The Secret History

Does such a thing as 'the fatal flaw,' that showy dark crack running down the middle of a life, exist outside literature? I used to think it didn't. Now I think it does. And I think that mine is this: a morbid longing for the picturesque at all costs.

So we are thrown into The Secret History, a luscious and absorbing murder mystery novel - a trashy tale of youth, immorality, money, sex and drugs combined with a philosophical classical tragedy written in elegant and literary style. The surprising thing is that this unlikely combination works. The story pulls you in and doesn't let you go, while leading you into (uncomfortable) moral and cultural reflection.

It tells us the story of Richard Papen, a young man from California who goes to a small liberal-arts college in Vermont (the author brings to life with great skill the freezing winters, rich Autumn colours, vast expanses of sky, a mountain in the background; privileged, spoiled students partying and doing drugs; claustrophobic social context), where he joins an exclusive Classics program and becomes friends with his fellow students, a peculiar and very alluring group: Henry, the cold and brilliant scholar; Charles and Camilla, a pair of angelic-looking orphaned twins; Francis, a vaguely tormented homosexual; and Bunny, who stands out for being the stereotypical loud, bigoted American boy. Following the reenaction of a Bacchanal (an ancient Greek ritual of ecstasy) where they accidentally murder a farmer, they end up killing Bunny. This is not a spoiler - the Prologue tells us so straight away, lending an impending sense of Doom to every scene.


Richard, who narrates years later, in an attempt to make sense of the past - which might justify the hypnotic inevitability of the succession of events that is very close to the classic concept of Fate - is (almost) the common man, a young man who is moved by wanting to fit in, and by an adolescent love of aesthetic beauty. That these common motivations lead to betrayal and murder makes the reader notice the banality of evil and its unavoidable presence within human nature. Furthermore, the book shows a clear connection between beauty and evil ("Beauty is terror." says their tutor, Julian, at the most important intellectual digression of the story) - the reader is enthralled by the elegance of the writing, and, as Richard is, by the mysterious charm of this group of young, rich, intelligent students. However, there is no escape from the conclusion that their beauty is a shallow social construct that their actions betray, progressively revealing their deep spiritual failures. 


This unwrapping of Fate is a most  involving, seductive - and guilty! - reading experience. It is very similar to Special Topics in Calamity Physics (which I prefer for its narrative voice and unsolved, chaotic mystery which is opposite to the organized falling apart of The Secret History), but it definitely stands on its own as an addictive novel you will definitely want to dive into!

School is (almost) out I: best fictional schools

I have been counting the days to the end of school: this school year has been the dullest ever, making me want it to end fast so I can move on to new challenges and academic motivations. To celebrate the fact that there are only three days to go, here are three fictional schools I would have liked to attend. Though the first choice was very obvious to me, the fact is that most schools captured on film and literature are settings to teenage angst and existential misery, often populated by charismatic, entertaining to watch bullies who no one would like to cross paths with. I will also post the fictional schools I am most glad I did not go to.

I am not unhappy about my school life in general - I have been lucky to succeed at school, to make good friends, and to have had a few teachers who truly inspired me. That said, I never felt at home at school: it was always just a place where I went for a few classes, a place where I spent many hours but which was still a fringe of my life. The following five fictional schools are just the opposite, places where the characters' life is intense, where learning is an all-absorbing, precious experience, where people are mysterious and charismatic, where there are secrets waiting to be uncovered, where what happens at school takes central stage. On the other hand, I think these schools are appealing settings to flights of fancy, not for real life (for example, I am very glad I did not go to boarding school and grew up close to my family) - but isn't making us dream one of the jobs of fiction?

Honourable mention: Malory Towers
I liked this series of books so much when I was younger! They have a lovely old-fashioned charm, and I suspect every eight-year-old girl would dream of going to boarding school, playing tricks on teachers, having midnight feasts, staging theatre plays or going swimming and horse-riding.


3. St Gallway School, Special Topics in Calamity Physics

I loved this novel, an erudite, thrilling mystery set at an exclusive school where the leading character becomes friends with a group of rich and alluring teenagers and is eventually led to question her whole life story. The plot is an extraordinary structure, intricate, dream-like and filled with life. You can't help being surprised and thrilled at each extraordinary plot twist, while emphasising with the smaller, more normal components of the characters' life and being provoked to think by the philosophical asides. This book combines so many things I like it seems it was written specially for me - most notably, the leading character and narrator has a voice which sounds very similar to my inner monologue, which gave me the illusion of being inside the book, participating in the action. This is a fascinating romance - I really recommend reading it. If you want a taste of its brilliance, you can read a few brilliant quotes here, e.g. 

I was aware too how strange adults were, how theirs lives were vaster than they wanted anyone to realize, that they actually stretched on and on like deserts, dry and desolate, with an unpredictable, shifting sea of dunes. 

Having said so, why would I like to have attended St Gallway's? It is a typical example of the elite American high school or college captured in literature, a luxuriously beautiful set of ancient buildings stretched out across vast meadows, with a mountain range in the distance to add up to the rich melancholy of the place, and filled with students who combine intelligence, culture and confidence far beyond what's usual. 

2. Cutler's Grammar School, The History Boys

The History Boys is a witty dramedy on a group of British boys working to get into Oxford to study History. Thanks to the intelligent dialogues, strong performances by all the actors and fun soundtrack (amongst other factors), it's a fun story that leaves you with a smile on your face and makes you value education as a way of expanding your mind and sharing with others. It helps that school is a familiar place where classes are zany, creative and stimulating, including long strolls and open discussion, role-playing, playing music, debating, saying poetry and hopping between a variety of intellectual themes with the guidance of teachers with a vast culture and enthusiasm. 

1. Hogwarts

The very, very obvious choice. Well, what can I say? Hogwarts is literally magical, filled with surprises  and an unparallelled childish sense of wonder (classes in transfiguration! spells! etc; moving staircases and paintings!; secret passages!; flying broomsticks!; invisibility cloaks!). JK Rowling also profited from the traditional - and lovely - image of the British boarding school, and she populated it with characters anyone would love to become friends with (or to have as enemies - proper enemies make life so interesting in fiction...). In a way, I spent so much of my fantasy life as a child there that I did go to Hogwarts.