The Secret History: A Read with Jenna Pick

by Donna Tartt

[roundtableknight]

"Forgive me, for all the things I did but mostly for the ones that I did not."
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Rating: 5/5 stars (read June 27th 2020)
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The thing is, if someone were to ask what happened in this book that made me love it so much and rush through like I was in a hazy sort of dream—I wouldn't know what to say. This book is if you were inebriated; it's a book that the pages rush past mundanely, but by the end all you can say about it is the most poetic, scary, and awful parts that you can't help but love. Richard, as a protagonist, isn't a very good main character in terms of a growth in himself, but the story he tells is definitely one to remember. I honestly don't know how Donna Tartt manages to write stories that hold you close and don't let go even when the curtains have fallen and the story's over. And Francis. I could write a thesis on his character, but I need to reread the book again to do that—which I very much plan to.

So, in essence, I implore you to read this book: if not for the characters, lush details, and an amazing author—then for a story you will never forget.