Everything about The Secret History is nuanced, but nothing more nuanced than the way this book made me feel. The first 200 pages are overwhelmingly boring that I almost dnf’d, the rest is certainly compelling, though often uncomfortable. Everybody is so unlikable, but nobody more than Richard:

a walking embodiment of sexism and internalized homophobia, choosing his own isolation and knowingly deciding that the only who he would dare relate to are the most pretentious people he could find.

I understand a lot of this was the point and acknowledge that The Secret History is a blueprint for many novels, but I find some dark academia has explored the same themes in a way that I personally found more nuanced and interesting.