Donna Tartt Wrote Her Message Loud and Clear So Why Is No One Reading It Right? The Dangers of Over-Aestheticizing Literature and How to Read a Book.

It is no secret that the Booktok and Bookstagram craze on Instagram and TikTok has brought reading to the forefront of hobbies. However, like most things that gain popularity, reading and literature have taken a hit in many negative ways. At the top of the cons list is the over-aestheticization of literature. While BookTok has brought some truly underperforming and overall poorly written books to the limelight it has also brought some truly complex and intellectual books. Among these complex books is Donna Tartt’s The Secret History which has sold over 5 million copies since its publication in 1992 (Penguin Books). 

The book gained popularity over the sophistication of Donna Tartt’s writing and the overall riveting and enticing ideas of the novel. However somewhere along the line of these 5 million readers, we lost the plot, like so bad (see what I did there). Book related media has reduced the novel to nothing more than a dark academia aesthetic book using audio book recordings of the novel to create aesthetic videos of the tortured academic and the coffee lover. So I know what you are wondering: What is the big deal? Who cares if people find books aesthetically pleasing? Up to a certain point it is not a problem, I too enjoy an aesthetic book stack in my room or a pretty instagram post featuring my current read. Books are works of art, and art is meant to be admired visually, however among that is the question: what good is reading a book if you get nothing out of it? The problem with the aesthetic surrounding The Secret History in the media is that it directly contradicts the message Tartt was trying to convey. The main character Richard Papen states that he has a “morbid longing for the picturesque” (5). This is his fatal flaw that will follow him throughout the entirety of the novel. This longing for the picture perfect aesthetic clouds his judgment and results in morally corrupt judgment and a lonely end for every character in the novel. Death, broken relationships, moral corruption, and worst of all misinterpreted literature comes as a result of Richard and company's desire for the perfect aesthetic life. The way the media has reduced the Secret History to nothing more than a pretty dark academia book where they can throw morals out the window to romanticize the corrupt, pretentious, and irredeemable characters in the novel takes away from the message of the novel. Donna Tartt has created a book that discusses class, sexuality, murder, literature, classics, gender, and so much more and if your take away from it is that you think the book would look good paired with a trench coat and that Henry Winter is attractive despite his homicidal tendencies than you are reading the book wrong. Which is where the problem with over aestheticizing literature comes in, as it results in a surface level reading of books that deserve the time and appreciation to be understood beyond its pretty cover and aesthetic popularity on social media.

Now the over aestheticizing of literature does not stop at The Secret History and probably won’t end anytime soon and I am not saying the “reader aesthetic” is necessarily a bad thing. However, I am saying that books are written for a purpose and to read at a surface level and toss the book once you are done is not how reading works. Books without analyzing and interpretation are just words on paper. Now comes the question: Katelyn with your super vast knowledge of how to read because you were in the advanced reading group one year in elementary, how does one read a book? Well, to that I say, there are a few ways to understand and actually grasp the book you are reading. First is simple, if you see a word you cannot define, look it up! Writers spend their whole lives understanding language and learning words so that they can choose which ones they use with intentionality. That word you have never seen before that you think you can just gloss over has a definition that goes with what an author is trying to convey. Look it up, write the definition down in the margin of the book, and re-read the sentence with your new understanding. Second is to take your time reading. Reading is not a race! I know everyone wants to reach their unrealistic GoodReads reading goal, but overconsumption of books is a thing. There is no way to grasp a book's message if you are rushing while reading, only thinking about the book you’re going to read next. I know we all have the Sylvia Plath crisis of knowing we will never be able to read every book in our short time on earth, but that does not mean rushing to read every single one is the way to go. Take the time to understand a book. Last piece of advice I can give, although I could write about this forever, is to read a book, read it again, then read it one more time because, you know, third times the charm. Seriously, do not read a book once then put it away never to be touched again. It is impossible to read literature and fully grasp what is being said in one read. There are so many elements to be analyzed and digested, sometimes you have to eat half a sandwich, put it away, and then revisit the other half at midnight when you are hungry again. So, next time you finish a book instead of putting it on the shelf of completed books collecting dust, add it to the bottom of your TBR pile to revisit again once those other books are read. 

So no, I am not here trying to villainize dark academia readers and people who like to take pretty pictures of their books (my entire instagram is basically pretty pics of my books). However, I am saying that reading purely for the aesthetic of it and to look smart on the train is not what reading is all about. Although there is nothing wrong with reading on the train to feel a little pretentious as long as you are reading it with intentionality as well. I like to think of it like this, if someone were to stop you and ask you what the page you just read was about and you cannot answer something beyond relating it to the plot summary, then maybe you should read the page one more time. So in summary, read with intention, I do not think Donna Tartt wants you romanticizing her books and characters this much, and next time you think you like Henry Winter just remember he is a rich classics student and trying to have a conversation with him about literally anything would probably be the worst experience of your life.