'25 April - theme: Penguin's 100 books you should read
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
I admit this book took some getting into but as soon as I had past the 100 page mark of this nearly 700 page tome, I found it surprisingly readable and I was hooked.
Although I struggled initially to keep the characters straight in my mind and in fact had to write a little crib sheet for myself, once the story got going the lack of characterization (for Francis in particular), didn't matter overly much. The story masterfully mixed the banal importance of parties and studying with the deep and disturbing murder story at the heart of the group. Occasionally Tartt took time out to make a philosophical point which made you wonder if that wasn't the whole point of the book.
On the subject of what type of book this is... I loved the ending. I think that's all I can say without spoilers.
I will be keeping this book for now, since it was interesting, unusual and unique. It's a book I will definitely remember and I suppose that is the biggest compliment of them all. If only the beginning was more interesting and Francis had been written better, this would be a five star keep forever.
I'm not sure how much to complain about Francis; he is pretty thinly characterized but distilling a gay man down to his sexuality and little else is very appropriately 90's. Maybe I just have to deal with it and not bring my 21st century ideas into the past with me.