Donna Tartt

Réédition du grand succès de Donna Tartt, vendu à près de 250.000 exemplaires depuis sa parution. Livre culte vendu à des millions d'exemplaires à travers le monde, le premier chef-d'oeuvre d'une jeune inconnue devenue une référence incontournable de la littérature américaine. Introduit dans le cercle privilégié d'une université du Vermont, un jeune boursier californien intègre peu à peu un petit groupe d'étudiants de la grande bourgeoisie. Il découvre un monde insoupçonné de luxe, d'arrogance intellectuelle et de sophistication, en même temps que l'alcool, la drogue et d'étranges pratiques dionysiaques. Très vite, il pressent qu'on lui cache quelque chose de terrible et d'inavouable, un meurtre sauvage et gratuit qui l'entraîne, lui et ses camarades, dans un abîme de chantage, de trahison et de cruauté. D'une lecture irrésistiblement prenante, cette chronique de l'illusion et de la complicité, de l'abandon aux rites antiques, de l'innocence corrompue par l'égoïsme et l'orgueil moral est aussi une histoire de culpabilité et de responsabilité. " Comme roman policier, c'est un des meilleurs que j'ai jamais lus. Comme premier roman, il m'a coupé le souffle, tant il est maîtrisé. " Ruth Rendell " Le chef-d'oeuvre absolu des romans policiers psychologiques ! " Maxime Chattam

Le Maître des illusions

Richard Papen had never been to New England before his nineteenth year. Then he arrived at Hampden College and quickly became seduced by the sweet, dark rhythms of campus life – in particular by an elite group of five students, Greek scholars, worldly, self-assured, and at first glance, highly unapproachable.

The Secret History 

rini

“I am nothing in my soul if not obsessive.”

Sangi Lama

It was one of the reasons I loved him: for that flattering light in which he saw me, for the person I was when I was with him, for what it was he allowed me to be. 

I liked especially going to the little country grocery in North Hampden (whose ancient proprietors, mother and son, were said to have been the inspiration for a famous and frequently anthologized horror story from the 1950s) to buy a bottle of wine, and wandering down to the riverbank to drink it, then roaming around drunk all the rest of those glorious, golden, blazing afternoons was behind in school, there were papers to write and exams coming up but still I was young; the grass was green and the air was heavy with the sound of bees and I had just come back from the brink of Death itself, back to the sun and air. Now I was free; and my life, which I had thought was lost, stretched out indescribably precious and sweet before me. 

‘You amaze me,’ he said. ‘You think nothing exists if you can't see it.’

The idea of murdering Bunny was horrific, impossible; nonetheless we dwelt on it incessantly, convinced ourselves there was no alternative, devised plans which seemed slightly improbable and ridiculous but which actually worked quite well when put to the test . . . I don't know. A month or two before, I would have been appalled at the idea of any murder at all. But that Sunday afternoon, as I actually stood watching one, it seemed the easiest thing in the world. How quickly he fell; how soon it was over.

Some things are too terrible to grasp at once. Other things —naked, sputtering, indelible in their horror — are too terrible to really ever grasp at all. It is only later, in solitude, in memory, that the realization dawns: when the ashes are cold; when the mourners have departed; when one looks around and finds oneself — quite to one's surprise — in an entirely different world.

Ninil sub sole novum, I thought as I walked back down the hall to my room. Any action, in the fullness of time, sinks to nothingness.

lemon

For a moment l was disoriented, seized by panic; could a ghost embody itself through wavelengths, electronic dots, a picture tube? What are the dead, anyway, but waves and energy? Light shining from a dead star?

I often thought of these lines of his, from Doctor Faustus: 

I think my master shortly means to die For he hath given me all his goods…

I think about it quite a bit, actually, that look on his face. I think about a lot of things. I think about the first time I ever saw a birch tree; about the last time I saw Julian; about the first sentence that I ever learned in Greek. XoETÓ TÓ KYxó. Beauty is harsh.

Duty, piety, loyalty, sacrifice. I remember his reflection in the mirror as he raised the pistol to his head. His expression was one of rapt concentration, of triumph, almost, a high driver rushing to the end of the board: eyes tight, joyous waiting for the big splash.

