This was by far one of the most boring and self serving verbal rants I have ever read. The author needed about 50 pages to describe one boring event. At the end she realizes that after 450 pages nothing has happened & therefore attempts to interject the final 50 pages of one crazy happening after another. Nothing made sense, random bizarre twists were added, and in the end all this caused our bookclub to shake our heads in bewilderment. I did hesitate for one moment in giving it a 1 star instead of 2 simply because we did have a great discussion about how awful the book really was.

too wordy,members seem to skip through

We had the best discussion yet over this book. The characters are easy so self absorbed that we had lots to say about them. :)

A brilliant author, Tartt has a gift for making her characters come alive. You may not like or care for some of them, but there is a richness in their development. This story about 6 college students, told in the voice of Richard, has themes of companionship & camaraderie that morph into darkness of soul, collapse of friendships & deceit. Be mindful of trigger warnings for violence & suicide.

Reading this book for the third time just convinced me that it is still my favorite Donna Tartt novel. I had a different perspective on the book as I read it for the second time for a book club. I was still intrigued by the Greek mythology element, but I was more intent on the characters in the little group taught by Julian at a private college in Vermont, noticing more about their pathology as a group and as individuals. The narrator Richard Papen sees himself as an outsider because he doesn't come from money, but actually each member of the Greek studies group is an outsider in one way or another. Tartt's skilled, beautiful writing carries forward a plot rife with drama, secrets and misunderstandings and questions morality and responsibility. Plus there is a Dionysian rite, irresistible to mythology lovers. Highly recommended for book groups or just for the pleasure of reading Tartt's first, and best, novel.