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Ella

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Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

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Ella is Currently Reading

Ella is currently reading

Butcher's Crossing

by John Williams

bookshelves: boy-book-club, currently-reading

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"Second installment of boy book club" — 3 hours, 18 min ago

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Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon

by Jorge Amado

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— Nov 08, 2026 10:15AM

Nov 07, 2026 10:06AM

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The Secret History

by Donna Tartt

bookshelves: all-time-favorites, campus-novels, currently-reading

Reading for the 3rd time

read in April 2021

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Ella said: " The unspeakable has happened. I did not think this was possible, but I am here to say that after rereading The Secret History three years later, I can definitively give it 5 stars.

I first came to this book as a certified Donna Tartt hater. The Goldfi The unspeakable has happened. I did not think this was possible, but I am here to say that after rereading The Secret History three years later, I can definitively give it 5 stars.

I first came to this book as a certified Donna Tartt hater. The Goldfinch had gone on for too long, but I was hopeful that this book would change my mind on her. It is *the* dark academia book, and campus novels are my favorite genre. But I was unimpressed. I came out of the reading experience and granted the book three stars. I rushed through the last half because I didn't understand why she had to keep describing things and scenes and moments that were, frankly, boring. Climaxes never felt exciting because Tartt took too long to get there. I espoused my hatred for this book any chance I could get. I recommended If We Were Villains instead (I still stand by that though).

But then this summer something peculiar happened. I opened myself up to the possibility of changing my mind. This began when a friend of a friend told me about how this was her favorite book of all time. Of course, I had heard this before, but this was someone I greatly admired. And I was also jealous of the love she had for the book. I wanted to feel that too. And then, when visiting Boston in the fall, a childhood friend told me the same thing. She had annotated the book after multiple readings and made it required reading for her partner when they started dating. That is when I got the idea in my head. I was going to embark on a reread. I knew it had to be November (this novel screams November) and I even bought my own copy instead of rereading my dad's first edition like last time (important fun fact is that my dad LOVES Donna Tartt and The Secret History was the first ever book he bought on the day it came out).

I knew I had to reread with care. Take my time. Not rush through passages. And lo and behold... something strange happened... I began to look forward to reading the book all day. I couldn't stop thinking about it and when I would read next. I paid attention to the protagonist and if I trusted him and how he interacted with people. I tried to read it like I was taking a class on the book, with precision and an attention to detail. I can't entirely explain what changed but suddenly no passages seemed to go on for too long, nothing seemed extraneous, every word and sentence was bringing me closer to something important. I realized that by knowing what was coming, I could appreciate the language and slow character build. You cannot read this book in anticipation of what is to come, but with the trust that you will get there in due time. You just have to pay attention.

I felt appreciation for the depth of character. An unlikeable protagonist who I came to deeply trust. An anxiety over the unpredictable actions of each person.

And most importantly, I am already excited to read this book again. This is the type of book where you notice something new each time. That by knowing what happens you can reexamine each character, decide why they are doing what they are doing and whose interests they are upholding. Who can you believe? Who can be trusted?

I also have some recommended reading to supplement the text. First is of course Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment (quoted directly in The Secret History). Next is John Knowles A Separate Peace, which I am sure was an influence on this text.

I guess next I have to reread The Goldfinch, but that won't be anytime soon. And I'm scared to start A Little Friend because it might take a reread on that one as well to enjoy it.

Consider this my official apology to the Donna Tartt community. ...more "

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(page 0 of 559)
— Nov 04, 2026 10:31AM

Nov 26, 2024 06:17PM · see review

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