Achi news desk-
The Secret History is the first novel of the American writer Donna Tartt. Published in 1992, it is the story of a group of six students, socially alienated, who study in the same classics course of the charismatic professor Julian Moreau. Set in the 1980s, it’s a reverse murder mystery without the “hustle” factor.
Some of the students, deeply influenced and frankly obsessed with ancient Greek rituals, perform a Dionysian ritual that leads to the killing of a farmer in the Vermont countryside. Bunny, who finds out about this and is offended at being left behind, gets sour and looks like a liability. The rest, fearing that they will be caught for the murder, decide that the best solution would be to commit another, and this is where their shaming begins.
The theme of this book is as simple as two words: fatal flaws. Right from the beginning of the book, the lines-
“Does such a thing as the ‘fatal flaw,’ that flamboyant dark crack that runs through the middle of life, exist outside of literature?”
Changed the way I perceived this book. As mentioned in the lines above, a fatal flaw is one personality trait that is so deeply rooted in a person that it causes a reversal of fortune from good to bad and ultimately leads to his downfall. It was first introduced in Greek tragedies, especially Aristotle’s Poetics.
I believe that the fatal flaws of the various characters shaped the course of the story that ultimately led to Bunny’s demise. Let me explain in detail:
Henry Winters: Although not directly mentioned in the book, Henry’s fatal flaw would be ‘hubris’ or, simply put, pride; One shared by many of the Greek heroes of the era he so wanted to belong to. Being the mastermind behind both murders (he would be a Slytherin), he refused to believe his wrongdoings and simply escalated the situation by manipulating everyone to join his schemes, without thinking how he could be wrong.
Edward “Bunny” Corcoran: Our dear (or not so dear) murder victim, Bunny Corcoran played a pretty significant role in his own murder. With a fatal flaw that is a mixture between gluttony and a deep sense of insecurity hidden by big hurtful and petty beliefs. He is by far the most intriguing character in this rollercoaster of a book.
The experience of reading this book can be put simply as follows:
“I felt like my existence was tainted, in some subtle but fundamental way.”
Experiencing everything at the same pace as the narrator, trusting the characters only to discover the most gruesome details later left me unable to process anything else for days and left me wondering, in the best sense of the word. I recommend this book to anyone, and anyone interested in reading.
(This review is one of the winning reviews published in the Pen to Paper contest hosted by The Free Press Journal each year. This exclusive contest is open to teenagers only