When I disagreed—strenuously—and asked what was wrong with focusing one's entire attention on only two things, if those two things were Art and Beauty, Laforgue replied: "There is nothing wrong with the love of Beauty. But Beauty—unless she is wed to something more meaningful—is always superficial. It is not that your Julian chooses solely to concentrate on certain, exalted things; it is that he chooses to ignore others equally as important.”

He shrugged. "Nothing," he said. "Except that my life, for the most part, has been very stale and colorless. Dead, I mean. The world has always been an empty place to me. I was incapable of enjoying even the simplest things. I felt dead in evervthing I did." He brushed the dirt from his hands. “But then it changed,” he said. “The night I killed that man.”

She put down the book—ah, lovely, I thought helplessly, I loved her, I Ioved the very sight of her: she was wearing a cashmere sweater, soft gray-green, and her gray eyes had a luminous celadon tint. “You think you have to take sides," she said. "But you don't."

'Anything is grand if it's done on a large enough scale,' said Henry.

at this point, i still cant comprehend henry’s character. he is, indeed, a terrifying one, but also interesting.

Henry smiled. 'Why, looking for new ferns,' he said, and took a step towards him.

'Live forever,' he says. —And always, always, that same toast. Live forever. 

dyonisos.

‘Murder is pollution. The murderer defiles everyone he comes in contact with. And the only way to purify blood is through blood. 

Truly deserving of the accolade Modern Classic, Donna Tartt's cult bestseller The Secret History is a remarkable achievement - both compelling and elegant, dramatic and playful.'A haunting, compelling and brilliant piece of fiction' The Times'So irresistible and seductive it's almost a guilty pleasure' GuardianUnder 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 for ever.'Enthralling . . . image the plot of Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment crossed with the story of Euripides' Bacchae set against the backdrop of Bret Easton Ellis's The Rules of Attraction . . . forceful, cerebral and impeccably controlled . . . ferociously well-paced . . . remarkably powerful' The New York Times'Donna Tartt is an amazingly good writer. She's dense, she's allusive. She's a gorgeous storyteller' Stephen KingDonna Tartt was born in Greenwood, Mississippi, and is a graduate of Bennington College. She is the author of the novels The Secret History and The Little Friend, which have been translated into thirty languages, and The Goldfinch.

The Secret History

Irena

—Y si la belleza es terror —dijo Julian—, entonces, ¿qué es el deseo?

-Tú eres el nuevo neanias? -preguntó con sorna. El nuevo hombre joven. Respondí que sí. -Cubitum eamus? -Cómo? -Nada.

sofia mae

“There is nothing wrong with the love of Beauty. But Beauty—unless she is wed to something more meaningful—is always superficial.”

He had the far more remarkable talent of making himself invisible—in a room, in a car, a virtual ability to dematerialize at will—and perhaps this gift was only the converse of that one: the sudden concentration of his wandering molecules rendering his shadowy form solid, all at once, a metamorphosis startling to the viewer.

Nihil sub sole novum, I thought as I walked back down the hall to my room. Any action, in the fullness of time, sinks to nothingness.

His thoughts, at first, without any purpose , were wandering randomly, like his greyhound running in circles across the country

Sa pensée, sans but d’abord, vagabondait au hasard, comme sa levrette, qui faisait des cercles dans la campagne

Donna Tartt, winner of the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for her most recent novel, The Goldfinch, established herself as a major talent with The Secret History, which has become a contemporary classic. 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.

i found the writing style very seamless and vivid, and plot is also gripping. but at the end of the day, dark academia is not a genre i would personally return to. i have no previous background nor interest in the classics and all the characters read as insufferable (not in a good way) and very white. i think the second half of the book is a tad glacial, with motives not as fleshed out as they were in the first half. i respect those who indulge in the aesthetic, though! 

kate 

Truly deserving of the accolade 'modern classic', Donna Tartt's novel is a remarkable achievement - 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 for ever.

A good one-time read. Unexpected ending, and I finished this book in 2 days....which means that it kept me engaged, and I just want to know what happens next. Very unique setting and the theme of the book will make you pause and think of what's the fuck is going on. 

