Donna Tartt on The Secret History - The John Adams Institute
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- čas přidán 28. 08. 2024
- On March 14, 1993 American author Donna Tartt visited the John Adams Institute to speak about her bestselling novel 'The Secret History', which has been translated into 24 languages. Pieter Steinz moderated the evening.
'The Secret History' takes places at a fictional college where a close-knit group of six students embark upon a secretive plan to stage a bacchanal, a plan that ultimately leads to a death. Since 'The Secret History', Tartt has written 'The Little Friend' and 'The Goldfinch, the latter of which became a bestseller and Book of the Year by numerous publications including New York Times Book Review, the Economist and NPR. 'The Goldfinch' also won the Pulitzer Prize.
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I’d encourage anyone who has ever read the secret history to purchase the audiobook, read by donna herself. The book feels so alive when she reads it and I’m not even typically one for audiobooks.
This reading is just as impressive as the writing.
Is it on audible?
@@seeyouinhell849 I think so but I got it from apple books.
I see, thank you!
is the one on audible?
Can we appreciate how Donna Tartt has the ability to explain her book so eloquently and beautifully. She is a literary icon
If only she could write that way
@@Blueblackngold lmao
@@desireandfire worst book I ever read
@@Blueblackngoldnot even you believe yourself saying that
@@Blueblackngold if you dont mind me asking, what books have you read? I'd understand if it wasn't your favorite (not everyone is smart enough to appreaciate the attention to detail), but saying its the worst is pretty far fetched no?
I'm surprised there were no mentions or questions on the character of Francis Abernathy - my favourite. Around 1 hour and 19 minutes' into the video Donna talks of sexual repression but, if I remember correctly, Francis (male) makes a pass at Richard Papen (the protagonist) who rejects it. I like the descriptions of Francis' magnificent country house, his determination in reading the "Memoires" of the Duc de Saint Simon in full and the general feel of his personality ... Great character. Far more agreeable than Henry or Bunny.
Francis is the most likeable character by far, and it's probably because he's also the most normal.
@@helenchua3408 Good point. :)
I completely agree. Francis is larger than life and such an interesting character. His and Richard's relationship was one of the many things that made The Secret History for me.
I relate to Francis so much as a character and he was definitely my favourite. The slightly pretentious insecure hypochondriac who just wants love but never finds it.
He asks him in the very beginning: Cubitum eamus?
Listening to such an intelligent person's thoughts is such a joy.
Donna's friends who picked the title that was ultimately rejected will be pleased to know that the Italian version of the novel is called "Dio di Illusioni", God of Illusions.
So happy that it’s this time of year again for me. I read this novel every autumn, and every time I finish, I want to pick it up again and start from the beginning immediately. Tartt’s prose are sublime, and a huge inspiration to me as a writer. This book will always be one of my greatest loves.
ha same! I'm reading it again this fall (as always) & returned to listen to this (yet again) never gets old, always learn something new as a writer
It’s funny by complete Chance, I first read this book in October, only later to find out it’s a seasonal favorite for many. The descriptions of Fall in New England are definitely wonderful, though much less of the book takes place during the season than you would think, given the book’s association with autumn. Lots of winter/early spring and snow stuff too. That winter Richard spent at the hippie guy’s house…yikes!
A truly great novel (i love her other two books as well)
@@virgilflowers9846 I read it when it first came out as a northener who had been living in Florida for many years. The seasonal appeal was great, and the book held my rapt attention though out. Subsequent readings felt more like watching a train wreck, but not in a bad way. More of a guiltily pleasure way.
the actual interview starts at 35:35, you’re welcome.
Thank u 🙏🏻
Thank you
THANK YOU! That introduction was ridiculous.
thank u !
What a privilege to listen to this interview....
shes seems like such a sweet and joyful person. her laughs and her little ‘oh hi!’ when she finally catches sight of the person in the audience asking the question. so sweet!!!
Donna Tartt is so entertaining throughout this entire interview, and the interviewer's great too
I wish this had a video 😅
For... ...science?
I love Donna Tartt interviews. I'm so glad this was uploaded!!
9:45. You're welcome.
Well done, lady. You changed the face of contemporary literature.
