Her first novel, been a fan of hers since. Found a first edition couldn’t pass up the offer Read more

This was an excellent novel, only made better by knowing it was Donna Tartt's debut, thus quite a treat….Donna Tartt bestows upon us hungry readers with her first literary work of art. She layers her character development of a few select students at a unique university as viewed through the eyes of her central character, Richard Papen, then expertly challenges us to enter their exclusive club while he thrills at being accepted over a summer connection with these five other students, drawn together by a Greek class and its rather eccentric genius professor. Richard feels honored when these five unique students take him under their collective wing, first as a group, then individually. As the mutual trust emerges, so do the character flaws of each, proving yet again that people, like things, are not always as they appear to be. The mysteries abound and are woven through the plot so expertly that we can hardly put the book down, yet still be completely surprised by the outcome of their actions. As the character retells the narrative years later in hindsight, we are also able to understand why Richard is at first so impressed by this elite group, then joins them in their secrets then ultimately unable to distance himself from any of the actions or of their subsequent consequences. Twenty years after this book was released in 1992, I read Ms Tartt's current bestseller, The Goldfinch, and was so enamored of it, I quickly sought to read anything else she had written, thus just finished this classic, only to want to read more. However, there is so much work and detail put into each of her novels, it appears that she publishes only one book each decade. Truly excellent, intelligent reading, and I would highly recommend anything written by Donna Tartt. Read more

I am almost as enthusiastic as most of the readers who commented here. This book is great fun and not the slightest bit pretentious. Pretentious is when a writer only pretends to know what she's talking about. This writer DOES know. The classical millieu that these characters long to inhabit IS ultimately alien and inaccessible and this writer knows it -- read the epigraphs -- but that's exactly what's wrong with these characters. They know their Greek declensions and they understand more than most about the seduction of antiquity. But they cannot reproduce it, relive it, or even get close. This unfulfillable longing is the heart of this sometimes shockingly amoral tragedy. And how ironic. What culture had a higher moral sense that the Attic culture? That these characters know it, and don't get it is at the center of all that happens in this book. Her writing is never condescending nor does it miss a beat. The plotting is fine and intriguing and it's perfect for the subway. HERE'S MY ONE PROBLEM: The narrator seems gay but he isn't. Which would be fine, except that the plot only hints at any ambiguity in this area, and then sort of pompously drops it. It's almost as if Richard Papen is too sure of himself in this aspect of his psyche while being so otherwised morally confused. The impression I got is not that Richard Papen is "flat" but that he is ultimately an unanswered puzzle. I don't mean to suggest that you'd have to be gay to be interested in Hesiod. I do mean that he seems like a male character created by a female writer who doesn't really get the fine points of being male, gay or straight. The other characters seem more believable in this respect precisely because the reader doesn't live in their heads. This is a point that nags, but only subtracts a half-star from my otherwise unqualified recommendation. Read more