The Secret History

I just finished reading The Secret History by Donna Tartt. Talk about a sad book! The very first page starts with a narrative by the main character - a college student - making reference to how he and his friends murdered one of their friends. I suppose from that intro I should have expected a dark tone, but it still was a bit more depressing than I expected. It was a well written book, but I found all the principal characters so unlikeable that it was hard to have any sympathy for them. I was often left wondering what the author's point was meant to be. Maybe it was the pointlessness of life?