I just finished the book and this is a great interview. Her explanations are interesting and she’s even entertaining to listen to. I always try to glimpse behind the curtain into the author’s motivations when reading something, how and why they put it together.
She's so good at reading/narrating
Noooooooooo
Thank you to the Institute for digitizing and sharing this interview. It has been very helpful in my research this month!
Currently reading The Goldfinch. The Secret History is one of my favorite novels.
How did you end up liking it? :)
@@melanie2269 It was trash.
@@mxyzptlk... oh no! I was just about to buy it after finishing the secret history!
@@melanie2269 Well, I absolutely loved it.
@@ImmyRaeTplease buy and read it, I think I liked it maybe even more than The Secret History. I mean it's really a toss up but The Goldfinch was awesome, beautiful
She's such a genius.
I read and liked 'The Secret History' years ago, but hearing Donna Tartt reading it makes me realise again how good it is. I can well believe that as someone else says here the Audiobook, which she reads herself, is very good.
Thank you so very much! This author has changed my life!! !! She is so very beautiful inside and out!! 🧚🏻♂️🌴🐉
Very smart writer, enjoyed the interview.
She was only 29 years old back then. The same age I was at during all of my eight visits to the Netherlands in 2018. I’m 5’10 and felt like a midget over there. Glad she spent most of her time in a hotel room. Someone might have stepped over her by mistake, and by the sheer tragedy of that accident, we would have been deprived of both “The Little Friend” and “The Goldfinch.”
Khalid AlAli lololol
shutup🤣🤣🤣
what the hell
LMAO
I love her voice
Please, somebody upload Donna's consciousness into one of those Black Mirror sort of gadgtes so we have her around till the end of the humanity's days (sorry about it Donna, I know it sounds awful - being trapped inside of a machine - but we all have to make sacrifices )
we all have to make sacrifices 😅
@@ihatemickiegee "Sacrifices must be made." - Otto Lilienthal
That would only be a simulation. It wouldn’t have consciousness and it wouldn’t really be Donna Tartt.
But sure, let’s do it.
I heard about Donna's work many moons ago and have been waiting to read The Secret History and Goldfinch for some time.
I finally purchased both titles this week and look forward to diving in.
I have been absorbing her interviews (even with Mr Creepy Interruptus 🤭) and valued the manner in which she describes what literature means to her and her own creative inspirations and processes.
American writers are truly magnificent and I count a great many amongst an ever growing list of favourites.
Thanks for this informative piece.
Falling in love with a mind.
COVID-93 must've been hitting quite hard this night. I cant imagine how many lungs they had to sweep off the floor when everyone cleared out.
LMAAAOOO I know, riight?
Can't Spell Tartt Without Art 😃
can’t spell Donna without don
Intelligent conversation is so hard to hear nowadays!
Her voice.....that’s the comment
Take a shot everytime Donna says you know
alcohol poisoning
OMG! is Donna smoking ?! I can hear someone lighting a match ! This lady makes 'verbal magic'!
Heard it too! Love, LOVE it.
She's really transported to us from the Prohibition; kind of a reincarnated contemporary of F. Scott :)
I always wanted to see a film adaption of this with Phillip Seymour Hoffman as Henry... I just pictured him as the character.
No, he would be Bunny
what? more like julian morrow
@@user-yf6hb8oj7w I guess I was thinking of him when he was quite a bit younger! Like when the book first came out in the early 90’s. Apparently the movie rights were sold, and I believe Gwyneth Paltrow was a producer on the project. I could have seen her as Camilla back then, but certainly not now! Wouldn’t it be great if they could finally get the movie made!? So much fun to cast in your head!
ohh I didn’t even realize when the book came out because I just finished reading it so it’s very fresh in my mind, and I agreed that when we was younger he could’ve played Bunny, and Gwyneth would have been great as Camilla but I kinda always imagined her with slightly darker and curlier hair. This book would make such a good movie or maybe tv show
when i read the book, 6 years ago, i thought mia wasikowska would have been perfect to play camilla
Wtf is wrong with Hollywood that missed the chance at filming this? It should be directed for TV as a mini series by Nic Pizzolatto.
Please?
Hell no. This book would NEVER translate well on film. Donna agrees; she no longer wants to sell the film rites. There’s a history to why it has never been made.