Tanishq Khandelwal

maybe i'm a bit biased as this is pretty much my first foray into this type of novel, but i just really loved it. lauded among my peers who have long finished it, i had high hopes and often expressed my live reactions to them; in hindsight, probably very amusing to them considering the wishy washy perspective i had on the classics students (i started off heavily favoring henry, ended a big francis fan).

i adore the way this is written. tartt's way of prose is distinguishable and stands the test of time remarkably well. as for characterization, all of them kept me on my toes until the epilogue (well, save for bunny for obvious reasons). i kind of needed more on julian, but it's easy to accept that anything less than his permanently pedestaled self would be disingenuous to the view of chosen narrator, richard papen.

there is so much to take and run with here due to how restrained parts of the narrative were. additionally, i'd like to commend one of the more underrated parts of the writing process—the utilization of scene cuts. they were aptly and intentionally done here, leaving me to pore over certain passages more than i would have otherwise.

maybe i'm a bit biased as this is pretty much my first foray into this type of novel, but i just really loved it. lauded among my peers who have long finished it, i had high hopes and often expressed my live reactions to them; in hindsight, probably very amusing to them considering the wishy washy perspective i had on the classics students (i started off heavily favoring henry, ended a big francis fan).

i adore the way this is written. tartt's way of prose is distinguishable and stands the test of time remarkably well. as for characterization, all of them kept me on my toes until the epilogue (well, save for bunny for obvious reasons). i kind of needed more on julian, but it's easy to accept that anything less than his permanently pedestaled self would be disingenuous to the view of chosen narrator, richard papen.

there is so much to take and run with here due to how restrained parts of the narrative were. additionally, i'd like to commend one of the more underrated parts of the writing process—the utilization of scene cuts. they were aptly and intentionally done here, leaving me to pore over certain passages more than i would have otherwise.

book so good i can't stop thinking about it...

mint

Extremely incredible writing for a debut novel. Though telling the story from a first person perspective, Tartt knows how to make it a compelling and engaging story. Love every single page of it.

Alisha

this book has caused me a number of nightmares. nonetheless, it was addictive and i loved every second of it. donna tartt’s writing is just chefs kiss. 

this fuckass book consumed me like i feel like i will never find another book i’ll like this much again i feel sick to my stomach i really do get the hype 

nina 

jana 

The Secret History is a well-written book with one of the (best-written) most unlikable, unreliable narrators I’ve come across so far. Tartt’s world-building is incredible, and her descriptions of events are so vivid that I struggle to put the book down. However, I do want to warn readers that its content is highly distressing, including vivid depictions of cult rituals gone wrong, murder, incest, and (although I didn’t read up to this part) suicide. These were so disturbing that they manifested in my nightmares. If you dislike or struggle to read about these topics, there is probably another better book for you to read.

Carly Goldy

Rainer Schmidt

Richard Papen stammt aus einfachen Verhältnissen. In einem kalifornischen Provinznest geboren, träumt er von nichts anderem, als fortzukommen. Endlich gelingt es ihm, ein Stipendium für das College von Hampden in Vermont zu erhalten, und die Welt, der er dort begegnet, zieht ihn vom ersten Augenblick an. Besonders fasziniert ist Richard von einer Gruppe fünf junger Studenten, die sich zusammen mit ihm bei dem verschrobenen Griechischprofessor Julian Morrow eingeschrieben haben. Da ist Henry, der Sohn reicher Eltern und heimliche Kopf des Zirkels, da ist Francis, ein leicht dekadenter und blasierter Gelderbe, das sind Charles und Camilla, die Zwillinge, die seit dem Tod ihrer Eltern von den Zuwendungen ihrer Grossmutter leben., und schliesslich Edmund, von allen "Bunny" genannt, der liebenswürdige Schnorrer, der stets auf grossem Fusse lebt, ohne je einen Pfennig in der Tasche zu haben. Gemeinsam mit ihnen paukt Richard Griechisch, zusammen mit ihnen huldigt er dem täglichen Alkohol, in ihrem Kreis verbringt er wunderbare Wochenenden auf Francis feudalem Landsitz. Doch bald spürt er, dass unter der Oberfläche unverbrüchlicher Freundschaft auch Spannungen bestehen und dass ein furchtbares Geheimnis auf seinen Freunden lastet - ein Geheimnis, das auch ihn mehr und mehr in seinen dunklen, mörderischen Sog zieht.

Roman

Die geheime Geschichte

Dieses Buch hat mich richtig mitgerissen, nicht nur von der storyline her sondern auch vom Schreibstil Donna Tartts. 

