American writer Donna Tartt: biography, creativity, books and reviews. The book "The Secret History", Donna Tartt: description and reviews

The modern American writer Donna Tartt wrote only three novels for 25 years of her career. But each of her books invariably became an event in the literary world.

Biography of the writer

The future writer Donna Tartt was born in the small town of Greenwood in Mississippi. She was born on December 23, 1963. At five years old the girl wrote her first poem. The child was carried away by literature in earnest. Therefore, it is not surprising that after graduating from school Tartt decided to get a philological education.

In 1986, she completed her studies at Bennington College in Vermont. For several years she tirelessly honed her writing skills, studying all aspects of the English language. All this Donna did for the fulfillment of the only dream - to become a writer.

The debut novel

In 1992, Donna Tartt finally published her debut novel titled "The Secret History". The first print run was released in the amount of 75 thousand copies, which was an unusually large figure for novice writers. But the publisher has not in vain invested his money. The first edition was sold out instantly, and the public demanded more. To date, the book has been translated into 24 languages. She has loyal readers around the world. In Russia, the novel was first published in 1999.

What is so wonderful about Donna Tartt? "Secret History" has an unusual structure. The narrative begins at the end of the story. For the reader this is an important detail, because this book is a detective story with a seemingly classic murder and the disclosure of a crime. But everything is not as simple as it seems at first glance.

Although the author immediately revealed the identity of the murderer, the whole intrigue of reading is reduced to the fact that it is completely incomprehensible how the preceding events turned out that the tragedy described at the beginning of the book happened.

Main character

The main character is Richard Peipen. Over the elaboration of the personality and character of the young man Donna Tartt worked especially long. "Secret History" tells of a nineteen-year-old boy. He wants to enter a prestigious university, but his family has many financial problems. Nevertheless, Richard receives a grant to study at a university in Vermont (in this storyline, Donna Tartt took a bit of her own biography).

A peculiar point of no return for the protagonist came at a time when he learned about the existence of a small group of students who were keenly studying the Greek language. Acquaintance with them and becomes the beginning of the whole plot, the culmination of which was the ending opening the book.

Features of the "Secret History"

Non-standard is the style of narration that Donna Tartt chose. Books of the writer have always been distinguished by an unusual filling. In her debut, Tartt decided to communicate with the reader with the help of original memoirs, the author of which is the main character. Richard recalls what is happening as if he himself transfers his impressions on paper.

The writer used all her talent to immerse the reader as deeply as possible into the world of the novel. With this skill, Donna Tartt immediately became famous. "Secret History" ... Readers' comments about this book and reviews of professional critics allow to form the opinion that in reality the audience is offered not a novel, but an original diary of the main character. Richard really without any taboos shares his impressions and experiences associated with the beginning of study at the long-awaited Vermont University.

Short story

In the circle, Richard has five friends. All of them differ in character, which makes the story only more interesting and rich. Francis is a touching and romantic young man. Henry is unruffled and at the same time eccentric. Bunny is a merry fellow and the soul of the company. The last two are twins Camille and Charles.

There was a friend and mentor - a professor and teacher of the Greek language Julian. He immersed the children in the ancient world with his head. The history of ancient European civilizations was the subject that Donna Tartt herself loved. Comments of experts on her debut novel are full of praise. According to them, "Secret History" is not only an excellent literary fiction, but also a guide to ancient culture full of mysteries and secrets. Even the title of the novel is a reference to the Byzantine chronicler of the sixth century with the same name.

Decoupling

Students succumb to that mystical atmosphere, inspired by Professor Julian. At some point, the hobby gets out of control. Four friends in a fit of fanaticism kill the fifth comrade, and the sixth becomes an unexpected witness to the deed. Here the main action of the novel and its culmination begins.

