Great story but....

This is an epic tale, very well crafted and expertly plotted. Unfortunately, as others have already said, the author's narration does not match her writing and I found some stretches quite tedious. It is quite a depressing book but the tension of the key moments is brilliantly done and makes up for the occasional tedium in between. Having also read/listened to The Goldfinch, the style is similar and the characters equally unsympathetic. Nevertheless, I would recommend.

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31 people found this helpful

authors should stick to writing

Great story well told but irritated by flat delivery....authors reading their own books not a great idea.

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10 people found this helpful

the best of last 50 books I've read...

and i read at least one per week.Perfect written. As all written by Donns Tartt.

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2 people found this helpful

Totally hooked!

I'd never heard of this book before but after listening for half an hour I was pulled in. Such an interesting yet disconcerting collection of characters. I enjoyed this book immensely.

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2 people found this helpful

Gripping tale. Pitch perfect narration.

If you could sum up The Secret History in three words, what would they be?

Atmospheric, gripping, clinical.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Henry. The most enigmatic and brilliantly drawn character of the book. Like the narrator I was simultaneously captivated, intrigued, seduced, frustrated and repelled by Tartt's complex group leader.

What does Donna Tartt bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

Unlike many other listeners who have posted negative reviews on Tartt's narration, I warmed to her (at times monotone) drawl very quickly. I have not posted a review of an audiobook before, but I felt compelled to write something as I was put off purchasing this title for a long time by the negative reviews of the narration. I'm really glad I decided to go for it and download the book in the end as I really enjoyed it. I think that Tartt's narration really works with her story. Her laconic drawl is perfectly suited to the detailed, often clinical descriptions of people and places, and works really well with her characters' personalities. As the author, Tartt has a unique 'feeling' for the story and characters and brings them to life masterfully, I really got the sense of each character's personality. The narration is clear and well paced and she pauses and emphasises all the right bits. I have really disliked some authors' readings of their own books in the past - but I found Tartt's narration really brought the text alive for me and made the listening experience feel really authentic. I felt like I was experiencing the characters and events as she intended.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Definitely.

Any additional comments?

Don't be put off by the negative reviews of the narration! It suits the story perfectly.

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2 people found this helpful

Brilliant

Would you listen to The Secret History again? Why?

Yes. I love this book and I loved Tartt's narration. So glad I bought this!

What did you like best about this story?

The writing is stunning and the plot so compelling.

Which character – as performed by Donna Tartt – was your favourite?

Bunny Corcoran.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, but it was too long!

Any additional comments?

Great book and well read.

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1 person found this helpful

Rambling story

I enjoyed thus went read this nearly 20 years ago but this time found it rambling over long and irrelevant.

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Lovely writing, bad editing

An interesting book.
Reads like a first novel by a classics major. Beautiful writing, but baggy. Needs a good editor to trip at least 25%. The result of this bagginess is a total absence of tension. For a thriller/whodunnit, this is a significant problem.

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The crime equivalent of 50 Shades.......

What did you like best about The Secret History? What did you like least?

.... And I didn't get the hype about Mr Grey either. The book may have been well written but it was heavy going and it made me feel quite depressed whilst listening. The narration was awful, I found nothing to like or care about in any of the characters. I would quite happily have bumped Bunny off - what a user!

After listening to hours of detail, and intricate plot the epilogue feels like a shopping list of what happened to whom.

But I did keep going to the end, so although I've had a good moan, I supposed I was engaged enough to finish.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

I still can't work out what era this took place in? Despite being mostly well-off young people, nobody had a mobile phone and they used typewriters so this puts it pre-1980? But the I'm sure there was mention of a laptop. If I can be bothered later, I will look it up.

What didn’t you like about Donna Tartt’s performance?

Monotone, mono- gender.

Could you see The Secret History being made into a movie or a TV series? Who would the stars be?

Hopefully not. The only thing that would make me watch a movie of this book would be Sean Connery and I can't see a role for him in this.

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A book without an ending

Would you listen to The Secret History again? Why?

No.

Would you recommend The Secret History to your friends? Why or why not?

Possibly

What does Donna Tartt bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

An understanding of the characters that she carried in her head and that we, as an English audience, might not grasp

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

sometimes honesty might have been the better policy

Any additional comments?

Do we really believe in the premis that these students have inadvertantly committed a murder which none of them can remember or explain?
Can we empathise with characters who seem to do little other than drink, smoke and kill other people?

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