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!

this book was surreal. a really heartbreaking commentary on loss and love and the constraints we put on ourselves. i felt uncomfortable when reading this, i was anxious for the characters and so desperate for answers i never got. this is part of why i loved the book so much - washington has such a magnificent writing style that just guarantees an emotional reaction. i feel a little incomplete after reading this, yet i feel like it allowed me to let out a breath i didn’t know i was holding.  i feel very strongly that that’s the whole point. as humans we can’t know everything, and so we must live in the moment and surrender to love and connection.

i loved this book from start to finish. i loved the author’s little quirky observations, she spoke about lowbrow, everyday topics in such a highbrow way. this book felt pretentious, (which i’m not mad about) but it was executed in a way that felt much more sincere to me than other books i’ve read. this book was so genuinely funny. i loved selin, she was far from perfect but i feel like she was an accurate portrayal of a late-teens university student, and she embodied so many of the common struggles we face when coming-of-age but don’t talk about. perhaps controversial, but this book reminded me of ‘norwegian wood’ by haruki murakami, a book i also love but not as much as this. both books address similar topics, and whilst are not entirely comparable, this book was more relatable for me personally and undid some of the problematic aspects that are common in murakami’s work. i recommend this book so much and know i will hold it close to me for a long time.