Secret's Out

"The Secret History" by Donna Tartt proves to be a fascinating novel that is perfect for summer reading.

Tartt craftily follows the story of Richard, a college kid from California who finds himself at a private university in Vermont. There, he befriends the exclusive, scholarly Greek majors. A group of five, Bunny, Francis, Charles, Camilla and Henry they are all eccentric and elegant. Their lifestyle is a lavish one, including trips to the countryside, lunch at fancy restaurants and nights of card playing and drinks.

As Richard befriends them and changes his major to Greek, he sucked into their world of the esoteric, of money, alcohol and betrayal. Unexplained silences between the five, trips to Italy all lead to suspicion. Soon Richard finds out that an ancient Grecian ritual lead to tragedy, and the students have to lay low. As the drinking escalates, so does horrid plot to kill one of their own. Friendships unravel, exposing the reader to sick, twisted world of out-of-touch youngsters.

Tartt does an excellent job of description and writing in painstaking detail. The result is a tightly wound story that readers are dying to unfold. With breath-taking imagery and realistic dialog, Tartt's story is one that captivates any reader.

It's a story that's too sad to tell but too good to put down. Just like any good Greek tragedy.