Bibliofemme Bookclub An Irish Bookclub

Donna Tartt burst upon the literary scene in 1992 with her debut novel The Secret History. Rather than pander to her audience with an immediate follow-up, her second book – The Little Friend – didn’t make it to the bookshops until 2002. It was worth the wait.

The Little Friend is a very different creature to its murderous academic predecessor. It is a sad and beautifully written coming-of-age story, ripe with decay and nostalgia. Set in the fictional town of Alexandra, Mississippi, it follows 12-year-old Harriet as she tries to avenge her brother’s murder ten years previously. Together with her only friend, the sweetly devoted Hely, the two children try to track down the killer over the course of a sweltering and claustrophobic summer.

Tartt is eerily accurate at describing the children’s thoughts, feelings and antics. Passionate and logical, Harriet is a most individual child – a little girl all grown up too soon one moment, the next just wanting one of her great-aunts to sort everything out.

While Tartt’s writing about summertime lassitude and boredom can sometimes have a direct influence on the reader (especially if you’re reading it on a hot day in the sun!) it’s a book – and Harriet is a character – that it is impossible not to return to.