Ich finde, man kann richtig merken, wie viel Arbeit die Autorin in de Buch gesteckt hat, denn die Charakter Ausarbeitung ist soo gut. Ich war richtig drin in den Gedankengängen des Protagonisten, auch das er die Beobachterrolle manchmal einnahm und man nur in der Perspektive von ihm aus die Geschichte gelesen hat, hat es so spannend und intensiv gemacht. Auch wie er die anderen Figuren beschrieben hat und die besondere Dynamik zwischen ihnen. Die Ambivalenz der Charaktere ließ einen moralische Fragen durch den Kopf gehen, denn dieses Buch wirft ja moralische Fragen auf, sodass ich ebenso widersprüchliche Gefühle zu den Charakteren hatte. Es hat mich viel fühlen lassen und mich zum Schluss aufgewühlt und mit gemischten Gefühlen zurückgelassen.  Der Schreibstil ist sehr atmosphärisch und intensiv. Auch die kurzen Erzählungen oder Fakten zu einigen griechischen Mythen zwischendurch fand ich, hat das nochmal intensiviert. Die Dialoge sind auch so real und die Autorin hat die Geschichte mit kleinen Details sehr real gemacht.

Dennoch, ja, ich fand die Story sehr spannend und etwas, was ich noch nie gelesen habe und die Idee und der Aufbau des Buches ein Meisterwerk, aber trotzdem, war ich am Ende schon enttäuscht. Ich weis nicht, was ich mir genau gewünscht hätte, aber ich finde diese eine Sache, die in Büchern oder Filme vorkommt, nie eine gute Idee für ein Ende einer Geschichte oder einer Figur. But Donna Tartt is a Genius. 

Mariam Raji

Dieses Buch hat mich richtig mitgerissen, nicht nur von der storyline her sondern auch vom Schreibstil Donna Tartts. 

Ich finde, man kann richtig merken, wie viel Arbeit die Autorin in de Buch gesteckt hat, denn die Charakter Ausarbeitung ist soo gut. Ich war richtig drin in den Gedankengängen des Protagonisten, auch das er die Beobachterrolle manchmal einnahm und man nur in der Perspektive von ihm aus die Geschichte gelesen hat, hat es so spannend und intensiv gemacht. Auch wie er die anderen Figuren beschrieben hat und die besondere Dynamik zwischen ihnen. Die Ambivalenz der Charaktere ließ einen moralische Fragen durch den Kopf gehen, denn dieses Buch wirft ja moralische Fragen auf, sodass ich ebenso widersprüchliche Gefühle zu den Charakteren hatte. Es hat mich viel fühlen lassen und mich zum Schluss aufgewühlt und mit gemischten Gefühlen zurückgelassen.  Der Schreibstil ist sehr atmosphärisch und intensiv. Auch die kurzen Erzählungen oder Fakten zu einigen griechischen Mythen zwischendurch fand ich, hat das nochmal intensiviert. Die Dialoge sind auch so real und die Autorin hat die Geschichte mit kleinen Details sehr real gemacht.

Dennoch, ja, ich fand die Story sehr spannend und etwas, was ich noch nie gelesen habe und die Idee und der Aufbau des Buches ein Meisterwerk, aber trotzdem, war ich am Ende schon enttäuscht. Ich weis nicht, was ich mir genau gewünscht hätte, aber ich finde diese eine Sache, die in Büchern oder Filme vorkommt, nie eine gute Idee für ein Ende einer Geschichte oder einer Figur. But Donna Tartt is a Genius. 

I don’t know how you even rate something like this. The layers of the plot, the foreshadowing, the guilt, the richness of the characters…

Is it pretentious? Is everyone unlikable? Sure. But it’s so indulgent to be able to sink into that world. Amazing. 

Hannah Bateman

I don’t know how you even rate something like this. The layers of the plot, the foreshadowing, the guilt, the richness of the characters…

Is it pretentious? Is everyone unlikable? Sure. But it’s so indulgent to be able to sink into that world. Amazing. 

This one is so netflix, as mimi would say, that I was very surprised when I realised there is no netflix series yet. That said, I was enjoying parts of it, as you would such a thing. But I don't think I really understood it, especially the fact that it was so pacey while nothing was really happening. I disliked everyone in this book. It's like it has no concept of love (it seemed to me it was trying to prove otherwise).

