By Keltin and I don’t normally read the same types of books but every once in a while we trade books. I don’t typically read thrillers but Keltin wasn’t wrong in suggesting this one for me. For him I suggested The Secret History by Donna Tartt.
On that note, we know that we did good in our book suggestions when the other gets annoyed with the book. I’m still grumpy about Friday Night Lights. The book is so freaking well written but you want to shake everyone in the book and tell them that there is more to life than high school football. This time around Keltin told me about something that happened in the book, said that he slept on it and then had to reread it the next day because the things that happen are so wild. Makes me smile.
If you haven’t read The Secret History, here is the synopsis: Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at an elite New England college discover a way of thinking and living that is a world away from the humdrum existence of their contemporaries. But when they go beyond the boundaries of normal morality they slip gradually from obsession to corruption and betrayal, and at last—inexorably—into evil.
Synopsis: When a teenager vanishes from her Adirondack summer camp, two worlds collide.
Early morning, August 1975: a camp counselor discovers an empty bunk. Its occupant, Barbara Van Laar, has gone missing. Barbara isn’t just any thirteen-year-old: she’s the daughter of the family that owns the summer camp and employs most of the region’s residents. And this isn’t the first time a Van Laar child has disappeared. Barbara’s older brother similarly vanished fourteen years ago, never to be found.
As a panicked search begins, a thrilling drama unfolds. Chasing down the layered secrets of the Van Laar family and the blue-collar community working in its shadow, Moore’s multi-threaded story invites readers into a rich and gripping dynasty of secrets and second chances. It is Liz Moore’s most ambitious and wide-reaching novel yet.
I have a lot of thoughts on this book but it’s also a thriller so I don’t want to give too much away. This book is told from various character points of view and through various points in time. Most of the people in this book aren’t good or bad, they are just people presented to the reader in shades of gray. That being said, there are a couple of characters that are just not good people, not at all.
The setting for this is book is a summer camp and a polished house it feels like. There is this dichotomy in the story, this push and pull of nature and expectation; of love, hate, and indifference. One thing that I did love about this book is that yes, the questions raised are answered but in roundabout ways that make you pay attention.
I suggest this book for those that enjoy thrillers, for those that enjoy mysteries, and those that enjoy characters that are a bit morally gray. Have you read this book? If yes, what did you think? Happy reading.
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