Rating: 
Summary: Absolutely Brilliant!
Review: What can I say? This brilliant novel had me totally captivated from start to finish, I just couldn't put it down. I can't believe that this is a first novel. I will eagerly await Donna Tartt's next effort.
Rating:
Summary: Ditto Head
Review: I know that I am saying the same thing as most people, when will Ms. Tartt write another! I've just finished reading it for the third time in about six years. It gets better with each read. The characters are so well developed, it leaves you wanting to know more.
Rating: 
Summary: Complete
Review: Too long? Yes. Fun to read? Yes. You can describe this book in one word: Complete. If you are looking for a book about the collegeyears and don't mind a little murder and group-psychology this is the book for you. 4 Stars because the funural chapter was kinda boring. Though it remains a page-turner.
Rating:
Summary: CHALAPA TA KALA
Review: Beauty is indeed harsh in Tartt's dark masterpiece. As a student of Classical Greek, I was initially enamored of her group of erudite young scholars and fascinated by the way the novel mirrored my thoughts and feelings regarding our shared language. But I find that, like any solid work of art, The Secret History stands up to read after read, unearthing layers of literary skill and character. This book has meant a lot to me, and I hope that, unlike narrator Richard Papen, this is not "the only story" Tartt will ever have to tell.XAIPETE, Emily
Rating:
Summary: Gripping, psychological, intellectual intrigue
Review: The Secret History is a wonderful, literate book that I wish I had written. I didn't know that you could sell a novel that had Greek phrases in it, nor one that showed the pleasure of the life of the mind. I think the Kirkus reviewer completely missed the boat; he or she expects everything to be a start-in-mid-action, technothrilling, no-stopping for reverie bolt. This is an old-fashioned, langorous exploration of Richard Papen, who longs to be one of the elite Greek class clique, but when he does get adopted by these erudite, witty scholars, he discovers that they have held a bacchanal and have fallen prey to the Devil's dilemma (in other words, they tried this wild fantasy to see if a bacchanal could work, went into a frenzy, and killed a farmer in the frenzy--then were trying to keep another friend who had guessed their secret from revealing it.) I thought the story was wonderful, and I was jealous of his entree into the clique before it started to self-destruct. Henry is a gentle, kind, intellectual, amoral soul who has gone astray and lost his modern-man humanity, becoming like the cold Greeks with their pure logic and lack of remorse for certain acts. Richard doesn't lose his humanity, but does lose his illusions and his idealism when he realizes that his friends are only human, and perhaps a bit less than that, for all their brilliance. Richard is the moral compass of this story, but he fails in his destined mission to prevent the others from killing Bunny to keep their secet, and he sees Julian the idol has feet of clay. I guess I can't really tell you to get this book unless you are like me, a lone intellectual among a world of rednecks and people who make fun of readers and writers who would have loved to see this story turn out differently, who would have liked to hear that there is not just a thin line between genius and insanity. But there is, I suppose, and this book tells about how it might happen. Chantal Fox
Rating:
Summary: A Rare Case of Modern-Day Literature
Review: For some time I have wanted to write down something about this novel; it seems that every time I think that I may be ready to precis and review The Secret History, it turns out that I am still not quite prepared...not prepared to overview the plot for someone else, or share my reaction to it. It reminds me of one of those rare, wonderful works of art, hanging in a gallery, that one is determined to stand and stare at for as long as possible, so as to take in as much detail as the mind is capable of. I think that this may be one of the most perfectly crafted works that I have ever had the pleasure of reading. I can only imagine the length of time that it must have taken Donna Tartt to put together such a flawless and yet completely original plot. There is nothing else that I can even come close to comparing this to. Having read and discussed this book from within my own special little liberal arts environment, I have heard some truly original reactions to it: "I wonder how I can achieve Dionysian madness?" and "Do you guys want to drive out to the chalet this weekend for a little bachannal I've been planning?" have been two popular reactions, but this is hardly a book about either topic. It seems more a book about diametrically different people, their characters so well crafted that I cannot help empathising with each one of them to some extent. I expect that people will have different reactions to this book, of all varieties and intensities. Regardless, it is a truly extraordinary piece of work that I would recommend to just about anyone. I would even try to convince a few more who might be intimidated by the novel's girth, to disregard it's length, and just read it. You may do what I did and hole yourself away for two days, refusing to answer the phone or the door.
Rating:
Summary: Donna Tartt illustrates the complexities of college life
Review: Donna Tartt vividly captures the dynamics of college life in her debut novel. Having attended a small liberal arts college (though in New York City) I could identify with the way the small group of students revered Julian. I understood why they grasped onto each other in an almost incestuous way, finally feeling a common thread after the vacuous teenage years. Yet I was disturbed with their inability to draw the line at some point and take control of their own actions, independent of one another. And though I enjoyed the book, there was not one character I came to like or respect. I felt however, that Donna Tartt illustrated life in a small New England college beautifully and poetically.
Rating:
Summary: a very unnerving story
Review: I read this book simultaneously with the dark, cunning "Black Water" by Kerstin Ekman and couldn't stop reading either. Most of all I like the way the writer, Ms. Tartt, takes her characters seriously in a very witty way. Can't wait for her next one!
Rating:
Summary: Stunning first novel
Review: I read this book when it first came out and just reread it. It remains one of the best first novels ever. It reminds me of Catcher in the Rye for how it allows you to live inside its characters. I can't wait for Donna Tartt's next one.
Rating:
Summary: a real page-turner
Review: This is an excellent book. The Kirkus Review is crazy. I read a lot and this book is one of the maybe two or three per year that I read that I just can't put down, that I don't want to end. I have discussed it with probably five other people who have read it, and we all loved it!
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