"We think we have many desires, but in fact we have only one. What is it?"
"To live," said Camilla. "To live forever."
This book has me gasping. I’ve never read anything quite
like it; extraordinary, compelling, gorgeously written, absolutely exquisite.
If you’ve ever watched and loved Dead Poets Society or –
and more similarly so – Kill Your Darlings, then this book is absolutely for
you.
Now, I’m not a huge fan of thrillers, mostly because I’m
never thrilled or surprised, I ALWAYS end up knowing who did what and how the
book’s gonna end.
The Secret History was different.
Firstly because you know someone is going to die, or better,
murdered, and second because you know who did it, well, kind of. So, I hear you
asking, WHAT’S THE POINT? The point, my friends is that you get to read about
amazing, compelling characters and a story like no others.
It’s not really about who did it, but mostly why, the
reasons behind such a cruel act, the what
happens next, the being on your toes all the time is quite the thrilling
part of it all. Also, the obsession these college students have for the Greeks,
almost kinda finding themselves feeling above all others, above the students,
almost like gods that could do anything, even depriving someone of their life.
You know how in movies, they make this difference between the mortal characters
and the gods, making them appear larger, taller, massively so, well, in this
book it’s the way the walk, the way they talk that makes the difference between
them, the elite and all the rest. And
then there’s Richard Pappin, out narrator who finds himself in this group of
people but never really feeling like he belongs there with them, always sure of
the privilege he has of walking on Campus with those characters but never
really quite reach them.
And yet, all of them seems so drawn to Richard, maybe
because he’s so different from them, so unsure, so common, almost a mortal
among gods that they ask for his opinion, they want him to give them advice and
they quite enjoy his company.
And while we’re at it, why don’t we talk about these
shameless characters, always striving to find the next perfect greek quote. You
see, I’m warning you, you will love them ALL. That’s the whole point.
We never like all the characters in one book, there’s always
one you really despise, one you don’t care much about but not this time. You
will learn to understand them, to pity them, to sympathize with them but never
to hate them, even when things get a bit bloody – and believe me, that happens
a lot and in the most delicious kinda creepy ways – even when they start
getting annoying, you love them, you just do and you will feel frustrated
because you won’t understand why and that’s gonna drive you mad.
If we are strong enough in our souls we can rip away the veil and look that naked, terrible beauty right in the face; let God consume us, devour us, unstring our bones.
Then spit us reborn.
But the beautiful writing is what struck me the most. It’s
full of details that, normally, would never appeal me but Tartt writes them in
such a lyrical way that you end up wanting for more. They don’t bore you to
death, instead, they intertwine with the story in such an inevitable way that
almost feels like you need those details in order to understand the story – you
really don’t and yet, they are beautiful and makes you feel like you’re in
Vermont, in Hampden College among that group of dangerous yet charming friends.
You will definitely feel a little lost though, due to the
constant references of Greek and some archaic language that, unless you learned
Greek or Latin in school, will make you feel like you’re losing the grip in
the story. But that’s not a letdown, ever. They’re frequent but put so
cleverly inside chunks of dialogues that it’s almost like you understand the
meaning of all that, even if you’ve never taken a Greek or Latin class.
Oh and let's talk about the ending!!!!
Alright, let's not because I feel like it's the best part of the book, it will rip your heart out and make you beg for more and scream "but why!" while you're crying and re-reading it a couple hundred times.
This book will stay with you for a very long time.
If you noticed, I haven’t quite told you anything about the
story, that was intentional. I jumped on this book barely knowing anything, I
haven’t read reviews or watched videos, I only trusted some people in the
bookstagram community that said The Secret History is their favourite book and
kinda went with it. That is all you need, truly.
Sometimes it’s better to jump in the unknown and being
surprised than knowing details and ruining the whole process.
Overall, this is a masterpiece that deserves to be read at
least once, even just to say “Oh, that book? I’ve read it! All 600 pages!” or just to
add one more book to your Goodreads challenge cause, we all know you’re a lil' bit behind, aren’t you? Ah!
5/5 ✰
