The Secret History by Donna Tartt, Reviewed by Kelly Rosalyn Moore
The slight coolness in the air, the fresh stack of stationery, and the first orange leaf that signals the transition from summer to autumn: September has arrived. Whether you are still in education, or your studies are a distant memory, the back-to-school excitement of September remains. It is no coincidence that Donna Tartt decided to release her dark academia debut novel in this nostalgic month. As we celebrate its thirty-second anniversary, I will explore the features that make this novel a timeless modern classic.
The setting of The Secret History is crucial to the initial shaping of the narrative. Drawn together by their shared love of studying ancient Greek and its literature, six students begin their studies at Hampden College, a prestigious liberal arts college located in Vermont. The detailed descriptions of the campus immerse the reader in this fictionalised account of Tartt’s studies at Bennington College, where she met fellow author Brett Easton Ellis. If you yearn for the September-induced atmosphere of academia and intellectualism, this novel will satiate that desire.
This Faustian desire for knowledge and acceptance leads outsider and narrator Richard Papen into the dark underbelly of the students’ inner circle. As a newcomer allured by the intellectual elitism of Hampden, Richard’s biased, first-person reflection on his time at Hampden adds a layer of intrigue to the narrative. His voice provides insight into the dysfunctional dynamics of the group, while constantly challenging the reader to examine their moral positions.
The circle consists of the dark and mysterious Henry Winter: the unspoken leader; Edmund ‘Bunny’ Corcoran: an affable yet slightly irritating socialite; twins Charles and Camilla Macauley: quiet and secretive; and Francis Abernathy: a melodramatic and eccentric character. Their Classics professor, Julian, influences his students’ path to self-discovery.
The event that irrevocably binds them together is the death of Bunny. Divulged in the very first sentence, Richard explains that “The snow in the mountains was melting and Bunny had been dead for several weeks before we came to understand the gravity of our situation.”
This dynamic cast of characters grappling with the tense build-up and eventual aftermath of Bunny’s death creates a compelling, page-turning narrative that continues to entertain and polarise readers worldwide.
Is This OK? by Harriet Gibsone, Reviewed by Jenna Tomlinson
If you remember racing home from school or college to crank up a huge desktop computer, which usually sat on an overbearing wood-effect corner unit in the most communal part of the family home, then Harriet Gibsone's memoir Is This OK? will resonate heavily with you.
Unlike today's younger generation, who have grown up with the Internet as a constant, omniscient presence in their lives, Gibsone was a burgeoning teenager right at the time the Internet was blossoming into being. Her development, including her relationships and interactions with the wider world, were shaped by this new and shifting tide.
Now a music journalist in her late thirties, Gibsone discusses remarkably familiar things in her memoir, to those of a similar age. For instance, the awful dial up tone or the never fully unsupervised access to the family computer due to its looming presence in the dining room. without today’s parental control imposed on teenagers’ devices. You could endlessly chat via MSN Messenger and hear stories of those pretending to be older or venturing into chatrooms less age appropriate. In trying to shed her anxious, awkward real-life persona, Gibsone’s behaviour online becomes more confident, more sexual, and more troublesome.
Her first example of this is an increasingly toxic teen relationship with an older boy, Rory, which begins on MSN and graduates through teen parties, truancies, and eventual forays into sex. A burst of frightening and controlling behaviour on Rory's part leads to their split – not without the intervention of their parents, much like an early millennial Romeo and Juliet.
Beginning with her initial dalliances on MSN Messenger, Gibsone shares stories from her life with a careful blend of wit, humour and at times an alarming sense of fear and sadness. She discusses her search history, most frantic and obsessive, particularly when she was googling exes, colleagues, potential partners, or her therapist. She also divulges the number of wild parasocial relationships she has experienced, scenarios and relationships with celebrities that were wholly one-sided. For anyone having ever wondered if their infatuation with a celebrity has gone too far, Gibsone gives a hilarious new yardstick.
But there is a problem at the heart of Gibsone's book that is closer to home. Faced with deep and serious issues, such as toxic relationships, infertility, early menopause, mental health, and motherhood, Gibsone never shies away from an authentic account of her online conduct and the impact of it. She is honest about her compulsive behaviour, her initial reluctance to acknowledge a problem and the difficulties she faced in dealing with such, which is refreshing to see, especially in the context of female behaviour and health.
Is This Ok? has something for everyone, and Gibsone handles the serious issues and events with a tongue-in-cheek yet scathing critique of herself. There are stories of bad haircuts, workplace rivalries fuelled by a desire to imitate, dodgy offline meetups and great nostalgic music commentary thanks to the author’s background as a music journalist. For these reasons, it is urged for everyone to give this memoir a read.
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