An ancient Greek ritual performed by college students gone wrong. Murder. Drugs. Money. At its core, “The Secret History” by Donna Tart is enchanting, eccentric, and deliciously evil. You might recognize the name Donna Tart from her other well-known book, “The Goldfinch”. Many don’t realize that “The Secret History” is her first novel. It was published in September 1992.
The book is told from the perspective of Richard Papen, a Californian native who attends a small, isolated college in New England. There, he becomes mesmerized by a group of five students who study the Classics under the guidance of Professor Julian Morrow. Richard soon learns about the enchanting lives and peculiar personalities of each of the pupils. Henry Winter, dark and brooding, is serious and intelligent. Edmund Corcoran, nicknamed “Bunny,” is charming, impulsive, and naive. Francis Abernathy, is a freakish and fashionable red-head. Camilla and Charles, elegant and well-spoken, are a pair of twins that never leave each other’s side. After an encounter with each of them in the library, Richard soon becomes a member of their corrupted yet hypnotizing world, joining their “cult” of Greek literature.
Richard, who barely managed to pay for Tart’s fictional college through financial aid, is forced to participate in the extravagances and glamor that each of the privileged and elite students are used to. Although startling at first, Richard finds himself falling in love with the lifestyle that the scholars create for him. However, after Richard learns that his classmates performed an old and seemingly impossible Dionysian ritual, matters take a turn for the worst.
What stands out about the book the most is Donna Tart’s romantic, yet somber, writing style. Readers find themselves cheering on the characters, even when they commit morally wrong acts. Richard is undeniably an unreliable narrator, providing information that is seemingly wrong and distorted. The author’s descriptions of weather are extremely pleasant to read. Tart perfectly captures each of the seasons. She changes from having a more whimsical writing style when the book is set in the fall, to having a melancholic style in the winter, and finally, a cheerful and optimistic style in the spring and summer.
Despite being written in the 1990s, the book does offer a more radical perspective compared to other, more conservative, pieces of literature. However, this does not mean that “The Secret History” doesn’t have its flaws. The book is blatantly homophobic, racist, and oddly sexual at points where it is not necessary to the plot. Sometimes, I found that these comments were necessary to show character’s personas (for example, there is a scene where Bunny makes fun of a server’s “queer” behavior to show off his bigoted personality), but other than that, these plot points don’t add anything to the book other than overt weirdness.
A big critic readers had with “The Secret History” was its lack of reality. At times, the characters felt more like monsters as opposed to college students. Although, I found this made the book even more interesting. The book highlights themes of obsession, death, beauty, elitism, isolation, and paranoia. As opposed to hiding guilty pleasures and secrets, “The Secret History” preaches one should embrace them.
Another thing I loved about this book was how it intellectually challenged me. Multiple times throughout the book, Donna Tart actually uses Greek phrases without translation and discusses real Greek Classics in a mature, intuitive way.
This book is perfect for a crisp, autumn morning. Sometimes, it can take me a while to finish a good book, but I found “The Secret History” so engaging I was able to finish it in just a couple of days. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a quirky, strange novel for the fall season.
