“The Secret History,” Donna Tartt
A few months ago I read “The Goldfinch”, and I was blown away by the level of detail that Tartt writes into her novels. Let’s just say I was not disappointed by her second novel, “The Secret History”. From the very first page it is hard to put this book down, and the way her writing style draws you in makes the pages fly by. I read her 600-page book quicker than I’ve read other books that were half the size. “The Secret History” tells the story of five university friends dealing with the murder of the sixth one, and intertwines their studies of the Classics (ancient Greek thinking) with their responses to and about the murder. Don’t let the thought of 600 pages saw you from reading either of Tartt’s magnificent novels, they are most definitely worth it.
“The Almost Moon,” Alice Sebold
The second novel I’ve red by Sebold (who hasn’t read The Lovely Bones?!), “The Almost Moon” is just as captivating, and from the very first chapter. Helen is taking care of her elderly mother who suffers from dementia, and one day in a moment of angst, she suffocates her mother with a hand towel. The rest of the novel focuses on the next 24 hours, and also has flashbacks to Helen’s childhood and the life she had growing up with a mother who she hated (and some might say, with good reason). When the novel ends, we might not agree with the choices Helen has made, but we can at least understand to some point why she made them, and that’s the point I think–you might not agree with everyone, but you should strive to at least understand where they are coming from.