This book was absolute poetry!!! It was definitely a dense read with intense descriptions and long-winded scenes, but you never really get tired of hearing about the six friends and their derailed college experience. Every character in The Secret History seemed almost super-human to me in a gloriously beautiful way. The main group of friends that Tartt writes about seems like another breed of human that existed way before we did, and it adds to the immersive quality of the read. Words can't explain how beautiful this novel was! Also, I've always been one to be more interested in books set in the city, but this one takes place in the countryside of Vermont, and I literally always let out a sigh of appreciation when I read about the gorgeous fire-red leaves of autumn or the white blankets of snow during the winter. I also have to mention my favorite chapter that describes the weeks everyone spends living in Francis's country house. It was probably the most beautiful world I've ever read about. It took me until the very last page to see the beauty of this novel, as there were times when I lost sight of the overall mystery or plot. However, Donna Tartt ties it together beautifully and puts an end to such a vivid world perfectly with the last few pages.

(in all honesty, these are GoodReads quotes because I didn't find any personally appealing ones in this book, but I still want to share some bcause it was a beautiful read!)

"They all shared a certain coolness, a cruel, mannered charm which was not modern in the least but had the strange cold breath of the ancient world : they were magnificent creatures, such eyes, such hands, such looks."

“I liked the idea of living in a city — any city, especially a strange one — liked the thought of traffic and crowds, of working in a bookstore, waiting tables in a coffee shop, who knew what kind of solitary life I might slip into? Meals alone, walking the dogs in the evenings; and nobody knowing who I was.”