The Secret History

I found this book confusing and very hard to follow. I only finished it because of my book club, otherwise I would have put it down after the first few chapters. It was pure torture to finish and a huge relief when it was over.

THE quintessential dark academia novel that is also a satirical take on the genre. Witty and heart racing, had me on the edge of my seat. The story follows Richard Papen, a classics student at an artsy Vermont college who gets taken in by a closed off group of other classics students and an eclectic professor. In the style of the Iliad, it starts at the height of the conflict: they’ve just murdered one of their classmates. The rest of the story unravels what led them to this point and how hubris and the “longing for the picturesque” played a part in Richard’s involvement.

3.5 stars because I feel so guilty.

I haven't been this upset that I didn't love a book in a long time. The Secret History is one of my daughter's favorite books, some of my favorite authors love this book, so why didn't I love it?? I really don't know. I really liked The Goldfinch and I fully expected to like this one even more, but it just didn't happen. I feel like The Goldfinch was more tightly executed, the plot more defined. With The Secret History I felt... held at arms length?? Which I know is the point. I think I just wanted more answers, more intimacy with the characters. I didn't care that they were all horrible; Wuthering Heights is one of my favorite classics. I love a good book with despicable characters. I don't know. Maybe I never will.

#popsugarreadingchallenge2019 (prompt #17)

I don't know if I'll ever return with a long review (perhaps a paper or two I might end up publishing), given there's plenty, but I will say: this book has changed my life, and funnily enough, I read it after The Goldfinch, and didn't particularly like it. This was because I had read them too close together and had expectations. Becoming aware of this unconscious act, I took a break and shook off those comparisons I'd found myself making to let this story be separate and bloom in its own right. After doing so, that's when I became just as immersed in it as I had with The Goldfinch. Now, I find myself embracing myself more fully, and right after reading it, becoming indulgent with my interests in writing, reading, philosophy, and the Classics, I found my calling as well as myself, fully, and accepted all. Not many novels can help us in such life-changing ways, but this one absolutely calls us to examine ourselves and the world, honestly, and because of this, it does just that, changes the reader, that is, if we're bold enough to accept that call to adventure.

If you love this book and Homer, I highly recommend "Why Homer Matters" by Adam Nicolson! If Henry could have read it, I think he would have enjoyed it a great deal.

This book has become a favorite of mine, which I've read a few times over now as a comfort in changing seasons spiral into excessive thinking. It somehow both excites and soothes me.

Embodied exactly what I love about dark academia. Pretentious and obsessive characters. Dark story line. Constantly unsure of the direction of the book.