The Secret History by Donna Tartt; Chapter 2

 

The Secret History Chapter 2 

    Last night, I finished Chapter 2 of The Secret History, reading up to page 103.

Page 102 of The Secret History by Donna Tartt, with my favorite quote underlined in pink.

Reading Experience and Opinion:

     I read yesterday in math class and at my friend's house, and I have to say I loved it. It is beautifully written and I really enjoy Tartt's writing style. The amount of exposition may feel unnecessary to some, but I love the immersion that she's creating with this dramatic build up. The tension of what will go wrong, of when will Bunny die, and how will it all play out, make this an enticing read even in the early pages.

Rating:

9/10

Summary:

    Richard and his five classmates become closer and eventually Richard finds himself their friend. However, there are references to the fragility of these fond moments -- "But even that day, there on the porch, with Charles beside me and the smell of wood smoke in the air, it had the quality of a memory; there it was, before my eyes and yet too beautiful to believe" (Tartt pg 103). Richard reflects on how his peers would leave him out in small (yet obvious in hindsight) ways, as if they were hiding something. At the end of the chapter, Richard describes Bunny's laugh as haunting. 

Favorite Quote:

   "If I had grown up in that house I couldn't have loved it more, couldn't have been more familiar with the creak of the swing, or the pattern of the clematis vines on the trellis, or the velvety swell of land as it faded to gray on the horizon, and the strip of highway visible—just barely-in the hills, beyond the trees." (Tartt pg102). This quote evokes feelings of nostalgia for a place you've never been, and opens the floor for discussion on what draws us to our 'homes' away from home.