Tuesday 29 April 2008

The Secret History By Donna Tartt


Truly deserving of the accolade a modern classic, Donna Tartt's novel is a remarkable achievement--both compelling and elegant, dramatic and playful. Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at an elite New England college discover a way of thinking and living that is a world away from the humdrum existence of their contemporaries. But when they go beyond the boundaries of normal morality their lives are changed profoundly and forever, and they discover how hard it can be to truly live and how easy it is to kill.

I read this over the Easter break and I was engrossed until a Jean Paul Gautier dress was referenced, this completely threw me because the way the book was written implied I felt a university campus set in the late 5o's early 60's. The whole plot/ characters just did not sit well in a contemporary setting, the only other reference to its contemporary setting comes via a BMW. But like the film I saw at the weekend the whole book left a very unsatisfying taste in my mouth like a stale Laudree macaroon.

1 comment:

La Belette Rouge said...

As a rule, I do not enjoy books that reference Jean Paul Gautier, Jimmy Choos and BMW's. Yet, in my writing I often refference brands. I think that makes me a hypocrite. I can live with that.