The secret history is the debut novel of author donna tartt. The 1992 phenomenon was the debut novel by donna tartt, then a freshfaced young author who got her book deal while she was still a student at. The summary of someone who learned to love the book is as follows. If you loved donna tartt s the goldfinch, check out these books. Donna tartt knows people have been talking about her. Looking for novels similar to the secret history by donna tartt and. See more ideas about books, donna tartt and goldfinch. Donna tartt, winner of the 2014 pulitzer prize for her most recent novel, the goldfinch, established herself as a major talent with the secret history, which has become a contemporary classic. Would you like to receive desktop browser notifications about breaking news and. Getting the idea from a professor, a group of outcasts at a top new england college discover a new way of thinking and living that is much different from their peers. If you loved donna tartts the goldfinch, check out these books.
It won the 2014 pulitzer prize for fiction, among other honors. If you loved donna tartts the goldfinch, check out. Who can forget the feeling of reading donna tartts debut masterpiece that first time. My introduction to donna tartt was a secret history a beautifully crafted novel of friendship and secrets which i devoured in mere hours. Donna tartt s languidly atmospheric new novel, the little friend knopf.
Why are literary critics dismayed by donna tartts the. Donna tartt books list of books by author donna tartt. Donna tartt, american novelist especially noted for her debut novel, the secret history 1992, and her third book, the goldfinch 20, winner of the 2014 pulitzer prize for fiction. A dramatic event happens about twothirds of the way in that upends the very foundations that the story is built on. The secret history by donna tartt book club discussion. How faithful is the goldfinch movie to donna tartt s book. Any novel you could describe as like the secret history and get away with it needs to be a psychological thriller featuring a crime, death or secret, for a start. Author interview donna tartt, author of the little. The goldfinch is a novel by the american author donna tartt. Congratulations to donna tartt for winning the 2014 pulitzer prize in fiction for her novel the goldfinch. It was dealing with the severe book hangover after finishing the book that i realized this is what i wanted to do with my life. Like its narrator, richard, who longs to be a part of the secretive group. The protagonist, yearold theodore decker, survives a terrorist bombing at an art museum where his mother is killed.
What were reading this week get recommendations for the greatest books around straight to your inbox every week. I just finished rereading donna tartt s novel the secret history and now have a craving for something quite similar. Here is a recommendation list by a fan of her writing, the magicians 2009 grossman, lev. Net login register for bookmarks and favorites menu login. Sidelights though author donna tartt only published two novels1992s the secret history and 2002s the little friend in ten years, and a few other works in fiction and nonfiction in between, she is considered an important, influential novelist.
The petite, private tartt is a native of mississippi, and though her first novel was set a northern college, she is considered a southern. Both share a coming of age theme, bound by unsettling mystery and dream like tone. Like job or the unlucky protagonist of a victorian novel, theo decker is dealt blow after blow. By similar what i mean is a book with elitist characters, collegeuniversity setting, possibly sexually ambiguous characters and a somewhat retro feel. If you love reading donna tartts novels who are some similar. If you love reading donna tartts novels who are some similar authors and books. Handpicked recommendations to authors who have a similar writing style to donna tartt. How faithful is the goldfinch movie to donna tartts book.
It sold more than a million copies and more are selling as you read this and won. Looking for novels similar to the secret history by donna tartt and a little. That was the summary of someone who didnt like the book. In the 20 years since the publication of donna tartt s the secret history, following the obsessive, incestuous friendship of a small group of classics students at an elite new england college, the book has attracted a cultlike following of its own. Frankly i am not sure i would have continued on had the goldfinch not been a donna tartt book, knowing shed spring a sudden surprise on me toward the end. Donna tartt drops her agent, shocks literary community. I then bought the little friend still havent finished it. A bunch of eversomandarin college kids in a small vermont school are the eager epigones of an aloof classics professor, and in their exclusivity and snobbishness and eagerness to please their teacher, they are moved to try to enact dionysian frenzies in the woods. But if youre still waiting patiently in the holds line to read it, then perhaps we can suggest a few plotdriven, whats going to happen next. Books similar to the secret history the secret history. Published in 20, it was tartt s first novel since the little friend in 2002 the novel is a comingofage tale told in the first person. The secret history book by donna tartt thriftbooks.
It was donna tartt s the secret history, and i hated it. Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at an elite new england college discover a way of thinking and living that is a world away from the. Looking for book recommendations for donna tartts the goldfinch. What makes this list of books like the secret history by donna tartt.
