This is a spoiler-free review! A list of trigger warnings can be found here.
The opening line will have you hooked from the very beginning -- knowing that a student is dead and the narrator had something to do with it so explicitly before even knowing the main character's name feels as though you know a secret that you should not. You are not even familiar with the personal information about Richard, yet you are immediately privy to his deepest secret.
Our main characters include Richard, Henry, Charles, Camilla, Francais, and our deceased student, Bunny. It is quickly established in the story who exactly runs this social circle of exclusive Greek students, with the top of the hierarchy led by Henry, and everyone else following his every move and Latin conjugation. Unlike the rest of the group, Richard is not wealthy and comes to university on a scholarship in hopes of swapping out his pre-medical track for studying the classics and continuing his Greek education.
I found that as I read the story, the more angered towards Bunny I became. At first, he simply appears to be yet another pretentious classics student, but his flaws continue to unravel and reveal themselves as Richard becomes closer to him. As Richard recounts the events leading up to Bunny's death, we learn more about Bunny's character and his hateful views as he deceives the people he calls friends in an attempt to be viewed as part of the elite.
Obviously, murder is wrong and should not be condoned, but well... Bunny... had to go. He was a deceitful human being with racist, anti-semetic, homophobic, and bigoted views, and was mooching off of his friends in hopes that they would not even care that he would never pay a single cent. Bunny expected everyone to drop what they were doing in order to help him, whether it be take him to the eye doctor or cover his share of the tab for dinner. He was stuck in this endless cycle of living up to the facade he created for himself and constantly, in vain, attempted to top whatever eccentric story or adventure he previously told.
The infamous 100-page chapter is anything but a rumor, and perhaps contains the most in-depth detailing about all of the students and the way that they not only deal with grief and emotions, but how they respond to the environment that they so meticulously created. While this chapter is longer than the usual chapter found in books, I have to say that it flowed so well that you do not even notice it has been going on for so long. The specific events in the chapter require a lot of elaboration and detail, and Tartt does an excellent job in captivating the reader to hang onto every word.
Some of the most beautiful and insightful thoughts are shared in The Secret History, with Tartt incorporating influential classic figures with 1980s pop culture as college students are finding themselves and finding out what they are truly capable of. For a group of twenty-somethings, they are incredibly mature and show an understanding of complex viewpoints, while also showing the immaturity that is going through life as they attempt to find their purpose. Even after finishing this book, I find "beauty is terror" utterly simplistic yet profound -- who knew just three words could encompass such a intense notion that one must truly fear the final product.
The last 120 pages or so had my jaw dropping left an right -- some things had me shocked, and others had me surprised that Tartt had actually taken certain relationships to the level that she did. Everything ties together as you watch this group of amateur classicists reap the consequences of their actions and gain a much more finite understanding on not only death, but life.
I have to say that this book may not be for everyone -- as stated before, not only are the characters in this book pretentious, but so is the writing. You need to know what you are getting yourself into before starting this journey. As someone who loves the philosophy and took a number of classes in classics, I was ready to be reading the most pretentious book in the room. Riddled with morally grey characters with a knack for knocking people down a few pegs at every chance they get, Tartt creates a competitive environment that allows their egos to flourish and their rationale to go out the window as they embark on a Hellenistic journey.
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