Rating: 
Summary: Definitely not a bildungsroman
Review: I was enthralled with "The Secret History." Beautifully written and intelligent, it's a book that makes you feel more well-read for reading and understanding most of its many classical references. After free-basing on chick-lit for the summer, Ms. Tartt's dense work is welcome.
There are many things to enjoy about this book, that the reviews don't give you an idea of.
1. The tone and characterization throughout the book are remarkably consistent. You feel like you know their next move, and you understand why they do what they do.
2. This is a college book. But before you get turned off by that, realize that Ms. Tartt uses the college setting to create a time-within-time narrative that is skilled and fascinating. She writes of Hampden college as though it were the 1950s, even though small details indicate the modern setting.
3. There are many, many classical references in here, so the more you know, the more interesting you will find it. There is also a fair amount of text in other languages, so Greek, French, and Latin will come in handy, but are not absolutely necessary.
4. The description and setting are masterful. The college and the characters are written out in such detail that you can see and smell them.
5. This is NOT a bildungsroman (a work where you see the characters grow up and evolve, usually into better people, because of their experiences). One of the things that I liked best about this book was the lack of that. These characters are basically the same throughout the book. They don't really learn anything or have any epiphanies about life. They are as stuck in time as their school is.This book is overly long. Some of the passages move from detailed to verbose very quickly. But her characters and setting are flawless. If you have the sense of nostalgia for your college years that this book demands, read this.
Rating: 
Summary: My Personal Favorite
Review: I actually found this novel laying on the side of the road at summer camp about seven years ago and started reading it on a whim. It must have been fate because i believe this to be the finest novel i've read, and i read a lot. Everything about it is brilliant, especially the eerie calm that seeems to surround everything-from the characters, to the campus-even the college party scenes seem strangely calm and distant-proving further that the group really is seperate from the rest of the college community. i love the plot, i love the weird, quirky, of-another-era characters, i love the prose. i reccomend it highly.
Rating:
Summary: What happened in the Woods?
Review: "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt was more of an exercise in excellent English than a terrific story. Tartt has many interesting theories and philosophies to share, however, there was a lot to be desired on a platonic level, when the book came to an abrupt and unfulfilling end. The characters in "The Secret History" were not your run-of-the-mill college students. I appreciated that these "children of privilege" were not of superior intellect or attending the most prestigious of institutions, but were still smart, unique, and interesting in their own way. Much of their intrigue is a credit to Donn Tartt's writing abilities. Unfortunately, Bunny, Henry, Charles, Francis, Camilla, and even Richard spent so much time analyzing one another's intimate details, that the story's true plot became something less than a mitigating circumstance. "The Secret History" is written in a similar style as "American Psycho," but it is more academic and less violent. Both Tartt and Bret Easton Ellis (of American Psycho), in their novels, write about sophisticated and self-centered individuals who only enjoy the finer points of life. "The Secret History" is suspenseful, comical, and believable but still begs the question; what really happened in the woods?
Rating:
Summary: Best book I've read
Review: Without going into detail about the story (lots of others have done that already) I'd like to just cooment on the perfection of this book. Its one the few you read and wish it would not end. Donna Tartt keeps the story going and going. I am very impressed with her writing ability and I can't wait to read The Little Friend. If I could give this book 10 stars I would do it in a heart beat. This book is satisfying to the end. Thank you Donna Tartt....Give us another one!
Rating:
Summary: Incredible read if you're willing to work a little
Review: I found this book to be enthralling and a great twist on the mystery genre (if it can really be qualified as such). Having a strong background in the Humanities will help as the frequent references to classical literature greatly enrich the story. I found this to be a dense read but highly rewarding - the kind of book you don't want to end.
Rating:
Summary: Wish I could give it more than 5
Review: I have recently picked up this book for a 2nd reading. It was better than the first time I read it. The characters, the story, the setting, I just can't think of anything but good things about this book. I remember years ago, when I tried to read it the first time, I picked it up, put it down, two or three times. Then finally one day, it just clicked, and I couldn't put it down until I was finished. There are some books that get better with a second reading and this is one of them. I LOVE this book. Now that I have read it a second time, I will let some time pass and read it a third. I look forward to it. I read Ms. Tartt's second book and it too was good, although not as good as this one. I hope she is working on another book.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant!
