Donna Tartt
The Secret History
It is the first novel by Donna Tartt, published in September 1992. It is an inverted detective story told by student Richard Papen, who years later reflects on the situation that led to the murder of his friend Edmund "Bunny" Corcoran, involving five other students from an elite class.
Plot:
The novel begins with a prologue, where the narrator recalls the murder of “Bunny,” which haunts him years later. The narrative then goes back in time and slowly reveals what led up to this murder.
This narrator is Richard Papen, who leaves his hometown of Plano, California, to study literature at the elite Hampden College in Vermont.
Richard finds himself unable to enroll in classes with the only classics professor, Julian Morrow, who limits enrollment to a carefully selected group: twins Charles and Camilla Macaulay, Francis Abernathy, Henry Winter, and Edmund "Bunny" Corcoran. After Richard helps them with the translation, they give him advice on how to win Julian's affections, and Richard is accepted into his classes.
Richard enjoys his new status as a member of the clique, but begins to notice the strange behavior of his classmates: their minor injuries, scrapes and bruises on their bodies, and their sudden disappearances.
Richard enjoys his new status as a member of the clique, but begins to notice the strange behavior of his classmates: their minor injuries, scrapes and bruises on their bodies, and their sudden disappearances.
Topic & issues:
1. Class and Money
2. Education (education can also be a dark and corrupting force)
3. Obsession with beauty, art and status
4. Friendship
5. Death
6. Desires
7. Hypocrisy
8. The critique of capitalism and elitism
Characters:
1. Richard Papen
Peculiarities of text composition & genre features:
Everything that is described happened in the past. We learn about the murder in advance at the beginning of the book, we know the victim and we know the perpetrators. But we will learn about the events that led to this incident as the story progresses. Therefore, the genre of the book is an inverted detective story.
Since the narrative is told in the first person, the main source of information and intermediary between us and the author is the main character. Through it, the author can convey his ideas and thoughts. But we can also speculate that Richard may be an unreliable narrator. In any case, we receive a subjective assessment of reality through his point of view, and we can consider his opinion as the opinion of the author.
Everything that is described happened in the past. We learn about the murder in advance at the beginning of the book, we know the victim and we know the perpetrators. But we will learn about the events that led to this incident as the story progresses. Therefore, the genre of the book is an inverted detective story.
Since the narrative is told in the first person, the main source of information and intermediary between us and the author is the main character. Through it, the author can convey his ideas and thoughts. But we can also speculate that Richard may be an unreliable narrator. In any case, we receive a subjective assessment of reality through his point of view, and we can consider his opinion as the opinion of the author.
Extra:
We see the critique of capitalism and elitism and the deceitfulness of intellectualism through the eyes of a man from a working class family. But aside from criticizing intellectuals, Bunny still comes across as one of the worst characters in this book - stupid, conservative, cruel, stubborn, narcissistic. So the book leaves the reader wondering who is worse than the atrocious Bunny or his killers?
We see the critique of capitalism and elitism and the deceitfulness of intellectualism through the eyes of a man from a working class family. But aside from criticizing intellectuals, Bunny still comes across as one of the worst characters in this book - stupid, conservative, cruel, stubborn, narcissistic. So the book leaves the reader wondering who is worse than the atrocious Bunny or his killers?
