General

This month’s Book Club novel of choice, ‘A Secret History’ by Donna Tartt certainly had its members divided. There was a general feeling of disappointment in the character of Julian, who failed to live up to many readers’ expectations, given the influence that he could have had over the characters in his select group. Essentially, however, it was thought that the religious motif that ran through the novel was epitomised by the distanced professor, who provides his charges with the notions that ultimately result in their demise. Like the Gods and demi-gods of the classical era, his role was to add to fuel to the fire and observe their self-destruction, rather than to become actively involved.

The novel’s success, it was felt, essentially lay in Tartt’s complex character portrayals and narrative technique. Her skill in allowing the reader to identify simultaneously with the murderers and their ultimate victim creates a sense of unease that lingers with the reader long after conclusion of the novel. Her rendering of the character of Henry, in particular, is a chilling one. It is not until the conclusion that the reader comes to understand the full manipulative powers of the pseudo-protagonist. Yet in many ways the reader maintains empathy with the cold-hearted character, whose intelligence distances him from his contemporaries; indeed, the very way in which he wears his braces crossed marks him out for death. It was therefore thought that the novel primarily focused upon humanity’s desire to find their niche within society and Henry’s inability to ‘fit’ and identify with his contemporaries creates him as a figure to pity. It is, perhaps, for this reason that he subscribes to the classical rituals that seek to explore the depths of human emotion. Equally, the narrator’s self-confessed tragic flaw is that he succumbs too easily to the picturesque. Often, reality does not live up to the ideal and the perceived beauty of the elite group to which Richard longs to belong is shattered when its true disjointed nature is revealed.

It was essentially agreed that this a novel not without its flaws in terms of plot, but ultimately its exploration of the human desire for acceptance is a concept to which all readers can relate.