Dora Tominic

Disclaimer: this is not a review.

This one is so netflix, as mimi would say, that I was very surprised when I realised there is no netflix series yet. That said, I was enjoying parts of it, as you would such a thing. But I don't think I really understood it, especially the fact that it was so pacey while nothing was really happening. I disliked everyone in this book. It's like it has no concept of love (it seemed to me it was trying to prove otherwise).

One of the most famous Dark Academia books.I enjoyed, however the story was very horrible in deep

Shidehdeishidi

okay it's def not like groundbreaking high brow lit but if i read this in my high school tumblr dark academia era (ESPECIALLY during covid .) would've been over for me. now reading though you can see how a generation of burnt out gifted kids are drawn like moths to a flame seeing themselves in the greek class though none of them will have the guts themselves to commit nearly as heavily. 

dont make the same mistakes and rush read this book. there’s a lot of details written in between the lines, understanding from different perspectives, because truthfully, richard  like us, romanticise actions way too much. and sometimes, like us, fail to see people as they are, just people. broken but still human.

Siri 

anyone in this book could die and i would not care

Stas

my absolute favourite, the book can be read many times and you still can't grasp all the little complexities and hints alluding to the story or symbolisms for arcs of the characters. forever thinking of this book

Vincent Osvald

bunny and henry wouldve been a great toxic yaoi couple that id keep tabs on via instagram and other nosy friends. 

this book was good only cause i put my soap opera glasses on. they were a group of silly and fatally flawed people who did not give a fuck about each other most of the time which is why it was a good time! not as groundbreaking as people say but it doesnt have to be <3

bunny and henry wouldve been a great toxic yaoi couple that id keep tabs on via instagram and other nosy friends. 

this book was good only cause i put my soap opera glasses on. they were a group of silly and fatally flawed people who did not give a fuck about each other most of the time which is why it was a good time! not as groundbreaking as people say but it doesnt have to be <3

when someone asks me what my favourite horror story is i tell them the secret history. reading this, for the second time, at a stage where my mind is less impressionable and more able to see past the surface level presentation of characters, really made richard’s desire to be a part of the narrative, the inside joke of this extremely exclusive and closed off group, much more blatantly obvious. it’s in this blatant obviousness that has amplified my distate for richard on this reread, but donna tartt oh my the absolutely master crafter you are. i love your mind. it’s so ironic that tsh really subverts a lot of the tropes of d*rk academia when it essentially is treated as the bible and genesis of it. (i don’t have strong feelings for or against the subculture; i just wish i could find better character analysis that don’t romanticise the characters and the setting itself the same way richard does, i have the book to do that for me already.)

i think it’s common for a lot of fiction, especially well-written, to inspire a lot of “fix-its” per se? which may explain the general subculture of this book over at tumblr and there’s really nothing wrong with drawing inspiration from the “what-could-have-been” and falling in love with the setting that tartt really paints very very well.

things i liked most on this reread: the winter scene dragging on for practically an eternity because that is essentially what life is like for richard without the five students that he consider the exact point of why he even went to hampden, the five muses that fuelled his “morbid longing for the picturesque” as richard himself admitted is his fatal flaw. so absolutely funny to see even near the end that richard is, of course, still an outsider to all of this, even in what was the final confrontation in a sense, him getting shot and just being a bystander.

also loved how this time the thought that came to my mind was “wow these people are genuinely unlikeable” and loved how they were made likeable precisely because richard’s a heavily unreliable narrator and he paints his own intentions and motives on these really flawed and troubled people who would do anything to protect this little bubble they all live in (bubble that richard never really became part of, i’m happy to keep thinking). and the added layer that it’s precisely this desire of richard to project and project onto his muses that allowed him to be fed confusing narratives, be told vague answers and be kept at an arm’s length. we can question a lot of things, the bacchanal is different through every retelling but every retelling sort of has henry’s desire to protect the details laced in it, seen in francis’ hesitation. we actually don’t even know the whole story entirely even until the end, beyond what richard is told, and the information is twisted to elicit compliance and give him a false sense of solidarity from the very beginning henry decides to tell him the “bulk” of it (if it stands true as he says it).

