This Paperback Book item from Vintage was reviewed on 18-Oct-2008.
Search ISBN:1400031702 offer from Abebooks or used books from Alibris. The Secret History Reference Book. Classifications : General AAS Literature Humanities New & Used Textbooks Custom Stores Specialty Stores Books General AAS New & Used Textbooks Custom Stores Specialty Stores Books General AAS Qualifying Textbooks Custo . Click the following link to view the cover of The Secret History. Related topics: General AAS. Literature. Humanities. Custom Stores. Specialty Stores. Books. General AAS. Custom Stores. Specialty Stores. Books. requestid: 5a5ab38c-d711-4cf3-954d-11a98cfbe881
requestprocessingtime: 0.0873120000000000
salesrank: 5544
numberofitems: 1
packagedimensions: 100780105520
1) Paperback Book The Secret History by Vintage. I love this book. I bought it many years ago and recently gave a copy to my best friend and teenage daughter. They both thought it was a remarkable book as well. I won´t go into detail about the characters or plots, as others have done, but it is a FAVORITE book of mine.¤ 2) Paperback Book The Secret History by Vintage. I have just completed reading this novel for a second time, having initially read it shortly after it was first published. Then, as now, I simply did not want it to end; and each time I put it aside, I did so reluctantly. The rarely seen, but always present force behind this novel is Julian, a classics teacher at an elite school in Vermont. Around him gathers a small cadre of select students. His students, all wealthy or pretending to be so, take courses almost exclusively from Julian ( a fitting name, for it was the Roman Emperor Julian who tried unsuccessfully to rekindle in an increasingly Christian Rome, worship of the fading, old Gods of the pre-Christian world). In The Secret History, Julian´s students commit a ritualistic murder, seen by them as a sacrifice of sorts, and, then, murder one of their own circle who is perceived as being on the verge of disclosing their crime. Ms. Tartt´s description of the family dynamics at the home of the fallen student prior to his funeral is richly detailed, yielding a level of authenticity that tenaciously absorbs the reader. Each of the students in her novel is convincingly described, and each in depth. We find Henry, for example, Julian´s prize pupil, concerned about which classic text he should carry and display in Court to convey the right image, precisely what the reader would expect from this anachronistic young man. On second reading, my appreciation for Ms. Tartt´s gifts only grew. The Secret History is simply one of the best modern novels I have read.¤ 3) Paperback Book The Secret History by Vintage. What to say about this book..I´ve started this review more than five times. It´s an elusive thing. Tartt can create images like the most detailed, beautiful Carleton Watkins photograph you´ve ever seen...convincing dialogue as well. The test is to bundle all these images into a cohesive story that hangs together. Along the way I had my doubts, but in the end it worked. The book has stayed with me and I keep asking myself questions about duty and character and people/things appearing one way, but being another. These are worth continuing to ponder.¤ 4) Paperback Book The Secret History by Vintage. I first read this book when it debuted in 1992, intrigued as much by the fact that a first-time author received a $450,000 advance as by the blurbs about the plot. In some ways, this is the novel that my friends would have expected me to write. After all, it involves Latin, Greek, fountain pens, Classics students, a Mustang, and one reference to Alexander Pope. As I came near the end of this second reading, some sixteen years after the first, I felt a melancholy that I had not for some time, but one that was familiar. It was the sadness of knowing that a book that has completed captivated you and taken you into its world, is coming to an end, and like the characters whose further lives you will never know, you must face the light of life around you.
Indeed, this is the secret of the book, both for its characters and for the enjoyment of its countless readers. It takes you to places beyond yourself, yet somehow inside yourself as well, places that are at once frightening and familiar, and frightening because they are familiar.
Make no mistake, the characters are utterly amoral by Christian standards, and because of this are led to extreme immorality and crime. I can honestly say I know no one like any of the characters, nor have I participated in any of the activities that rule their lives (except for the study of Greek and Latin and the use of fountain pens), yet I know them. They and their experiences are familiar. Perhaps this is not unlike the familiarity one feels with Classical tragedies that, despite their wildly different settings and motivations from modern times, transcend time to connect with people of all ages. In this regard, The Secret History takes its place alongside the tragic works that its characters study.
¤ 5) Paperback Book The Secret History by Vintage. "The snow in the mountains was melting and Bunny had been dead for several weeks before we came to understand the gravity of our situation. He´d been dead for ten days before they found him, you know. It was one of the biggest manhunts in Vermont history -- state troopers, the FBI, even an army helicopter; the college closed, the dye factory in Hampden had shut down, people coming from New Hampshire, upstate New York, as far away as Boston."
