The Secret History

Always fun to read a book set on a college campus.  This one certainly had a lot of surprises for me, which I won’t reveal in this short synopsis.  All good college campus books seem to be set in a historic and rustic small college town in New England.  Well, this one is no different.  Welcome to Hampden College in a beautiful sleepy town in Vermont!  In the book The Secret History by Donna Tartt, the reader gets lots of suspense and insight into what it may be like being rich and having nothing but to “learn for learning sake” as your new lifestyle.  The story is narrated by Richard Papen, an entering first-year student who joins with a small group of five others all in the very elite “classics curriculum” under the leadership of Julian Morrow, who is allowed to take on a small group of students and teach them “all of their classes” each semester.  Richard took Greek in high school and is attracted to the teacher and the small class atmosphere.  The other five students have a strange aura about them, very removed from the rest of the students at Hampden, and soon we learn why… there is a murder. The story is sequential and is revealed through Richard’s eyes.  Having joined the group of five, Richard is unsure of the strange behaviors of the group, until he learns that on a night of reliving the Dionysian ritual in the forests of Vermont an accidental murder has occurred of an innocent man by members of the group, which only four of the members were present.  Unfortunately for the group, one of their mates wasn’t present and he (Bunny) learns of the fateful event and decides to hold it over their heads.  What happens next is torture for Richard’s four classmates.  Bunny blackmails the group and lives the high life off the wealth of the others.  And then the next surprising turn occurs…. another death!  I think the book is very well written and quite engaging.  I didn’t think it was over the top “exaggerated” as some have commented on the novel.  The characters were real, and the alcohol and drug culture of the group is certainly found on many college campuses.  I felt as though I had met a few of the six during my 25+ years in higher ed.  Certainly surprised with the ending so be prepared.  Overall a good suspense/mystery.  I’d suggest this as a solid book.