Rachel A. Levine

1. Both are narrated by a character to whom things happen but who do not make things happen. They are mostly passive. The other characters (in this c

1. Both are narrated by a character to whom things happen but who do not make things happen. They are mostly passive. The other characters (in this case, the sister) are the more interesting people. This is a huge problem in both books.

2. The first person POV is a mistake. When using this POV the author can only relay to the reader what the character himself is experiencing or feeling. A passive character does not have an interesting voice or perspective. So why would we want to be stuck inside his head for the entire book?

3. Repetition - in both novels there is way too much of it. The characters discuss and think about the same things over and over. Yes, in each case a little more is revealed, but the reveals are not really worth waiting for. In "The Secret History" we know who died right up front and soon enough we also learn who did it. The "suspense" is all about "why." But do we care by the time we find out? I did not. And in this novel I did not care either. The mother character, like the sister, seems interesting and unusual. But her life is interpreted through a boring, passive observer.

I think this is the last novel of hers I will attempt.