Donna tartts secret history is the book i always recommed. Books to read if you loved donna tartts the goldfinch broke by. The first book by donna tartt who would go on to write the little friend and the goldfinch, the secret history follows a group of wealthy students at a liberalarts college in 1980s vermont, who study ancient greek under the tutelage of a classics professor named julian morrow, an enigmatic eccentric who begins his classes with lines like. If you still need more donna tartt, i highly recommend reading the little friend and the secret history if you havent already.
Theres so much crammed into the pages of donna tartts pulitzer. Books similar to the secret history by donna tartt. He constantly changes his identity, and like the hero of the goldfinch. A little friend is very different to both the goldfinch and the secret history but i would recommend all three. Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at an elite new england college discover a way of. Set in new england, it tells the story of a closely knit group of six classics students at hampden college, a small, elite vermont college based upon bennington college, where tartt was a student between 1982 and 1986. If you like donna tartt books, youll love liane moriarty. They started talking in 1992 when the author, then 28, made her literary debut with the bestselling thriller the secret history. The unforgettable hero of donna tartt s astounding novel, the goldfinch, is a daydreamy boy who lives in a cozy manhattan apartment with his vivacious mother until, one day, their happy existence is blown to pieces. Fans and critics have been discussing her ever since. Donna tartt s the goldfinch, published late in 20, was the novel everyone wanted to talk about this year. Less of a whodunnit and more of a whydunnit, donna tartt s the secret history is an incredibly detail orientated and well written novel that trails richard papen and his small, cult like circle of classmates through the exploration of the classics, attraction, friendship and. Bringing a nearly 800page novel like donna tartt s the goldfinch to the movie screen means changes will have to be made. Readalikes for donna tartt if you like donna tartt try these authors.
She was born in greenwood in mississippi in 1953 and she studied at bennington college in vermont. Like its narrator, richard, who longs to be a part. It actually felt like meeting an old friend from college. Donna tartt can be so devisive but i love her work. Jul 10, 2014 if you enjoyed reading the goldfinch, you may also enjoy reading the books on this page. Why the backlash against donna tartts the goldfinch was. If youve already read it, then you know why everyones going gaga over it. The nix by nathan hill freedom by jonathan franzen the animators by kayla rae whitaker purity by jonathan franzen the secret history by donna tartt the corrections by jonathan franzen all the light we cannot see by anthony doeer the marriage plot. The book paints her as someone who was beloved by her son and doormen alike. After a terrorist bomb explodes in an art museum, the young narrator of donna tartt s new novel, the goldfinch, becomes the protector of a 17thcentury painting. Later, tartt went on to study classics and english literature at the university of mississippi having enrolled there in 1981. I went searching for lists of other books that are like the goldfinch.
The secret history is the first novel by donna tartt, published by alfred a. It goes without saying that it will be wellwritten. The goldfinch is a bad movie because it is based on a. Donna tartt biography life, family, childhood, name. Why donna tartts the secret history never became a movie. Review the secret history, by donna tartt jenna bookish. Tartt has managed to do something that almost never happens. Read alikes for donna tartts the goldfinch the new york. Tiffany reisz is the usa todaybestselling author of the romance writers of america ritawinning original sinners series from harlequins mira books. Having turned several heads with her refined and ambitious first novel the secret history, donna tartt kept admirers waiting nearly a decade before delivering a second novel. In the 20 years since the publication of donna tartts the secret. Donna tartt is an american writer who received critical acclaim for her first two novels, the secret history and the little friend, which have been translated into thirty languages. The brat pack meets the bacchae in this precious, waytoolong, and utterly unsuspenseful townandgown murder tale. Books to read if you loved the goldfinch penguin random house.
Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at an elite new england college discover a way of thinking and living that is a world away. If you liked the secret history by donna tartt i make no secret of the fact that i absolutely adored this book. If i loved the goldfinch by donna tartt, what other. If you love reading donna tartts novels who are some. Anddespite the risk of sounding like a homeric catalog of shipsthe following people must all be thanked for their aid, inspiration and love. Authors similar to donna tartt goodreads share book. A site dedicated to book lovers providing a forum to discover and share commentary about the books and authors they enjoy. Tartt winner of the 2014 pulitzer prize for fictionrolls. With the little friend, she proved that shes hardly a onehit wonder.