There’s no depth to any character
God someone’s sick they keep hacking
bro can whoever us coughing needs to LEAVE omfg
I'm in love with her.
Powerful prose!
so many coughing people... only now i notice...
It's the consequence of covid19.
I love interviewees who laugh at something they themselves say.😅
Interesting how the initial speaker, when discussing Tartt's dedication of the book to Bret Easton Ellis, cited LESS THAN ZERO but made no mention of AMERICAN PSYCHO, which by 1993 was a huge literary phenomenon, because Ellis at that time was so reviled by the lit-crit establishment to the point of nearly being a pariah...
Wooooow, she was 28 here.
I thought she sounded younger here that makes sense
Such A Full Accent. She Would Make A Really Good CZcamsr.
Yap. Seriously. Yea...Like A Thought Notebook We Can All Listen To 🧐
I wish there was video.
What is up with this coughing crowd
GOSH I Wish She Were My Friend
3:35 is the best part lol :)
Procopius?
Comments
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Fernando Ferreira
0 seconds ago
My god, she actually entertained calling it ANYTHING but TSH which is (personal anecdote) the very WHY I got the (paperback beautiful edition) in the first place. Didn't know a thing about it and bought it solely for the cover, title and description in the back over.
It was a second hand store but it was almost pristine. I was majoring in Philosophy at the time and studied with a professor as versed in those matters as her characters. And as brilliant. So it had, if I may say, some peculiar context.
Any more books by Donna, please tell
The goldfinsh and the little friend
The Secret History > The Goldfinch.
1:14:55
25:30 Ja bym to przetłumaczył tak, może za poetycko, autorka tu nie stosuje poetyki ale:
wycisnąć jak najwięcej cierpienia z pola najmniejszego czasu.
Oficjalne tłumaczenie polskie:
jak gdyby poddano mnie którejś z tych dziwnych, naukowo opracowanych japońskich tortur, aplikowanych w taki sposób, aby zadać możliwie jak najsilniejsze
cierpienie w jak najkrótszym czasie.
Rozbrzmiewa we mnie obraz wyciskanej przestrzeni czasu ;)
Somebody help me out here, why is Donna Tartt popping up in my feed ?
To make you smarter and more intelligent 😊
@@HestiaSmart Well lets hope it helps ! Fingers crossed
cerebral narcissism writ upon regional dysfunction, the descent of intellectual hubris into sociopathy by subjects so distastefully entitled they bring the bullingdon club to mind. a distasteful reminder of a reality as callous as the metastasis of an old england into a shallower yet darker new winter. a corrupt hopelessness.
when i put the book down i did so with relief and finality.
49:23
Jesus Christ her voice is so painfully... ...hot.
Does she have a 0906?
Nah. It’s irritating af.
You spoiled part of the book for me!! Thanks.
OMG! They killed Bunny!
Don't worry, Bunny's murder is in the prologue, if that's what you're referring to.
That's on you. You shouldn't have listened before reading.
Legit they say they murder Bunny on the first page
yes, too much of the plot is revealed - much more than necessary - i'd be pissed off if i hadn't read it several times
thought she was born in 1963...
She was, this is a recording from 1993 as mentioned in the description!
I believe the initial comment is in regard to the moderator stating Donna was born in 1964.
i would love to take donna tartt to dinner just to not show up. any idea why i get a frisson from saying that? 🐊🦂
Be A CZcamsr
She's a writer
amazing how marketing can inflate something so binary into ... something. 🤯
That is called work of art and huge efforts 😊
heard of marmite?
@@inhale.exhale.2527 no, never. What is that?
@@HestiaSmart oh. sorry. marmite is a sandwich spread in the uk which, very much like the strapline once used in it's ads suggests, you either love or hate it.
on it's own i am indifferent but adding a banana is a game changer. for me. 😊
@@inhale.exhale.2527 thank you for your kind explanation. Well, that is also business. And you, British or American, are excellent at marketing. Though Donna Tartt is still an extremely hard-working and intelligent woman. Secret history is a bit too harsh for me. But Goldfinch is quite an interesting read, thought -provoking, which I like.
Listening more and more to Donna Tartt, I literally and strongly wanna go back to our old kind, a bit naive soviet fairy-tales.
35:30