Richard Papen came to Hampden College as a transfer from a small school in California. Why did he choose this tiny, but prestigious college so far from home? He liked the brochure. And it was about as far away from his parents as he could get. His father wanted him to take over the family gas station and his mother couldn´t understand his need to go to college at all. Anxious to be rid of the monotony that his life had become in the small tract home where his parents really didn´t seem to care much for him, he applied to Hampden. With a lot of help from financial aide, he was accepted. But mounting the bus to take him to Vermont changed his life forever.
When he arrived, his chosen major was English Literature. But he was fascinated by the students who were "Classics" majors. Richard had wanted to continue his study of Greek, but found that he was not able to register for the classes. They were taught by the enigmatic professor, Julian Morrow. He hand-picked the students for the Classics, and only allowed a handful into the program. While Richard wasn´t all that interested in the major beforehand, it seems that you always want what you can´t have. Determined to be a part of this group, Richard tried to register with Julian, but was shot down immediately. Only when he happened upon the small group in the library trying to finish some Greek homework did his luck change. He was able to help them find some answers, and was indeed admitted to the program. However, this program was all-encompassing, and Richard had to drop all his other classes.
There were 5 other students in the program: Henry Winter, a tall, dark-haired boy that worse glasses and English suits. He was brilliant and wealthy. He studied endlessly and spoke 6 different languages. Edmund, "Bunny" Corcoran, was loud and rude, but lovable in a way. Francis Abernathy, was elegant and refined. He wore exotic clothes and pince-nez glasses. And again, came from money. The last two of the group, were the twins: Charles and Camilla Macaulay. They were blond and beautiful, sophisticated in a way that Richard had never known. And now he was one of them, although he always seemed to find himself on the fringe of the group. But eventually, they accepted him and even started inviting him to go away to Francis´ Aunt´s home in the country for weekends.
This book is basically 2 halves. The first is before Bunny is murdered. And the second half is the aftermath of said murder. Strangely enough, it´s a bit of a mystery even though you know in the first page who is murdered and who is responsible. Donna Tartt´s writing is amazing. It´s beautiful, and the story which is a tough read seems to flow with ease.
"Does such a thing as "the fatal flaw", that showy dark
crack running down the middle of a life, exist outside literature? I used to think it didn´t. Now I think it does. And I think that mine is this: a morbid longing for the picturesque at all costs."
Tartt takes a group of kids, albeit not exactly the normal college students, and creates an intense character study of them. She throws in a planned murder and then creates an atmosphere in which their world seemingly breaks down inch by inch. Of all the characters, Richard is probably the least defined. But he is basically a good kid caught up in circumstances that were completely beyond his control. The controlling factor is Henry. From one moment to the next, you have no idea whether he is a soft-spoken intellect with only a desire to fit in, or a cold, calculating man who will do anything to achieve what he really desires: power and control over others.
Even the minor characters in the book are well-written and thought out. Julian, the enigmatic professor who seemingly loves his students. But might just love himself and his reputation more. Judy Poovey, another friend of Richard´s is loud and funny. And Cloke Rayburn, the campus drug-dealer, who is a prep school friend of Bunny´s, gets caught up in the disappearance of his friend and has no idea why.
Underlying all of this is the group´s desire to follow Henry, even though in their minds they know it is wrong. Henry is such an incredible force, and is the epicenter of the entire story. What are his morals? And do they fit with the morals of today´s society?? Donna Tartt lays it all on the line, and leaves it up to you to decide the answer to these questions. A brilliant, well-written novel, The Secret History is going to be one that sticks with me for quite some time. I realize this isn´t much in the way of reviews, and I know there is no way to do justice to this book. But if it gives you a peek into a fantastic story and makes you want to pick it up, then I guess my job is done!
¤ 6) Paperback Book The Secret History by Vintage. Truly deserving of the accolade a modern classic, Donna Tartt’s novel is a remarkable achievement—both compelling and elegant, dramatic and playful.
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 their lives are changed profoundly and forever, and they discover how hard it can be to truly live and how easy it is to kill.¤ Page Updated: Robert N. Goolsby, 15-Nov-2008, 14000317029781400031702, 150-350-021-GWB-5AB-LSB-8 
The Secret History, Book, Image © Vintage
|
