Hello everyone! My name is Sabrina, and I am going into my fourth year reading Classics at the University of Oxford.
Following in the giant footsteps of Ibz Mo, Viola Helen, Vee, Eve Bennett and Sam from the legendary Oxcentric channel, I aim to help demystify Oxbridge and its application process, broaden access for Classics/Ancient History/related subjects and have fun documenting my university experience! Feel free to subscribe and join me on my university journey. :)
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The thing that most stuck to my mind is when Richard got shot by Charles. Richard called the others for their attention but they didn't even give a proper reaction. This scene really tells a lot... How Richard was just standing as a bystander watching and doing nothing. So he got shot standing in the danger. It portrays the same when he just watched them commit the crime and took the consequences of it along the way...and everyone seemed to not mind him at all.
The reverse snobbery in the UK is like nowhere else. The UK built an elite college to train the cream of the crop of the next generation of soccer players - It's applauded as being elite. Yet when it comes to a commitment to excellence at an Oxford college. It's now derided for being elitist.
'The Silence of the Girls' by Pat Barker is skillfully written and contains phrases and ideas that stay with me, but while not gory does imagine a lot of cruelties I would say not for very sensitive readers, nor for those who want to retain a romantic view of Achilles.
fun fact there is also another obscure history text with almost the same name called Secret History of the Mongols which in tales about the reign and the life of Chinggis Khan, is supposedly accurate but it is full of mythical instances and in my opinion very unreliable narrator too, but I think its more of a coincidence than donna tartt referencing two historical text
I finished reading this novel about a month ago and I agree - it's one that lingers. There is so much to think about that it's on my 'to be read again' pile.
I’m glad I watched this. Just finished listening to the abridged audiobook (I started listening to the unabridged version, got maybe 6 hours in, and tapped out) and was very confused about why this book is held in such high regard by many. As you have studied the classics (and hopefully have your degree by now 🤞🏿) I can see how this book would speak to you. Yours is an interesting perspective. Unfortunately, I still don’t like the book- it read like The Great Gatsby with undertones of American Psycho and a twist of Greek lit thrown in (which went completely over my head), and the rottenness of the characters was no surprise (the story did start with a murder of a “friend” after all).
I found the part when Richard nearly dies at the happy house because he didn't realise how dangerous a winter in vermont could be, and how the effects of that winter will stay with him for every, very interesting. Ironic that he is saved by Henry Winter, who Richard can't seem to see his dangerous nature either. Just interesting I thought!
Questions have been raised about the death of the farmer. Did they kill him, or did a catamount ( cougar) attack him? Why all the references to catamounts in the book- street, motel, etc.? Maybe they stumbled upon the farmer, who had already been attacked. Think about the wounds.... Also got autistic vibes from Henry.
Excellent video. Your review is by far the best I have seen to date on RU-vid. I purchased the book last week. Now I suppose I have to set about purchasing Procopius -"The Secret History"... Thank you.
Salve Sabrina! I love your channel and you’ve actually inspired me to learn Latin properly after dipping in and out casually for many years. I’m enjoying Duolingo and using other books and resources to self-teach. I wondered on your opinion of Duolingo as a friend of mine completed it and said he was disappointed that it only covered the present tense and found it limited? I imagine you must be very busy in your final year but I do so enjoy your videos and hope you are planning on continuing to make them? Jay 😊
My favorite theory about this story is that the group didn’t actually kill the farmer during the bacchanal. There is so much evidence, that he was killed by a mountain lion - the body was mutilated (stomach ripped open), the news reported that there were bite marks and it looked like an animal attack, and Richard and Charles even meet the animal while they’re driving to a restaurant. None of them even remember the murder. This makes the whole story so much more tragic, because Bunny’s death would’ve never had to happen - which ultimately led to the downfall of every one in this group.
Interesting theory, considering they were drunk and high off of every drug in the world, and admitted to not remembering anything, it could work. They could have found his body while high, and in some unintentional trippy daze, gotten his blood all over themselves, then assumed they had done it. It’s bittersweet then, kind of means the only crime they did was kill their friend.
@chidzhustle3570 Adding to the blood, there is a section where Camila says the farmers blood smells like deer blood. Which kinda suggests they killed a deer (as they kind of remember in a warped way) and were covered in deer blood which they mistook for the farmers who they found afterwards
In a future video, could you do a walkthrough Study-with-me video on how you read a translation (Greek preferred) in preparation for next day tutorials? In other words, when preparing for a session going over a translation passaged you are assigned to cover, how do you prepare? Do you write the whole text down word per word or just a gloss of the meaning or ____? Thanks.
this was so great! as someone who read Bacchae and The Secret History and had their brain chemistry changed by both, i loved you analysis of Bunny as Pentheus and Henry or Julian as Dionysus. it fits so well!
I am an English literature major and I never heard of this book, till tiktok so I’ve decided to read it. I am a hardcore “dark academia” type of aesthetic. Reading this book was a very interesting experience, at the beginning it felt like a dream, I can say I felt as if I was floating. However, the more I dig in the more it started to feel like a nightmare especially when they started to plan the murder, and I applaud the author for making me feel so many feelings. I have this tendency to want to relate to a character whenever I read a novel, but in the one I couldn’t decide which one I was, they were so realistic no one was prefect. And the more I dig in the more I decided to be “the safe choice” and kept waiting for Julian to appear but him being such a “prefect” person bugged me so much, when he disappeared all sudden I realized that he was shallow, and a coward. When Henry said “I loved him more than my father” it hit me hard.
just finished reading this and felt alot of similarities to crime and punishment(i havent read the greek books mentioned here, which may be of closer influence). even more so because i didnt like richard either while reading. At times i cant help but wishing they had met the same fate as rashkolnikov 😅
I feel like we never really get a clear understanding of who and what Camilla is because Richard’s view is so skewed and even when he’s mad at her and has disturbing thoughts about her there never is a change of how she’s described to us.
If you guys want to read something like tsh but still think about tsh every day, read The Goldfinch. It's also written by Donna Tartt and it even has francis in some scenes!
Ok, here’s my problem with the book. Love to hear your thoughts on it. In book one, the whole exciting build up to reaching the transcendental state and meeting Dionysus just seemed to vanish after the first murder. I mean, I get it that they were freaked out by what they had done, but I can’t wrap my head around the fact that this wasn’t a huge, looming thing going on in the background of conversations.
this video just gave me a totally new perspective on one of my already favorite books. knowing classical contexts and references is gonna make my re-read so much more enjoyable
I loved the review, thanks for your analysis. However, something I'm still craving for is a look at bunny's evolution and image that richard paints for us leading our perception of him down a path where we also come to kind of agree that he's got to go. One thing that striked me as very significant is when he calls out on richard being a phony about his past, and then when he mentions the twins' (incest thingy) and everyone else's dark true facets. He's somehow like the figure of a joker, or the fool, who no one takes seriously but all along was the most genuine and sincere of them all, speaking the truth everyone else is so desperately trying to hide or ignore. What do you think?
