Welcome to . . . Read With Us Discussion Day
Bonny and Carole and I are posting discussion questions today for our latest RWU book . . . The Secret History by Donna Tartt. Join the discussion by commenting on our blogs.
To get things rolling, I’m going to ask the same quesstion I always ask . . . Did you read The Secret History (either recently or at any point in time)? And if you did, what did you think?
One of the things that is most interesting to me about The Secret History . . . is how absolutely unlikeable all of the characters are. Any time I talk to anyone who’s read the book, that’s the first thing they mention . . . how much they disliked the characters, while still appreciating the book! Carole will be discussing that very topic on her blog today, while Bonny will be zeroing in on Julian. As for me, I’m going to focus on our narrator, Richard . . . the character I found most fascinating in the whole messy situation.
Here’s what I’m throwing out for discussion today . . .
It seems like Richard might be/could be a sympathetic character here. As the outsider (every element of his background – except his prowess with Greek – is different and “removed” from the others), it seems like Richard could be the perfect foil for this amoral group. But it doesn’t work out that way. Richard doesn’t quite earn our sympathy, does he? Why do you think that is? Do you think Richard saw the flaws in Julian and his classmates, but was too hungry for belonging and acceptance to see the truth? Do you think he was just too personally wounded by the time he arrived on campus? Do you think the others manipulated him and used him as a pawn?
I can’t wait to hear your thoughts.
(Be sure to visit Bonny and Carole today for additional questions about The Secret History.)
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Don’t forget: We’ll be discussing the book on Zoom tonight – 7:00 pm Eastern Time. There’s still time for you to join us! Just let me know of your interest either with a comment or by sending me an email (see sidebar, above) — and I’ll send a Zoom invitation.
PS – If you are planning to join us on the Zoom, but haven’t received an invitation from me (I sent them Monday afternoon), please let me know so I can get the Zoom link to you today.
Great question Kym. I hadn’t thought about Richard that way, but I think he was very (VERY) hungry for acceptance and would be willing to do anything to be part of the “group.” I think he saw Julian’s flaws and his fellow students’ flaws, but he couldn’t help himself from going along with everyone…to be part of the group.
I did read the book (for a second time) and I think I appreciated it even more this time, even if I can’t exactly say that i enjoyed it. Julian’s background and upbringing were very different from the others in the group and there were times I wondered if he was an unreliable narrator. (Could his parents really have been that indifferent to him? Was Plano really such a wasteland?) I think he could see the flaws in the rest of the group, but he does tell us about his own fatal flaw in the beginning of the book, “a longing for the picturesque”. It is exactly this quality that leads Richard to attend Hampden in the first place, join Julian’s Greek class, and become involved in the central conflicts of the novel.
This is a fantastic question! I have very mixed feelings about Richard… was he doomed to fail? For me his failure comes in his being the narrator of this story… he never quite sounded contrite for his participation. His desire to be “something else” is his driving factor. (at least that is how I found him to be…) At the very beginning he has an opportunity to take a different path, but he seems hellbent on the path with all the red flags and warning signs!
This was my first time reading this book and I couldn’t stop thinking that these characters are younger versions of our current maga administration; a bunch of young, privileged, amoral sociopaths. I thought of Richard as Marco Rubio, he sold his soul in order to be accepted in spite of knowing how the actions of the group were wrong.
I just read it for the first time last week. I felt Richard just wanted to belong and have friends. It felt like his need to be accepted had him just get more involved with the group. I think part of it was he came across the country to go to school and knew no one there and was trying to find a place to connect and fit in. I don’t think he joined the right group but he fell in with them as he was trying to belong.
This was my second read of the book as well, and as per usual, I got so much more out of it on a reread and thanks to the discussion. I have to say that I think I do have a little sympathy for Richard (though perhaps not as much as I would have had he removed himself from the group). I certainly felt bad for him while reading about his family situation, as it really seemed like his parents didn’t care about him at all, and I think his poverty and lack of family support led him to make some bad decisions once he got to college. But his overwhelming desire to be accepted by the group was really his downfall.