Jensen Stell’s Reviews > The Secret History > Status Update

The sinking feeling in my chest when Julian sees the letterhead…Dear God

Concept…A Wes Anderson adaptation

Despite this being the second time I’ve read this book, I still can’t pinpoint when the exact moment is I stop trusting Henry.

To fully tongue kiss your sister in front of your friend and then offer to make them both scrambled eggs is CRAAAZYYYYYYYYY

I still don’t understand Julian; He is so fraught with mystery. His relationship with Henry goes well beyond what Richard or likely anyone else is privy to, it has to. His presence in the story doesn’t make a lot of sense generally but I suppose it makes more sense for him to somehow be very closely tied to Henry in some way

Cloke is DEFINITELY played by Rory Culkin

My God what good, delicious, absolutely SCRUMPTIOUS literature this is. So happy to be giving myself the chance to reread it.

So Henry’s all about covering their tracks etc…But then he leaves a PAPER TRAIL by WRITING ABOUT THE BACCHANAL in his DIARY??? GOOFY ASS THING TO DO. I don’t care if it’s in Latin, that man made a crucial mistake!! Especially leaving it around BUNNY of all people. DUMB!

It’s interesting how pervasive class is in this story, with Henry and Bunny not coming from money but both seeming to pretend to in their own way. Richard I suppose falls into this category as well. Who set that standard? Was it Julian? Who seems to have his own questionable (yet vastly fascinating if true) past. Why would wealth almost be a prerequisite for his class?

Not only am I mildly suspicious that Julian knew about what would happen and lowkey encouraged it, but Robert just told the reader about how Henry accidentally shot a duck once and was very shaken up by it and never engaged in target practice again…Quite interesting given I know how this story ends.