The Secret History
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The Secret History
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Narrated by:
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Donna Tartt
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By:
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Donna Tartt
About this listen
Brought to you by Penguin.
THE BESTSELLER THAT DEFINED AN AGE
Penguin presents the audio edition of The Secret History, read by the author.
'Everything, somehow, fit together; some sly and benevolent Providence was revealing itself by degrees and I felt myself trembling on the brink of a fabulous discovery, as though any morning it was all going to come together---my future, my past, the whole of my life---and I was going to sit up in bed like a thunderbolt and say oh! oh! oh!'
Under the influence of a charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at a New England college discover a way of thought and life a world away from their banal contemporaries. But their search for the transcendent leads them down a dangerous path, beyond human constructs of morality.
©1992 Donna Tartt (P)2010 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...
Critic reviews
"Haunting, compelling, brilliant." (The Times)
"Irresistible and seductive." (Guardian)
"Enthralling... Forceful, cerebral and impeccably controlled." (New York Times)
Great story but....
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authors should stick to writing
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the best of last 50 books I've read...
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Totally hooked!
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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.Gripping tale. Pitch perfect narration.
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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.Brilliant
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Rambling story
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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.
Lovely writing, bad editing
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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.The crime equivalent of 50 Shades.......
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Would you listen to The Secret History again? Why?
No.Would you recommend The Secret History to your friends? Why or why not?
PossiblyWhat 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 graspIf you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?
sometimes honesty might have been the better policyAny 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?
A book without an ending
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