Truly deserving of the accolade modern classic, Donna Tartt’s novel is a remarkable achievement—both compelling and elegant, dramatic and playful.

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 humdrum existence of their contemporaries. But when they go beyond the boundaries of normal morality they slip gradually from obsession to corruption and betrayal, and at last—inexorably—into evil.

I have had this book for years. It first released in 1992 when I was just starting college, and I remember several of my friends raving about it. A few years later, I added it to my BOTM box, and of course, it sat on my shelf because it’s long and I wasn’t ready to commit the time to reading it. I finally made time twenty-four years after it’s release, and I’m glad I did because I ended up liking it.

Honestly, when I first finished the book, I was like “meh”, mostly because I was so ready for it to be over. I also read it while serving jury duty waiting to see if I’d get picked, so my mood was already I the tank, so that could also have played a part in my initial feelings. But the more I thought about it after finishing, the more I liked it. I think maybe the slower, more tedious parts left my brain and made room for me to really think about the characters. And they are really what made this book for me.

The story follows a group of students at an elite New England college who study classics under a wealthy, charismatic professor, Julian Morrow. They’re isolated from the rest of the student body, and they think they’re special. They think they’ve figured out a way of living that’s somehow deeper and more meaningful than everyone else’s boring existence. And then they cross a very big line. And everything spirals from there.

I always like complex characters and this book is full of them. We have Henry, incestuous twins Charles and Camilla and probably gay Francis who are all privileged white assholes who have never faced consequences for anything in their lives. We also have a poor white guy, Richard, who desperately longs to be one of them. He’s so desperate to belong that he ignores every red flag. He wants to desperately to be a part of something that he lies about his background and pretends to be someone he’s not. And he gets exactly what he asked for when he gets pulled deeper and deeper into their world until he’s complicit in things he never imagined he’d be part of.

And then there’s Bunny. The annoying guy that everyone loves to hate. He’s obnoxious. He’s loud. But he’s also the one who ends up exposing just how depraved and morally bankrupt the entire group is. And he pays the price for it.

Aside from the slower pace, I thought the author really nailed her take on privilege and class. These kids have safety nets most people will never have. And they use all of that to insulate themselves from the consequences of their actions. Watching them rationalize what they’ve done, watching them convince themselves they’re still the good guys, was both infuriating and fascinating. These are not good people. They do some really dark things, and Tartt doesn’t try to redeem them. She just shows you who they are and lets you sit with the ugliness of it.

As I mentioned earlier, the pacing was my biggest issue. The book drags in places. And while that builds atmosphere and lets you really get to know the characters and who they are, it also made me impatient. I wanted the story to move faster, and in those slower sections, I found myself losing momentum. But when the pace is right, the story is incredibly engaging. I loved when the tension would build and you saw the characters slowly unravel as the weight of what they’d done starts crushing them.

Is it worth reading? Absolutely, and I’m glad I finally did. This is a classic for a reason. The writing is beautiful and the character work is exceptional. And like I said, the exploration of privilege, class, and moral decay is sharp and unflinching. I just wish it hadn’t been so tediously slow in places. If you love dark academia, morally gray characters, or books that dig into privilege and class dynamics, this is a must-read. Just know going in that it’s a slow burn. It takes its time. And you have to be willing to sit with these deeply flawed people for nearly 600 pages.

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