#bookwhore

This is literally me, I never saw a quote that is so accurate, now I have to read the book.

Last night, I was staring at the ceiling when a scene of the Secret History hit me. Towards the end, Richard sees on the TV one of the policemen that worked on Bunny’s case doing an add to attract interest regarding smoking and lung cancer. I think this scene was not casual at all. It’s a metaphor for what happens in the epilogue. 

All characters smoked many cigarettes through out the novel and then they suffered a lot at the end. The smoking habit rapresent all the values and the bad habits they pick during their college years and the lung cancer is their final unhappiness. They are the cuase of their own demise. 

Francis got so used to money and to luxuries. He despised so much being poor that he prefered to marry a woman he did not love, than coming out to his family.

Camilla is anchored to the past: to her love for Henry and to her grandma. Her grandma rapresent old values and old money: the anachronistic life style of their college years. 

Charles is being destoyed by the vice he acquired at Hampden: alcoholism. He still plays the piano, as to revive the piturscque evenings at Francis’ mansion and the woman he runs away with can be a replacement for his sister.

Richard cannot find happiness, because he has been corrupted by Julian’s ideals. He breaks up with Sophie because she’s lower than his pretentious standard. He cannot want any woman other than Camilla, because he thinks that being with her would make him feel like when he was at Hampden.

Henry is the one who organizes the bacchanal in order to see god and who plans the murder. After all that, he kills himself because his ideals have fallen with Julian’s disapproval.

In the end, a life full of vices, illusions and pitoresque images (smoking can be considered aesthetic) leads to complete unhappiness.

I guess I just assumed it was public knowledge that HE LITERALLY WENT HOME WITH A MAN AND WOKE UP IN NEXT TO HIM NAKED IN HIS BED but that’s just me ig.

Like how do people read this scene and not interpret it that way—

I'm new at this and idk how many people are going to see this but it's worth a shot

I see pins like this all over pinterest (credits to whomever made it, it's not mine) and I was just wondering if anybody knew of any books that have a good version of the "blood running down my hands" ? It could be like villainous or the MC being distraught or supernatural, etc, I'm open to a lot