From the Bookshelf of Suomalainen lukupiiri…

Jumalat juhlivat öisin

Donna Tartt,

Eva Siikarla (Translator)

Start date: January 16, 2017

Finish date: February 15, 2017

Discussion: TBR-kirjat

Why we're reading this: TBR-listopian ykkönen, tammikuu 2017
[close] TBR-listopian ykkönen, tammikuu 2017

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What Members Thought

Nov 21, 2020 Susanna Rautio rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: american-fiction

Nuori Donna Tartt on kuin nykyajan Rachel Cusk. Samanlainen taito kirjoittaa vaivattomasti, sujuvasti, viihdyttävästi. Näitä lukee kuin liukuisi jäällä loputtoman matkan. Kaikki nämä sadat sivut vain sujahtavat ohitse.

Oli iso nautinto lukea, mutta unelmieni lukujäätikkö on hieman rosoisempi eikä näin sileä.

Jounivetoista ja tarinakeskeistä. Hyvin kiinnostavaa elämäni-keskeiset-vuodet -kirjallisuutta. Aikamoinen paradoksi Richardin kannalta: oliko se ystävyyttä ja olinko minä merkityksellinen lu ...more

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Sep 14, 2022 Elina Mäkitalo rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Jännä ja todella hyvä kirja. Jännä siinä mielessä että kirjan kirjoitustyyli oli kovin hidastempoinen mutta kuitenkin todella koukuttava. Tuntuu että kirjassa ei tapahdu juuri mitään mutta kuitenkin tapahtuu ihan älytön määrä kaikenlaista. Kiehtova tyyli kirjoittaa tarinaa auki. Pidin siitä että kirjassa oli selkeä idea tai juoni mutta niihin liittyi paljon pohdintaa ja analysointia mutta silti kirja oli ymmärrettävällä kielellä kirjoitettu. Tuli tunne siitä että kirjoittaminen on ollut helppoa, ...more

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May 17, 2020 Tiina rated it it was amazing

Shelves: i-own-a-copy, helmet2020, classics

I read The Secret History in 2010 for the first time. I've read it a few times in-between. And still, still, it is one of my absolute favorite books. There might be some spoilers here, so don't read if you haven't finished the book. (view spoiler) I read The Secret History in 2010 for the first time. I've read it a few times in-between. And still, still, it is one of my absolute favorite books. There might be some spoilers here, so don't read if you haven't finished the book. (view spoiler)[

The way it is narrated is phenomenal. We see these things through Richard's eyes, but I feel like Richard is mostly just the Greek choir, observing. We don't really know what's happening. We don't really know who to trust. We don't really know if we can trust his impressions of these people.

The first part of this book is a thrilling story of a murder. We can't wait to see what happens next. It's exhilarating and horrible at the same time. This group of people seems so cool, and to see Richard accepted amongst them feels good. It's kind of like a game.

And then the second half of the book is a whole different story. It's not an exciting thriller anymore, it's a psychological tragedy. Everything crumbles apart. The contrast to the beginning is huge. What is great is that every time I read the first half, I try to remind myself of what these characters are really like, but they charm me nonetheless. And every time I'm just as shocked to reach the end.

(I keep thinking what the difference between Bunny and Charles was, for example. It's the way Richard describes them. Bunny's faults are exaggerated since the beginning, it's all we focus on, and since the first sentence, he is shown to have been separate from the group. He is the outsider who would get killed. The first time we concentrate on him after the prologue is when he tricks Richard with the expensive restaurant bill. But really, he has been part of this group for a long enough time for the Corcorans to know his friends very intimately. He's just as "in" as Charles is, and then suddenly, they both find themselves outside when their mental health can't take it anymore. Was Charles a better man than Bunny? Charles could be violent, which Bunny never was, he was many times cruel, he was jealous and overprotective, he lied and stole, and a little childish, and yet Richard paints a very different picture of him than of Bunny. This is what makes the narrative so interesting. You have to look past the beautiful things, like Richard should have done.)

One more reason I love this book is that there are always new things to discuss and always new things to analyze. Did Henry and the group ever really want Richard in, or was he there to play the part of the scapegoat? Who really loved whom? Was Richard actually gay, or at least bi? Why did Henry do what he did - was he mentally ill or an evil mastermind? What really happened in Battenkill during that bacchanal? How much did Julian know before the ending? What was the dream at the end about? Did they ever really feel remorse? (hide spoiler)] ...more

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