oh my god.

i finished this book a couple of hours ago, and i’ve since been sitting lost for words, contemplating just how profound an impact it has had on me. this is not the kind of book i usually pick up, but i am so glad i did. undoubtedly one of my top reads of the year.

this book was absolutely phenomenal, down to every last detail. tartt’s writing is exquisite; she has such a unique way of turning the mundane into something gripping and just quite spectacular. whilst i do find that i do  occasionally enjoy pretension, i feel that tartt writes it in a way that is not too obnoxious or arrogant. with such rich characterisation, reading the secret history feels like biting into a piece of fruit, feeling the juice ooze out and drip down your chin. it takes a sheer amount of talent to provoke sympathy for the most morally ambiguous group of university students, but tartt does so with such ease. i’m amazed.

the mystery aspect of the book was so spectacularly well done, with the unfolding so perfectly and with so much precision. tartt still made the story unpredictable despite us knowing who killed bunny from the very first page. for being a book of over 600 pages, the pace is very well-done and compliments the narrative so well. the secret history easily deserves the title of a modern classic in which it has been given.

i would recommend this book to anyone. please, please pick it up!