also really loved the layering of the details of the bacchanal, it’s spiritual and soulful and enlightening and grandiose from henry, it’s fragmented from camilla, laced with what i believe to be exclusion mixed with shame (in the sense of “i pity you, you’re trying so hard to stand with us but you just are not part of us, you know?”), the news clipping itself (mutilated, dude.)

i was also seeing the bunny conflict from a different lens now, all the “reasons” that richard wanted us to believe justify the murder of bunny, even if he denies or admits so, also can be questioned. presenting all the negatives piling up and up to further push the reader towards sympathising with him and the others, to even think of rooting for them, for them to pull the climatic act off successfully, these things were much more visible on this read.

i think most people like the funeral scene for the grief that it portrays and really, through the parts following the farmer’s death and bunny’s death, i wanted to see them affected for the right reasons (right in the moral sense, by pulling them out from their closed off sphere and subjecting them to the moral norms of the general population) but i think that in itself is impossible and therefore very well displayed in donna tartt’s crafting of the narrative and of the character’s reactions, they’re so in their own heads and so wholly absorbed in the small world that belongs to the five of them, of classics and greek and noble causes and beauty and terror and violence that they’re (richard? about the other four?) physically incapable of admitting that they feel something more human than they want to let on, that there’s conflict and internal turmoil (because plainly, bunny’s their FRIEND) but also these supposedly human feelings are also just bits and pieces in them. i think actually that we don’t really understand how the characters really think about it, we see their physical responses to it but these have richard’s desire, to protect the world he was denied admission to once and only has these scraps of, the world he fought to wedge himself into just to belong, layered in and prescribing alternative meanings to the other four’s responses to bunny’s murder. they’re visibly troubled. but they’re also teenagers who fucked up and really don’t know how to go back and can only assign importance to the act to justify it.

on the last part of my ramble this reread also really solidified julian as just a concept. he’s the moral compass of henry and richard (making them parallels? essentially?). or rather the IDEA of julian is the moral compass of richard, he’s projecting wise sage and fatherly benevolence onto julian and praying for the reproach of julian to at least finally allow it to sink it that what they did was horrible and even wrong. julian’s “bravery” and “conviction” to “do what is necessary” is what guides henry too, and they were both let down when the projection on julian failed to deliver and they were left to think (fend) on their own. anyway love u donna tartt.

☀️

when someone asks me what my favourite horror story is i tell them the secret history. reading this, for the second time, at a stage where my mind is less impressionable and more able to see past the surface level presentation of characters, really made richard’s desire to be a part of the narrative, the inside joke of this extremely exclusive and closed off group, much more blatantly obvious. it’s in this blatant obviousness that has amplified my distate for richard on this reread, but donna tartt oh my the absolutely master crafter you are. i love your mind. it’s so ironic that tsh really subverts a lot of the tropes of d*rk academia when it essentially is treated as the bible and genesis of it. (i don’t have strong feelings for or against the subculture; i just wish i could find better character analysis that don’t romanticise the characters and the setting itself the same way richard does, i have the book to do that for me already.)

i think it’s common for a lot of fiction, especially well-written, to inspire a lot of “fix-its” per se? which may explain the general subculture of this book over at tumblr and there’s really nothing wrong with drawing inspiration from the “what-could-have-been” and falling in love with the setting that tartt really paints very very well.

things i liked most on this reread: the winter scene dragging on for practically an eternity because that is essentially what life is like for richard without the five students that he consider the exact point of why he even went to hampden, the five muses that fuelled his “morbid longing for the picturesque” as richard himself admitted is his fatal flaw. so absolutely funny to see even near the end that richard is, of course, still an outsider to all of this, even in what was the final confrontation in a sense, him getting shot and just being a bystander.

also loved how this time the thought that came to my mind was “wow these people are genuinely unlikeable” and loved how they were made likeable precisely because richard’s a heavily unreliable narrator and he paints his own intentions and motives on these really flawed and troubled people who would do anything to protect this little bubble they all live in (bubble that richard never really became part of, i’m happy to keep thinking). and the added layer that it’s precisely this desire of richard to project and project onto his muses that allowed him to be fed confusing narratives, be told vague answers and be kept at an arm’s length. we can question a lot of things, the bacchanal is different through every retelling but every retelling sort of has henry’s desire to protect the details laced in it, seen in francis’ hesitation. we actually don’t even know the whole story entirely even until the end, beyond what richard is told, and the information is twisted to elicit compliance and give him a false sense of solidarity from the very beginning henry decides to tell him the “bulk” of it (if it stands true as he says it).