Review: Tartt's characters are vivid, memorable, and inviting--even if they are not all likeable. The book begins with the description of a murder and unfolds with the backstory as well as the aftermath. Even though the murder is central to the plot what stood out was the richness of the characters and the compelling world the author creates. This is great read! Strongly recommended. An impressive first novel by Ms. Tartt.
Rating:
Summary: Impressive piece of writing; worth reading...
Review:
Donna Tartt - 'The Secret History' (1992)
This book was well-written and exciting. My criticisms of it included:
1. The camera got in very close, giving us a blow-by-blow account of every word, action, piece of interplay. We were treated to numerous detailed accounts of what the weather was doing (no cloud left unrecorded!), what the landscape was doing, who was busy stretching his arms across the settee and at what angle, who was making a cup of coffee and with how many coffee beans and how much steam came out, and so on. This level of detail made for a very slow book. The pace crawled along, somewhat.
2. The book was a little too overwritten for my taste. A 300 page novel became a 650 page novel.
3. Once Julian left, it became clear that the characters were probably going to get off the hook (in terms of not getting caught). Having kept the tension up to that point, the writer let the tension slip when Julian left. The pages that followed were less exciting as a result, and the book ended up on an anti-climax (rather than the climax being taken right through to the end).
However, this is an impressive and almost faultless piece of writing, ideal for the person who likes long, intricate, involved novels with great attention paid to detail, and the author must have considerable stamina to have been able to put it down on paper and work it up into a well-polished novel.
Marks out of five: 4 and a half out of 5.
Rating:
Summary: Tedious at first
Review: My friend recommended this to me and I only picked it up because I was obessed with classical studies at the time. However, I found myself skimming the philosophical discussions towards the begining of the book as I found it incredibly boring, despite being interested in the subject. Right from the start you already know who dies and, being bored out of my mind, I nearly gave up because the story was developing so slowly. Other people I have talked to have expressed the same opinion so perhaps, although it was vital to the story, the novel could benefit from a shorter and more simplified start. Preserverance through that, though, is required and more than rewarded because the story progresses dramatically to gripping heights as events leading to the eventual murder becomes critical. The tension is gradually built up, helped along by amazing characterisations. You believe that these are real people, with real motivations, albeit misguided and a little radical. They draw sympathy depite being flawed and conspiring murder and it is not hard to feel for their desperation after the death. The ending is both shocking and poignant and, yes, it did compell me to go back and read the beginning properly.
Rating:
Summary: Behaviour is the mirror of emotion.
Review: This is not a murder mystery. You know from the first page who got killed, and who did it. What you will learn is how killing someone can change your perception of everything.
In a private Vermont college, Donna Tartt introduces us to five students, who you've no doubt read about or seen before. They are rich misfits, lacking in parental love, academically brilliant but undisciplined. They turn to their charismatic Classics teacher for guidance, and together form an introspective, elite group. But, as the title suggests, they have a secret, and one of them is threatening to betray his friends.
Enter the poor scholarship boy from California. Seemingly neutral, they confide in him, and together hatch a plan to "dispose of" the traitor in their midst.
The rest of the book describes the aftermath of the murder, though not in terms of emotional impact. The words "guilt" and "remorse" don't get mentioned. Rather, Tartt cleverly leaves us to percieve these in how the friends behave. We see how they act in the face of a body search, police enquiries, the grieving family. And most importantly, how they begin to treat eachother.
In short, the group crumbles and turns on eachother, as none are stable enough to support their friends. This way of "showing rather than telling" is done brilliantly.
One things that might have been done better: there is frequent mention of alcoholic excess and drug use. In the beginning, it is supposed to denote the characters as a little bit rebellious, but also that they are really very uncertain of themselves, and need it as a social tool. After the murder, this behaviour escalates. Unfortunately, Tartt relies too much on this device to reinforce their dependent personalities, and lack of coping skills. I got a bit tired of it being mentioned, because it was used in such an obvious way.
Other than that, this is a brilliant description of human behaviour as a mirror of emotions. You will peer past the flawless surface, the cool demeanors that let the characters get away with murder, and see the scaffolding of their entire lives crumble.
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