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The Secret History

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Brought to you by Penguin.

THE BESTSELLER THAT DEFINED AN AGE
From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Goldfinch

'Everything, somehow, fit together; some sly and benevolent Providence was revealing itself by degrees and I felt myself trembling on the brink of a fabulous discovery, as though any morning it was all going to come together---my future, my past, the whole of my life---and I was going to sit up in bed like a thunderbolt and say oh! oh! oh!'

Under the influence of a charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at a New England college discover a way of thought and life a world away from their banal contemporaries. But their search for the transcendent leads them down a dangerous path, beyond human constructs of morality.

'Haunting, compelling and brilliant' The Times

'Irresistible and seductive' Guardian

'Enthralling... Forceful, cerebral and impeccably controlled' New York Times

©1992 Donna Tartt (P)2010 Penguin Audio

 Crime Fiction Friendship Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Mystery Suspense Thriller & Suspense Fiction Thriller Crime Exciting Scary
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It was fascinating to hear Donna Tartt read her own work. Plus side - intimacy and a feeling of how the author perceives her novel. Down side - she has a very limited repertoire of 'voices' and can become monotonous.

The story of a close-knit group of college students under the spell of their Greek tutor and of each other, losing touch with reality and plunging ever deeper the more they try to dig their way out is fascinating and absorbing. On balance I might have preferred an abridgement (the number of times people take a drink or smoke a cigarette becomes endless) and the plot flags a few times but overall it was very enjoyable.

Author - Narrator

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Great story well told but irritated by flat delivery....authors reading their own books not a great idea.

authors should stick to writing

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Absolutely loved this, could not wait to sit down and read/listen along to the audiobook every day. narration is not bad either

amazing book

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A really well written piece of art. Wonderful story telling that had me gripped from start to finish. Highly recommended!

Enchanting

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The term "modern classic" is an understatement for this book.

Truly brilliant. I did the wise thing of listening to the audiobook which the writer narrated while reading the book and making notes. So many amazing quotes.

There is not much to say really apart from the fact that it was truly exceptional. It hunted me. And it will continue to do so.

My only slight criticism, and this is something very minor, is that greek was always mispronoucned by the narrator. I only know this because I'm greek and I wouldn't have understood the words she used had I not been also reading the book while listening to the narration.

Regardless of that though I am so in love with this book and the writing style. She is one of those talented author's whose grocery lists I would read with tremendous pleasure. And being greek and seeing these characters love my language and history is just so heartwarming. And all the amazing references to greek history and mythology were just amazing and fitting for the story.

Modern Classic

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