I Think My Absolute Favorite Thing About TSH Is How Vague The Whole Story Actually Is In The End. I Still

I think my absolute favorite thing about TSH is how vague the whole story actually is in the end. I still have so many questions and things I'd like to know, but at the same time not knowing them and being able to speculate about what has or hasn't happened is probably the main reason why I'm still thinking about it.

And it's not even only about the plot! But also about the characters, their actual motivations, their true feelings, their relationships and dynamics, and more. There are so many clues and details here and there to be used to find out the truth, but they're still indefinite enough to allow the reader to come to their own conclusions.

I love seeing everyone's takes. I may not agree with them sometimes, but it's still so COOL to see so many different theories about even the littlest things. I only have to read one single post about something that I hadn't even considered before to start doubting all I had taken for granted. And that's amazing!!

That's what really made the book for me, and I'm quite sure that I wouldn't have liked it as much as I did if everything was explained. And that's also why Richard is a fantastic narrator and the only one who could've told this story so effectively.

And I think they would sit down like:

Henry -> Francis -> Richard -> Camilla -> Charles -> Bunny next to Henry again

the Greek class during dinner:

Henry: eats slowly and very clinically, almost like it’s a dissection, very rarely gets a second plate despite his size, will smoke at the table towards the end of the meal— almost like he was trying to hold out as long as he could but eventually gave in, subconciously sits at the head of the table

Richard: hesitant to eat as much as he wanted when he first started dining with the Greek class, became a more ravenous eater towards the end of the novel like he was afraid it would spoil in front of him, doesn’t smoke at the table, always drinks a little too much while eating and feels nauseous after

Camilla: elbows on the table, her food touches and mixes and it doesn’t bother her, never talks while chewing but keeps conversation going during a meal, almost always gets a modest second helping, admonishes Charles for not eating his vegetables, near excessive use of salt and pepper

Francis: under-eats due to nicotine consumption or anxiety, constantly shifts positions in his chair, smokes at the table, pushes his food around his plate, talks the most during dinner, sits next to Henry and is the one who can draw him into conversation with the most ease

Charles: elbows on the table, rarely eats his greens but always finishes what’s on his plate, talks with his mouth full but swears he doesn’t, almost always gets a second helping, rolls his eyes at Francis and Henry smoking at the table but drinks the most at dinner of any of them

Bunny: grew up with all his brothers so he takes heaping helpings of food even if he’s not particularly hungry, eats his veggies, not a lot of table manners, chronically talks with his mouth full and Henry tells him off for it causing Bunny to point out his smoking and they get into an argument about etiquette

TSH spoilers:

I feel like we as a fandom do not talk about Henry’s symbolism in TSH enough. Like, that dude is the literal embodiment of death, and I just think it’s so damn cool. I mean, his whole obsession with language and literature stemmed from the fact that he almost died in a car accident. And then every death we see in the book (the farmer’s, Bunny’s, and his very own) is directly at his hands. The others were accomplices, sure, but Henry’s the one who takes action every time. And in Francis’s failed suicide and Richard’s near death in the epilogue, they both see Henry, not Bunny or Charles or what have you.

Henry is not only obsessed with death, he IS death. He’s the reaper who’s friends toy with their mortality all the time through drugs and booze. The reason they all admire him is not only because of his size and stature and brilliance; it’s because he’s dangerous. If beauty is indeed terror, than he’s the most beautiful of them all. They all have the life preservation skills of a fly, so of course they love Henry. And of course his actions constantly bring them closer to danger and death.

Everyone remembers where they were when reading 'the snow in the mountains was melting and Bunny had been dead for several weeks before we came to understand the gravity of our situation' for the first time.

I would KILL to read TSH from Bunny’s POV. It would make for the perfect Greek tragedy and a killer thriller. Imagine reading his descent into insanity and paranoia. Imagine Italy from his perspective; his secret, almost sinful confessions to Julian; his pillow talks with Marion. I want to feel Henry’s betrayal and Bunny’s unease. I would eat that shit UP

If The Secret History ever does become a movie or tv series, I ask that Francis be wearing a different outfit in every scene he is in.