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Overall, I really enjoyed this book. As many of you have said -- it is difficult for me to put into words WHY that is, but I was somehow drawn into this quirky, "elite" world of these privileged few and I think Richard was an excellent narrator of the story because he allows the reader to experience the bizarre world of this inner circle from his perspective.

I DO agree with someone above (can't remember names - I'm sorry!) who said they were spoiled brats. I saw them in that same light. All except for Richard, that is. All of them seemed isolated from their families, except for Charles and Camilla who would spend the summer at their grandmother's house -- but notice that their parents were missing (well, killed in an auto accident, I believe). None of these kids have any parental role models to speak of -- which is why I believe they were so drawn to Julian and felt such a strong urge to please him in whatever way.

I don't know who to "blame" for the deaths that occured. It was really due to their over-riding fascination with the Greek culture and ancient rites that drew them to experiment with the Bacchanal -- and I don't know if any of them was more at fault for this than the other. Some of you may say it was Henry's fault - but they all seemed to be eager participants in this experiment -- even Bunny, at one point, if you recall. I did find their REACTION to the first murder rather strange -- but I think the author explained this well via Henry's description of how "out of their heads" they were. They were literally in another state of mind at the time of the murder - and still so afterwards, to a large extent.

I could definitely understand the eating away at their souls via Bunny -- it reminded me of a Shakespearean work -- MacBeth and his conscience eating at him after his murders (Lady MacBeth as well) or Hamlet and the ghosts who appear, etc.. Bunny was not a ghost haunting them, but a living being who would remind them and taunt them about the incident every moment he could -- and I never got the sense that any of them just simply forgot about the murder or didn't care about it afterwards. I think it was weighing quite heavily upon all of their minds, actually.

I'm not saying that I liked any of these people - in fact, I could not STAND Henry. But I was definitely drawn to them - I wanted to understand more about them and this world they came from and lived in. I think Richard was the same - this group was so different from how he was raised (and also the financial cushion that most of them had, which Richard clearly did not). Again, all of them lacked clear, strong parental figures -- each one had parents who were flawed in some way, or missing from their lives.

I know I said this in another spot on the board - -but another novel that this story brought to my mind was The Great Gatsby. Again there was a narrator who was an outsider (Nick Carraway) watching and being drawn into this world of money and a different style of life than he was accustomed to. He hated the lifestyle Gatsby and the people of Long Island stood for, and yet he was drawn to Gatsby as a person and in many ways understood him. For some reason (and I'm not doing a great job here explaining this) I kept thinking of Richard as a parallel to Nick Carraway. An outsider being simultaneously drawn to these people and their lifestyles, and yet repulsed by it at the same time. Like a moth to a flame -- cannot resist, despite how dangerous and deadly the attraction can be.

Out of all of the characters - I felt I could relate most to Richard - and I did feel sorry for him in many ways. I know he was at fault for not turning them into the police after Henry told him the story of the Bacchanal -- but I also felt as if he was somehow "trapped" in a way, and couldn't tell the police. I can't explain why I feel this way -- I will have to go back to the book at the scene when Henry first tells him about it and see if it sparks my memory.

Kevin

Absolutely, Barb. I agree with you that since it's told from Richard's perspective there are quite a few gaps in the story line, as we only can experience what he knows and witnesses of the others.

Here's a question for you all. IF the story could have been told from ANOTHER CHARACTER'S POINT OF VIEW, WHOM WOULD YOU CHOSE AND WHY?

I would chose Henry. As to why: I found him despicable. I did not feel remorse for him at the end, nor did I find myself liking him or feeling sorry for him really at any point in the novel (except maybe when he had his headaches, because I could commiserate with him in those scenes). I thougth he was pure evil -- but I would be very interested in hearing the story told in his voice, or from his perspective.

What about the rest of you? Also -- did anyone think this might make a good screenplay (adapted of course)? I don't know why, but as I read it I kept having the sensation as if it was a screenplay or something that may perhaps one day be made into a film?