The Secret History by Donna Tartt - worth persevering?

[cloudsss]

No spoilers please. I’m nearly half way.

I loved The Goldfinch and this is so raved about I was really looking forward to it and now I’m a bit underwhelmed. Persevere or admit defeat?

Yes definitely. Loved it

Edited my previous post to say if you don't love it by half way it's probably not for you.

I’ve not read the goldfinch but this one and the little friend. Preferred secret history definitely

Definitely! It's slow I know but I absolutely loved it.

Yes, it's v dark, but brilliant.

I really, really liked it but have disliked her others so now avoid her completely. I think it's a very different book for her maybe...?

Absolutely loved it, so I'm struggling to turn my more critical eye as to whether it is worth persevering if you are not loving it so far. I think all the threads begin to come together at about this stage before the pace increases. So I would say yes, and I hope you are more captivated as you progress. If nothing else, Tartt's elegance of prose gets me every time, with the "nights bigger than imagining".

I loved The Secret History when I read it (over 30 years ago!). But if you aren't enjoying it then you don't need our permission to stop reading it, life is too short to read books you are not enjoying. Put it to the charity shop where someone else can find it and choose another book that is more to your taste.

I also love it, and have reread it and listened to the audiobook many times. However like others here I was gripped straight away so maybe it's not for you.

The Secret History is one of my all time favourite books that I have re-read several times.

So I am biased and say “stick with it” but like others have said, if you are really not enjoying it by now then maybe ditch for something else

I loved it when I first read it about 20 years ago, but suspect I’d find the story and characters annoying and self-indulgent now that I’m a cynical 40-something. Even the beautiful writing couldn’t get past that.

I’ve said this before on MN. I think The Secret History is a fabulous book if you read it as a student. When you re-read it as a fully fledged adult, you just want to slap everyone.

I wouldn't go so far as to put it on my 'love' list, but I did enjoy it, and I have re-read it a couple of times.

My philosophy is that there's no point wasting time reading books you are not enjoying, so whether to persevere depends on whether you're finding it OK but not perhaps the amazing read you hoped for, or whether you are actually finding it a chore to go on.

If the former, it's worth reading it to the end as the resolution of the various strands is quite satisfying.

I’m going against the grain here to say that you should ditch it. I sadly persevered with it, it didn’t get any better and just a book about kids who thought that they were somehow special whereas they were just privileged brats.

I was indeed a student when I read it and now DD1 is talking about reading it I have said I'll reread it with her but I do worry that this might spoilt it for me. Having said that there are plenty people in The Goldfinch who are awful but I still thought the book was brilliant and heart rending.

Anyone else anxiously awaiting her next book?

I loved it when I read it but that was 20 or 30 years ago.

I think you've read enough to have given it a fair chance. If you're not enjoying it, stop reading it and give it to a charity shop.

We don't all have to like the same books.

I didn’t love it but persevered. As all the characters were pretty unpleasant, I struggled to care what happened to them. I would say it is worth finishing if you made it this far though. I did get more out of it as I went on and I preferred the second half.

No.

Meh. I never made it to the end. Thought it became annoying but maybe (as @Matildatoldsuchdreadfullies said), I read it too late in life! I was in my 30s 😂

I loved it! But if you're half way through and aren't enjoying it, don't torture yourself any more. I agree, the Goldfinch is a fantastic book!

If you're not enjoying it, it's not worth it. I loved it from the start and have read it three times over the years.

If you don't love it by halfway through I don't imagine that's going to change. I do love it (although weirdly I've never been able to get through her other books), largely for how persuasively she carries you along with certain things and then switches that around. But if you're not feeling it, you're not feeling it!

I didn't like at the start, got going with it in the excitement about the planned 'shocking event'.

I was then not remotely shocked by the shocking event and very cross. I finished the book but found I didn't care what happened to any of the characters.

Ha, interesting! I wasn't a student but a recent graduate when I read it. I loved it so much that I called in sick to finish it but I haven't re-read it in the intervening 20-something years!

I absolutely loved it when I read it in my early 20s - couldn't put it down. I then eagerly awaited her other books and didn't like them much at all. I've never read it again, so would be interested to see if my view has changed with age, but just can't imagine not loving it...
I suspect if you're not into it by now, it's just not for you.