I just finished this last night, and am dying to find someone to talk to about it. Has anybody read it?
As for an overall judgement on the book, The Little Friend is nowhere near the masterpiece of The Secret History, but it was still an entertaining read (except for some things I want some clarification on!). Perhaps part of the problem is whenever I look at the title I hear Al Pacino growling at me. And the book jacket is certified creepy.
Bump.
I also reread (ie bought my own copy of) The Secret History for good measure.
I found a lot to like about *The Little Friend *. The first 150 pages (prior to the “Pool Hall” chapter) were quite brilliant. I liked the way she gradually let the apparent date emerge. At the start it could have been the 20s or the 30s, but gradually a later date is revealed and the Faulkneresque point “it’s not even past” is relentlessly made. The horrible sense of dread which characterised The Secret History is there again in *The Little Friend *, and the unease of unfinished business. In *The Little Friend * I felt a little unsatisfied - not at the lack of resolution of the main plot point, but at where our leaving left Harriet.
The world of the children and of the Aunts was very well handled, but the rednecks didn’t have the same depth. Given the amount of the book which hung upon them, I thought that disappointing. And whilst I appreciate that the tone is supposed to be Southern Gothic, I still thought it overdone in parts.
The joy of The Secret History for me on first reading was at discovering that something that read like a better than average airport thriller turned out be something much more sustaining. But even on a much later reading it’s a more satisfying whole than The Little Friend. But the prologue and first two chapters were really something - foreboding and little sparks of nasty humour.
And what is it about Tartt and speed? She doesn’t look like a motorhead.
Hey hawthorne, thanks for the bump! I also went back and read The Secret History again. Regarding your point about “unfinished business,” I liked the different ways the novels dealt with the aftermath of events. In The Secret History, we see the reconstruction of the past through the narrator’s account of Bunny’s death, giving a sort of play-by-play description. And in The Little Friend, we see how the brother’s death affected the entire family–particularly the mother who was just absolutely shattered–from Harriet’s perspective. I also felt unsatisfied at the end, which led me to the question below. I wanted to solve the mystery for her, so that she could stop looking and rest.
So do you have any ideas on the identity of the murderer? I’ve got a theory, but I may have to go home and resurrect it with the book close at hand.
I read The Little Friend and was disappointed. For 550 pages, I want something more than what I got. The main character never changed, never grew, and - this is where I want payback for 550 pages - never learned anything from her experiences. When she was downright nasty to the family housekeeper at a key point in the book, something should have happened. Change - transformation- epiphany - gosh, Tartt had enough runway to make something happen.
Some of the writing was very good, and the characters of both her family and the funky evil family were well drawn.
Donna Tartt could have used a tougher editor. Someone at her publisher let her get away with too much based on the brilliance of The Secret History.
A longer, and better book published around the same time is The Crimson Petal and the White.
[Piss-poor Ahab voice] Thar be spoilers! [/piss-poor Ahab voice]
I’ve loved Donna Tartt’s first book, and I wasn’t disappointed in this one, either. You know if you pick it up in Barnes & Nobles to read the first few pages to see if you like it – and finish the thing in one sitting in the coffee shop – that it’s a good book.
CBCD, I think my view of Harriet is 180 degrees from yours. The way that Harriet realizes that she is as capable as evil as anyone else… well, I just thought it was very well done. Especially the difference between Harriet’s reaction to realizing that she dumped the cobra on the grandmother and her reaction to realizing that she had just assumed she knew the identity of Robin’s murderer. The only character I thought disappointingly static was Harriet’s friend, who’s name escapes me at the moment (Jim?) – though I found him quite credible.
Question: Harriet from The Little Friend : Scout from To Kill a Mockingbird :: Richard from The Secret History : Nick Carraway from The Great Gatsby?
Sorry, Harriet’s friend’s name is Hely, not Jim. Link to Salon review of book: http://www.salon.com/books/review/2002/11/11/tartt/.
Oh, my God, what a horrible book. I’m probably not qualified to discuss it because I didn’t make it past page 150 or so. I was so sure that this one could only be a winner that I went out and bought the hardcover as soon as it came out. What a waste of 30 bucks! I think maybe old Donna felt too much pressure to churn out another masterpiece. She should have left good enough alone. Some authors only have one book in them.
The descriptions seemed stilted and unoriginal. The graphic violence turned me off. (There was a lot more potential in TSH for graphic violence, yet she never fell into that trap. She always kept it tasteful.) And the plot? What plot?
That part when the grandfather sets the ball of life snakes on fire, and she gives a graphic description of the snakes burning, right around then was when I had it, and put the book aside. If it had been a worthy read otherwise, one shitty scene wouldn’t be enough to spoil it for me. In this case, one shitty scence was the final final straw.
I also have an old fruitcake from Christmas sitting at home. Anyone need two good, solid doorstops?
Mr Hand, indeed we differ in our opinions, but that doesn’t make either of us bad person, does it?
I did not like Harriet. When she would not show humanity to the housekeeper as she was leaving the family, I was sorry I had to spend any more time with her. But my favorite novel is Les Miserables - what do I know? I like redemption, forgiveness, faith, doubt, transformation of the soul, change of heart, enlightenment, and understanding in my main characters!
I did think the scenes in the watertower were well done. I also thought, often when I was reading The Little Friend, that it was written with strong intent to turn it into a movie.
CBCD, I’m not sure that I like Harriet, either. I mean, she’s not Humbert Humbert from Lolita, but it’s hard to buy into the premise of her motivation: that she should seek vengeance for her brother’s death on Danny Ratliff. Yet, like Lolita did for H.H., the narrative seems to induce respect for her. Take, for example, the Sunday School scene where she gives the teacher a piece of paper with a black dot on it, a la Treasure Island. It’s hard not to admire her vitality. I wish the book had more closely focused on her character (if such a thing were possible). But Lolita is one of my favorite novels – so don’t blame me for wanting The Little Friend to grapple with more of the questions raised by that book.
But, boys and girls, it’s time for Three Questions (sorry, can’t think of five):