A Californian student enrols at a private New England college and falls in with a group of snobbish and ethereal Classics students. However, appearances are deceptive and he is slowly drawn into a tangled web of lies and violence as the group covers up one terrible crime with another.
Not really a whodunit, nor even a whydunit, this is more of a lyrical Greek tragedy as each student struggles to cope with the unforeseen consequences of murder. Beautiful and strangely haunting, The Secret History evokes a sense of listlessness and ennui even as the characters commit one ignoble act after another. None of the characters are likeable - they are pretentious and selfish and aloof - but they are all realistic and their self-destruction is as absorbing as it is inevitable. A great read for the holidays.
Read On: The Goldfinch is Donna Tartt's latest novel and I've heard good things about it. Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh deals with similar themes of privilege and self-destruction.
