comes into the group not quite knowing all the nuances and histories that the others do.

This makes the reader simultaneously feel like they’re on the journey with Richard, but also out of the loop for many of the inside jokes, pointed comments, or tense altercations, especially as Richard himself doesn’t always ask for clarification, details, or explanations. 

Richard, while he does take part in the murder of Bunny, isn’t involved in the bacchanal and is only included in fragments in the drama to come afterwards. It’s an intriguing part on Tartt’s behalf that she chose to write from Richard’s POV, one I’m not sure I agree with. 

The other characters outside of Richard are both fleshed out and oddly shallow. I know characteristics of all of the members of the group, but would have difficulty describing any of them to an outsider who hasn’t read the story.

There’s Henry, Bunny, Charles, Camilla, and Francis. As a writer myself I know how difficult it is to flesh out multiple characters. I don’t think Tartt did the worst job, but I also think she could have done better at giving me an idea of who these people are at their core. 

There are a slew of side characters that expand the setting, breathe life into the school, and make for more robust conversations and interactions, but none of them are super significant.

However, I don’t get the impression that they’re meant to be. They’re side characters, stay side characters, and play their role as needed. The main characters of the group are what matter and that is shown bright and clear with every page. 

The Secret History is a good read. I’m not quite sure what expectations I had of this book and if they lived up to it, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

It wasn’t a frenetic read that made me unable to put it down, but every time I picked up the book, I found myself engaged and completely sucked in. 

Recommendation: If you liked We Were Villains by M.L. Rio and Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo, then you will like The Secret History. In fact, you might like The Secret History even more because it’s considered the original of all these dark academia stories to begin with. Try it. You won’t regret it. I know I certainly didn’t. 

Score: 8/10