The Secret History

559 pages

English language

Published March 28, 2004 by Vintage Contemporaries.

ISBN:
978-1-4000-3170-2
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4 stars (3 reviews)

Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at an elite New England college discover a way of thinking and living that is a world away from the humdrum existence of their contemporaries. But when they go beyond the boundaries of normal morality they slip gradually from obsession to corruption and betrayal, and at last - inexorably - into evil.

12 editions

Cold, calculating fiction.

5 stars

Everything about this book is perfect, the writing flows beautifully and the plot is abhorrently complex. Donna Tarte pays perfect attention to events in the story, you can look back after all is revealed and see when these events happened, and what's most pleasant, is that it is hard to figure out why exactly the Murder takes place but you can still piece the story together just before all is revealed. The extensive reference to classical literature was a delight for me. Overall a thrilling read which I would recommend to anyone.

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4 stars
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3 stars

Subjects

  • Teacher-student relationships -- Fiction.
  • College students -- Fiction.
  • Classicists -- Fiction.
  • Murderers -- Fiction.
  • Vermont -- Fiction.