This is the first in a series of occasional academic-lite essays exploring literature and other cultural texts, aesthetics and the intricacies of storytelling. Here, I hope to create an accessible space people can enjoy musing over, while enjoying a cup of coffee.  Please note, this article will discuss murder, violence, and will briefly touch upon incest and alcoholism. Donna Tartt’s The Secret History announces its literary ambitions before the narrative begins. In her acknowledgements, Tartt thanks her editor with the line “il miglior fabbro“- “the better craftsman”- a line T.S. Eliot borrowed from Dante Aligheri in his dedication of The Waste Land to fellow poet, Ezra Pound. This gesture situates The Secret…