Most normal people see a Pulitzer Prize winning/NY Times Bestseller novel like Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch and think, “Hm...I should read that.” My reaction in this type of situation is to force myself to read the author’s previous novels before I can enjoy the latest. Hence my recently picking up The Secret History, Tartt’s first novel.
The great/terrible thing about Donna Tartt is she only publishes a book every ten years.
I know it’s an unrealistic goal, but I want to enjoy the progression of an author’s work as it happened, even if I’m not able to follow their actual publishing schedule. (For example, I was in elementary school when The Secret History was published.) I have no idea if this methodology is a superior way to read, but at the very least it gives me a sense of being grounded in an author’s work. At this point, I have no regrets because I absolutely adore this novel; I am so thoroughly ensconced in its world that I have no thoughts of leaving anytime soon, and I am deliberately reading slowly so as to savor every sentence.
The Secret History follows a gang of preppy undergraduates in New England as their devotion to their Classics studies become increasingly sinister. I realize that is a very cryptic description, but to say much more would be to spoil what is a very thrilling read. Donna Tartt is notably friends with Bret Easton Ellis; the two met at Bennington College in Vermont (the setting of the novel), and it is rumored that a character in The Secret History is based on him. His influence is certainly felt in some of the more macabre elements, but the prose style could not be more different. I’m sure that will be a relief to those who, like me, struggled to read Less Than Zero.
Like all novels in academic settings, this is a great autumn read, but I’d also strongly endorse snuggling with it during a blizzard in front of a crackling fire, particularly when you reach the novel’s mid-section, which I can only describe as cold, cold cold.
The great/terrible thing about Donna Tartt is she only publishes a book every ten years, so regardless of the order you choose, you have plenty of time to devour her three novels. And yes, posts about The Goldfinch will be forthcoming.
Editor's Note: What I'm Reading is a weekly post about the books that are currently crowding my nightstand.