also really loved the layering of the details of the bacchanal, it’s spiritual and soulful and enlightening and grandiose from henry, it’s fragmented from camilla, laced with what i believe to be exclusion mixed with shame (in the sense of “i pity you, you’re trying so hard to stand with us but you just are not part of us, you know?”), the news clipping itself (mutilated, dude.)

i was also seeing the bunny conflict from a different lens now, all the “reasons” that richard wanted us to believe justify the murder of bunny, even if he denies or admits so, also can be questioned. presenting all the negatives piling up and up to further push the reader towards sympathising with him and the others, to even think of rooting for them, for them to pull the climatic act off successfully, these things were much more visible on this read.

i think most people like the funeral scene for the grief that it portrays and really, through the parts following the farmer’s death and bunny’s death, i wanted to see them affected for the right reasons (right in the moral sense, by pulling them out from their closed off sphere and subjecting them to the moral norms of the general population) but i think that in itself is impossible and therefore very well displayed in donna tartt’s crafting of the narrative and of the character’s reactions, they’re so in their own heads and so wholly absorbed in the small world that belongs to the five of them, of classics and greek and noble causes and beauty and terror and violence that they’re (richard? about the other four?) physically incapable of admitting that they feel something more human than they want to let on, that there’s conflict and internal turmoil (because plainly, bunny’s their FRIEND) but also these supposedly human feelings are also just bits and pieces in them. i think actually that we don’t really understand how the characters really think about it, we see their physical responses to it but these have richard’s desire, to protect the world he was denied admission to once and only has these scraps of, the world he fought to wedge himself into just to belong, layered in and prescribing alternative meanings to the other four’s responses to bunny’s murder. they’re visibly troubled. but they’re also teenagers who fucked up and really don’t know how to go back and can only assign importance to the act to justify it.

on the last part of my ramble this reread also really solidified julian as just a concept. he’s the moral compass of henry and richard (making them parallels? essentially?). or rather the IDEA of julian is the moral compass of richard, he’s projecting wise sage and fatherly benevolence onto julian and praying for the reproach of julian to at least finally allow it to sink it that what they did was horrible and even wrong. julian’s “bravery” and “conviction” to “do what is necessary” is what guides henry too, and they were both let down when the projection on julian failed to deliver and they were left to think (fend) on their own. anyway love u donna tartt.

I LOVED the first half, I loved all of the philosophical parts, hearing about them learning about classics and Greek, seeing their friendship develop because of this shared education. But tell me why I got through hundreds of pages to find out I'm reading about incest. That is just not something that makes me want to read any further, but by then it was too late to stop. 

I also found myself getting bored about 3/4 of the way in because it got to be less and less about learning Greek and classics, and it got less philosophical, which is why I liked the book in the beginning. 

Montana Langille

I LOVED the first half, I loved all of the philosophical parts, hearing about them learning about classics and Greek, seeing their friendship develop because of this shared education. But tell me why I got through hundreds of pages to find out I'm reading about incest. That is just not something that makes me want to read any further, but by then it was too late to stop. 

I also found myself getting bored about 3/4 of the way in because it got to be less and less about learning Greek and classics, and it got less philosophical, which is why I liked the book in the beginning. 

Valid act when your friend is homophobic 

Claire Maguet

Introduit dans le cercle privilégié d'une université du Vermont, un jeune boursier californien intègre peu à peu un petit groupe d'étudiants de la grande bourgeoisie. Il découvre un monde insoupçonné de luxe, d'arrogance intellectuelle et de sophistication, en même temps que l'alcool, la drogue et d'étranges pratiques sataniques. Très vite, il pressent qu'on lui cache quelque chose de terrible et d'inavouable, un meurtre sauvage et gratuit qui l'entraîne, lui et ses camarades, dans un abîme de chantage, de trahison et de cruauté.

Le maître des illusions

Trop tard, m’aurais surement plus captivée ado, bien que le côté academia m’aurait nécessairement refroidi. 

Diane Blache

Raté le train pour celui-ci. 

Trop tard, m’aurais surement plus captivée ado, bien que le côté academia m’aurait nécessairement refroidi. 

Le Maître des illusions

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