In this work, the detective is thoroughly mixed with a thriller and a suspense. All these genres loved and wanted to reflect in one book Donna Tartt. The "Secret History", which is encouraged to read the full version of the work, is not just an entertaining reading. It's exciting! Comments are as follows: the book is read in one breath. Someone even called the novel "Crime and Punishment" in the North American manner. Many agree that, despite the fact that the book is full of allusions, citations from ancient Greek literature and other postmodern methods, the text is easily perceived, largely because the syllable of the narrative is easy. There are also those who compare reading with watching a movie in the cinema, so vividly and vividly reflected the events that are happening with the characters, their experiences, throwing, the heat of passion ... According to the admirers of the writer's work, the plot of the novel even resembles the cult films of director Hitchcock, in which The main characters suddenly lose their lives or become witnesses of terrible events.

"Little friend"

Tartt is known for the fact that, unlike many colleagues in the shop, rarely publishes new books. Novels with her name on the cover appear on store shelves every 10-11 years. After exactly such a period after the release of The Secret History, the writer finally finished work on her new creation. It was called "Little Friend" and was published in 2002.

Unlike the past work, there is no familiar storyline that is characteristic of the novel as a genre (and including the debut "Secret History"). And even the detective elements of the narrative, which seem to be the most important at first glance, are gradually receding into the background. So we can say with certainty that the writer decided to test herself in a new creative dimension. In this decision of the author, the love of the experiments that Donna Tartt constantly conducts is guessed. "Little Friend" takes the reader to the beginning of the 70s.

The main character is a little girl Harriet. She lost her brother early, who died in tragic circumstances. This event is just a kind of prologue to the novel that Donna Tartt wrote. "Little Friend" is a book that does not tell about the disclosure of a crime (as is customary in detective stories), but shows the growing up of a child in tragic circumstances.

Harriet's Growing Up

The family Harriet did everything to remove her from the dangerous outside world, which had already taken the life of her brother. Because of this, the girl has to grow up in the company of painful relatives. Tartt, as always, described in detail and masterfully the experiences of her character throughout the whole novel, which only strengthens the absurd effect of what is happening in the book.

Harriet, forcibly wrapped in her tight little world, is trying to find a way out for children's energy and curiosity. Finally, she decides to take up the investigation into her brother's death. But the main thing in the book is not even this. The denouement comes at a time when the girl grows up and is alone with the same outside world, from which her frightened relatives hid her. Therefore, this work can also be attributed to the genre of an educational novel or a novel of growing up. From the first to the last page of the book, Tartt skillfully shows how the inner child Harriet dies, who has to face unexpected problems outside the cozy home with books and the memory of a departed brother.

"Goldfinch"

The third and last novel of the writer - "Goldfinch" - was published in the USA in 2013 (and a year later appeared in a high-quality translation in Russia). What did Donna Tartt offer her readers this time? "Goldfinch" reviews were again enthusiastic. The reviews and the warm reception of the public indicate that the American writer has again achieved deserved success. In particular, the book received a prestigious Pulitzer Prize for 2014.

The author chose the title as a reference to the famous painting by a Dutch artist of the 17th century. The canvas of Karel Fabricius plays an important role in the fate of the main character of the next novel Tartt.

According to the story, Theo Decker came to himself after a terrible explosion at the Metropolitan Museum - one of the main cultural attractions of New York. The dying old man gave him a ring and the same picture of Fabricius with the order to carry her out of the building. Now Decker needs to decide what to do with the famous canvas. To do this, he will have to visit many places in the world - from Holland to gambling Las Vegas.

In this book Donna Tartt returned to many of her favorite art techniques. "Goldfinch" (reviews about the novel are ambiguous, but most still have a positive character) makes a strong impression. The reader has the opportunity to trace how the fate of a person, a teenager, changes when he remains without the care of his relatives. Street, modern society with its realities and vices ... Where can it lead to destiny? Someone did not accept the novel: what can be pleasant in describing the becoming addict? Yes, the idea, they say, is interesting, but the narrative is tedious and somewhere protracted, full of philosophical reflections and long dialogues. Someone has penetrated to the depths of his soul, to the tips of his nails. The comments of the latter can be reduced to the following: a good, deep, quality book written in a light, captivating language.

Whatever it was, the success of sales demonstrates that the recognizable style of the American writer is still in demand among the reading public around the world.