THE MORE I HEAR ABOUT LUXURY BARGES, THE BETTER DEATH SEEMS: Nice, spoiler-free review of The Secret History (Tartt, not Procopius). Some quick thoughts:

1) re “places and seasons,” the moment I knew I loved this book was the description of Richard’s heatless winter in Vermont.

2) re ancient vs modern, I thought the clash between the class reading and the weekend parties was brilliant–showed us people seeking some kind of ekstasis, across the centuries, but also showed how degraded this ideal is for most contemporary college students, and how much more we can ask from Dionysos. Also thought the whole idea of “seeking ekstasis in today’s world” was beautifully highlighted by having Richard grow up in California.

3) wow, someone liked Hannibal???